Holiday season traditions often include lighting scented candles and using fireplaces, but health experts say those flames and fragranced products can add pollutants to indoor air. Because people tend to spend more time indoors during colder months, contaminants can build up without adequate ventilation or filtration, experts said.
Dr. Meredith McCormack, director of the pulmonary and critical care medicine division at Johns Hopkins University’s medical school, said people do not have to abandon holiday rituals altogether. She recommended taking precautions instead, including moderation when using seasonal scents.
“Clean air is fragrance free,” McCormack said. “If having seasonal scents is part of your tradition or evokes feelings of nostalgia, maybe think about it in moderation.” She also said that, rather than stopping scented products entirely, households should focus on controlling pollutants indoors.
The American Lung Association said indoor air can be significantly more polluted than outdoor air because pollutants get trapped inside and concentrated without proper ventilation or filtration. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said active fireplaces and gas appliances release tiny airborne particles that can enter the lungs, along with chemicals like nitrogen dioxide, a major component of smog.
Beyond fireplaces and gas appliances, experts said cleaning products, air fresheners, and candles can emit air pollutants at varying concentrations. McCormack said the risk from fragrances and other air pollutants depends on the source, the length and intensity of a person’s exposure, and the individual’s health, and she noted that some pollutants have no smell, so unscented products still can affect indoor air quality.
McCormack said air pollution affects everyone but not equally, and children, older adults, minority populations, and people with low socioeconomic status are more likely to be affected due to physiological vulnerabilities or higher exposure. She said children are more susceptible because their lung size means they get a greater dose of exposure relative to their body size. She added that indoor pollutants pose a greater hazard to people with heart or lung conditions, including asthma.
Experts said signs of respiratory irritation can include coughing, shortness of breath, headaches, a runny nose and sneezing. They advised stopping use of pollutant-releasing products or immediately ventilating rooms if symptoms occur. “The more risk factors you have, the more harmful air pollution or poor air quality indoors can be,” McCormack said.
For practical steps, McCormack said households can reduce exposure by choosing products with fewer ingredients, opening windows when temperatures allow, and using air purifiers with HEPA filters. She also recommended switching on kitchen exhaust fans before starting on a gas-powered stovetop and using back burners so the vent can more easily pull up pollutants. She said setting polite boundaries with guests who smoke cigarettes or other tobacco products also can help.
McCormack emphasized that small changes can matter. “Small improvements in air quality can have measurable health benefits,” she said, comparing the idea to exercise and healthier eating.
Some residents said they are trying to balance holiday atmosphere with caution. Ellen Wilkowe, who burns candles with scents such as vanilla and cinnamon while doing yoga, writing, or showering at her home in New Jersey, said her teenage daughter prefers seasonally scented candles like gingerbread. Wilkowe said she leans toward candles made with soy-based waxes instead of petroleum-based paraffin, and she described the appeal of the ritual.
“The candle has a calming presence. They are also very symbolic and used in rituals and many religions,” Wilkowe said.
Rachael Lewis-Abbott, a member of the Indoor Air Quality Association, said people often do not notice what they are breathing in until problems such as gas leaks or mold develop. “It is out of sight, out of mind,” she said.