You spend a lot of time in your car. You may want to know if it is killing you.

DO :

Dust and vacuum frequently. Most of the chemicals that off-gas from plastics and foam bind to dust. Give your car a weekly damp-mopping and vacuum it out every few weeks to keep airborne dust to a minimum.

Change your air filter. All cars have two to three air filters, including an in-dash filter for your A/C and heating vents. That filter is usually made from cloth or paper, Gearhart says, but you can ask your mechanic to install (or buy for yourself) an activated carbon filter. “If it’s just paper or fabric, the filter will just catch particles, but carbon absorbs VOCs,” he says, such as phthalates from vinyl materials.

Recirculate your air. Once you’ve changed the air filter, use recirculated air when you can and keep the windows rolled up. It may sound counterintuitive, but, “In urban environments, where there are a lot of particulates, driving with the windows closed and the recirculation fan going can reduce particulates in cabins by 2.5 times,” he says.

Use solar shades, or park in the shade. Chemicals are released from plastics and foam more rapidly when they’re exposed to heat and UV radiation. Those cause the plastics to break down, and, says Gearhart, “based on some of the chemicals we’ve studied, we think that some of the breakdown products of the chemicals are more hazardous than chemicals themselves.”

Ventilate your car. Particularly on hot days, before you crank up the engine for your long commute home, open the windows and let the heat escape.

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