What Everyone Can Do To Improve Air Quality

Reduce Automobile Pollution

• Use commute alternatives, such as take Metro, commuter rail or other transit, carpools and vanpools, bicycling and walking, and telework.
• Reduce driving; combine errands to avoid extra trips.
• Refuel when it's cool! – after sunset.
• Eat in on Code-Red and Code Purple Days.
• Keep vehicles well tuned and maintained.

Other Actions You Can Take

• Code Red, Leave in the Shed - your lawnmower and air pollution
• Use Pumps Rather Than Sprays on Code Red Days
• Oil-Based Paints Can Taint the Air

Code Red, Leave in the Shed

Small gasoline-powered engines, such as lawn mowers, contribute significantly to the production of ground-level ozone. Here are some things you can do to reduce the problem:

• Don't use gasoline-powered lawn and garden equipment on Code Red and Code Purple days. Put off mowing until a cooler day, use manual tools such as push mowers, or use electric equipment.
• Avoid Spilling Gasoline. Even small spills evaporate and pollute the air. Use a funnel or spout to prevent overfilling.
• Use manual tools whenever practical. Push mowers and other manual tools don't pollute, and you and your neighbors can enjoy peace and quiet while you work.
• Consider cleaner options. Discover new, cleaner equipment such as electric mowers and trimmers and rechargeable mowers.
• Reduce the size of your lawn.Think about planting shrubs, trees, and low-growing ground cover to reduce the amount of lawn you have to mow.
• Reduce mowing frequency. Use low-maintenance turf grasses that grow slowly and require less mowing.

Use Pumps Rather Than Sprays on Code Red and Code Purple Days

Consumer products contribute about 13% of the total nonvehicular volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions in the Washington-Baltimore region.

Items such as deodorants, air fresheners, household cleaners, engine degreasers, windshield washer fluids, and non-aerosol "brush on" house paints contain ingredients that contribute to smog. Hairspray, cleaning products and insecticides are other examples of common consumer products that are made with smog-forming chemicals.

Chemicals that contribute to smog are included in a number of different compounds common in solvents. Solvents are used to enhance cleaning qualities or to dissolve ingredients in the product.

Choosing Clean Substitutes

Look for products that have "low VOC" labels or that say they meet California or New York standards for air quality.

Oil-Based Paints Can Taint The Air!

Solvents and oil-based paints contribute to smog. Traditional water-based paints have very low levels of solvents—about 2% to 10%—compared to about 30% in oil-based paints.

Most smog-forming pollutants from paints are emitted during the drying process. On Code Red days, refrain from using oil-based paints. Look for water-based paints that have low or no volatile organic compounds (VOCs). If you must use oil-based products, put off the job for a cooler day.