Just because it's natural doesn't mean it can't produce particles in the air -- and pet dander, flower pollen, and yes, human dander can be in the air you breathe. When it comes to flowers, common bouquet additions like baby's breath, daisies, dahlias, asters, and sunflowers are most likely to produce pollen.

While you may not be able to clear the air entirely, there's a lot you can do to reduce your family's exposure to air pollution in your home.

A little fresh air can go a long way, whether you're looking to reduce the amount of chemicals you inhale when you're cleaning or painting a room, or you want to avoid catching whatever respiratory virus your kids bring home.

Opening windows, running exhaust fans, or placing fans into windows so that they blow air out are all ways to help remove polluted air from your home. (The window fan trick is great during respiratory illness season. Place the fan blowing out in the room where a sick person is resting. That'll create a negative pressure zone by pulling air from the rest of the house into that space -- and help prevent the airborne virus from reaching outside of the room.)

The best air purifiers can clear the air of not just dust and other particles, but also bacteria, viruses, and noxious gases. When you're researching air purifiers, you'll want to consider the size of the space where you're using the purifier and look at the number of air changes they can create within that space. (Ideally, the CDC recommends five air changes per hour.) Avoid air cleaners that use ion generation to clean the room, as that creates ozone in your air -- and they tend to be less effective, Corsi says. "They tend to have a very low clean air delivery rate."

If you're concerned about SVOCs, air purifiers will be a big help. "A lot of those SVOCs stick to particles and dust," Corsi says. "The great thing about air cleaners is that they remove a lot of those particles."

In general, opting for more natural ingredients and materials can help reduce air pollution in your home -- which is especially important if you are expecting or have young children in your home. "There are people who are more susceptible -- expectant mothers, children, older people with COPD -- you want to minimize exposure for them."

"Cleaners that contain natural products are generally safe for most people," Corsi says. The EPA has a "Safer Choice" program, which labels cleaning and household products that are generally less toxic and less polluting for your air.

Ceiling fans can do way more than make the temperature more comfortable in your room. "It's good to use overhead fans to mix the air in the space," Corsi says. "People are often close to the sources of air pollution that they're exposed to -- and those overhead fans can mix the particles into the entire volume of the space, and lower the levels directly in your breathing zone."

Corsi recommends damp mopping in lieu of vacuuming, especially in areas that feature vinyl floors and other materials that could release SVOCs that would mix with the dust. "Your vacuum doesn't pick up everything and can kick up particles back into the air," Corsi says. Frequent damp mopping can help keep dust from collecting, where it can pick up more SVOCs over time, and become more dangerous if the particles are kicked up and made airborne.

If you're in an area that has an outdoor air quality alert, it may be a good idea to limit your use of fragrant cleaners and products, Corsi says. "Ozone likes to react with nice-smelling products -- like air fresheners or potpourri. When you mix those with ozone, it leads to hundreds of different chemical reaction products, and we don't know the toxicity of most of them."

9 Everyday Things That Are Quietly Polluting the Air Inside Your Home