A new year brings with it an exciting new home for my family. This excitement, however, comes with its share of concerns, particularly from my ayi, who exclaimed that moving into a new house in China is dangerous due to all the toxic materials used during construction. Now, living in one of the most polluted cities in the world, I personally don’t take these concerns too seriously. Nevertheless, with two small children, I thought it wise to investigate further.

I contacted Chris Buckley, founder of Torana Clean Air to establish whether my ayi’s concerns were warranted. “Ideally, homes should be aired for two to three months prior to the move in date to disperse paint smells,” he says. “But these odors are more of a nuisance than a detriment.”

Instead, Buckley suggested that I direct my concerns on other areas of the home. “Cheap foam furniture, resins and especially black carpet underlay (made from recycled materials) pose a greater risk to your health than anything else,” he says. “Formaldehyde is a real issue here in China, and the only effective way to remove it from indoor environments is to use a good air purifier.“ Buckely advises purchasing a purifier with a HEPA filter to help remove up to 99.7 percent or more of PM2.5 pollutants for the air. This includes the smallest particles which are less than 0.01microns in size and are the biggest health risk in Beijing.

Dr. Richard Saint Cyr, group director at Beijing United Hospital agrees: “We spend 90 percent of our lives indoors where air pollution is usually 50 to 70 percent of outdoor levels, so it's always important for residents of most cities in China to consider indoor air purifiers,” he says. “Also, there are a lot of other indoor pollutants from walls, furniture and inferior construction materials, which can also be dangerous.”

Opening windows obviously circulates and aerates rooms, however, on heavily polluted days, doing so is not recommended. If budgets don’t permit the purchase of air purifiers, try placing bowls of coal in your rooms to absorb some toxins, or use cut pineapples to mask the smell of paint. And of course, invest in lots of house plants—nature’s own air purifiers!