How Does Personal Hygiene Influence Indoor Air Quality?

Humans are known to be a continuous and potent indoor source of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). However, little is known about how personal hygiene, in terms of showering frequency, can influence these emissions and their impact on indoor air chemistry involving ozone. In this study, we characterized the VOC composition of the air in a controlled climate chamber (22.5 m with an air change rate at 3.2 h) occupied by four male volunteers on successive days under ozone-free (∼0 ppb) and ozone-present (37-40 ppb) conditions. The volunteers either showered the evening prior to the experiments or skipped showering for 24 and 48 h. Reduced shower frequency increased human emissions of gas-phase carboxylic acids, possibly originating from skin bacteria. With ozone present, increasing the number of no-shower days enhanced ozone-skin surface reactions, yielding higher levels of oxidation products. Wearing the same clothing over several days reduced the level of compounds generated from clothing-ozone reactions. When skin lotion was applied, the yield of the skin ozonolysis products decreased, while other compounds increased due to ozone reactions with lotion ingredients. These findings help determine the degree to which personal hygiene choices affect the indoor air composition and indoor air exposures.