If you must use chemical-laden cleaners, for example, then the booklet suggests keeping them in a tightly sealed container. It also recommends installing a central vacuum system that exhausts to the outside, or to purchase one with a high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter, otherwise dust and dirt will spew back into the air every time you vacuum.
Stocks also encourages people to think twice before going to the store to buy anything by remembering the three Rs: Reduce, reuse and recycle.
"Think about what you're going to add to the environment and to the air that you breathe before purchasing any product. There are many low-emission products available to buy. You don't want to add problems to your environment when you're redecorating or renovating," adds Stocks. Suggestions for eco-friendly finishes include hardwood floors or ceramic tiles instead of synthetic carpets, choosing natural fibres for throw rugs and using slipcovers on pillows and furnishings for easy cleaning.
Designer Ellie Cholette agrees and says redecorating need not involve toxic ingredients.
"Painting is one of the easiest ways to make a room look gorgeous," she says. And paint manufacturers, such as Farrow & Ball, ICI, Glidden and Colour Your World, offer products that contain no volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
It's the VOCs that release low levels of toxic emissions, so opening a window while painting may not be much of a help to those with environmental sensitivities.
"Farrow & Ball paints have zero VOCs, are durable and are cost effective because it covers more surface per gallon," says David Lockwood, of Farrow & Ball in Toronto.
Along with paints, other culprits of indoor air pollution include household cleansers and air freshening products.
"Many of these products have chemicals in them that people react to. Rather than hide an odour with an air freshener, homeowners should find the source and eliminate the problem," says Stocks.
He also says consumers should take a global approach by reducing the use of all chemically-based products.
"We need to get back to a simpler, non-toxic time and start using products that our parents used 50 years ago," adds Stocks.
