Keeping a Healthy Home

 

 

Your home can make you susceptible to dozens of illnesses that you may not be aware of. There are potential allergens and toxins everywhere you turn. That’s why keeping a healthy home is the best way to protect yourself and your family from illness.

These tips go beyond your regular chores to show how to not only keep your home clean, but also healthy.

5 Tips for Keeping a Healthy Home

1. Control Dust

Dust not only aggravates allergies, it also contains hazardous chemicals like pesticides, lead, and others. Even if you haven’t used these chemicals in your home recently, they can still accumulate in the dust and the air that you breathe.

If possible, replace wall-to-wall carpets with wood or tile floors as dust can easily accumulate deep into carpet fibers. If that’s not possible, vacuum frequently and get into corners, along baseboards, and under furniture. Don’t let dust bunnies accumulate in places you don’t vacuum regularly. A vacuum with a HEPA filter is best and clean your vacuum bag and filter each time you vacuum, at least twice per week.

2. Get Your Home Tested

Reduce your risk of illness by testing your home for toxins. Lead and radon are serious toxins you can’t ignore. They can cause brain damage in children as well as cancer in anyone living in the house. The number one source of lead is old paint and dust that forms when paint chips. If your home was built before 1978, chances are there is lead paint under the many other layers of paint on your walls. Your local health department should be able to run a lead paint test on paint chips for about $20-$50.

Radon gas is colorless and odorless and comes from the soil and rock under your home. Breathing in radon gas on a regular basis is the second leading cause of lung cancer after smoking. A $20 radon test from a hardware store will help you determine if there is radon gas in your home.

3. Stop Using Pesticides

Pesticides work well to control unwanted pests, but overexposure can put your kids at risk of asthma, learning disabilities, and even problems with their brain development.

Instead, be proactive and focus on prevention so that you don’t need to control the problem with chemicals. Keep ants and roaches away by washing dishes, cleaning up food residue, keep packages and containers in your pantry tightly closed. Make an effort to tightly seal any cracks that may be a point of entry in your home.

Give up spraying your lawn with weed killer and get some exercise by pulling weeds instead. The EPA offers an online booklet called “Citizens Guide to Pest Control and Pesticide Safety” that can help you learn more.

 

 

4. Filter Tap Water

Filtered water is a better choice than bottled water. It protects the environment by reducing plastic waste and, often times, filters out more contaminants than bottled water. In fact, the Environmental Working Group tested 10 of the best-selling bottled waters and found mixtures of 38 contaminants including bacteria, chemicals, and fertilizer similar to those found in tap water. What this means is that bottled water is no better than what comes directly out of your tap.

Also, tap water is regulated by the WPA which requires regular public reports of the contaminants found in the water sources. Bottled water is regulated by the FDA which does not have these requirements.

A pitcher system or a filter that connects to your faucet are your best bets for safe drinking water.

5. Keep Your Cleaning Products Non-Toxic

Many cleaning products contain chemicals and poisons that can be harmful to your family and your pets. Instead, choose “green” cleaners that don’t contain chlorine or ammonia. They should also be petroleum-free, biodegradable, and phosphate-free.

Another option is to make your own healthy, chemical-free cleaners. White vinegar is a great replacement for bleach and it removes grease and soap scum. You can also dilute it with water and use it as a window cleaner. Baking soda is a great scrub and hydrogen peroxide removes stains. Borax inhibits the growth of mold and mildew and it boosts the cleaning power of your laundry detergent to remove stains. Mix it with some sugar, and it’s a natural roach killer.

There are so many simple steps you can take to keeping a healthy home. Isn’t your family’s health worth the extra effort?