Hidden Toxins in our Homes
It’s no secret that chemicals found in everyday products and materials we have in our home can have negative health impacts. The Environmental Protection Agency has been ringing this bell for a while now. The good news is that while YES pollution inside our home is common, we can decrease our exposure through a variety of measures.
INDOOR AIR POLLUTION
According to the EPA, our indoor environment is 2-5x more toxic than our outdoor environment and on average we are spending about 90 percent of their lives indoors!
When we think of the term ‘air pollution,’ we tend to think of car exhausts or factory fumes expelling grey smoke. However, there are actually various sources of pollution that have a negative effect on air quality, many of which are found inside our homes and offices.
From cooking residue to paints, varnishes and fungal spores, the air we breathe indoors is often more polluted than that outside.
SOURCES OF INDOOR AIR POLLUTION:
Radon
Tobacco smoke
Mold
Cooking and Heating
Household Products
Furnishings and Paint
Building Materials
NATURAL SOLUTIONS FOR INDOOR AIR POLLUTION
Eliminate the Source
Ventilate Regularly
Purify Air Naturally
Check Your Products
Thoughtful Furnishing
Helpful Houseplants
MINIMIZING TOXINS
It is important to take the necessary precautions to ensure your home is safe from harmful toxins.
TEST YOUR HOME FOR RADON
Radon is a colourless, odourless gas linked to lung cancer. It may be trapped under your home during construction and can leak into your air system over time. Radon testing kits are a quick and cheap way to determine if radon is an issue in your home.
VENTILATION IMPROVEMENTS
Most home heating and cooling systems, including forced air heating systems, do not mechanically bring fresh air into the house. Opening windows and doors, operating window or attic fans, when the weather permits, or running a window air conditioner with the vent control open increases the outdoor ventilation rate. Local bathroom or kitchen fans that exhaust outdoors remove contaminants directly from the room where the fan is located and also increase the outdoor air ventilation rate.
REGULARLY SERVICE FUEL BURNING APPLIANCES
A poorly maintained furnace, space heater, hot water heater, water softener, natural gas heater or stove and other fuel burning appliances may leak carbon dioxide or nitrogen dioxide. Have your appliances serviced per the manufacturer’s recommendations to reduce potential indoor air pollution. You may also need to upgrade your furnace filters. Today, there are more elaborate filters capable of trapping more particulates.
REGULARLY CLEAN YOUR AIR CONDITIONER
Your air conditioner may harbour dangerous bacteria. On several occasions, outbreaks of Legionnaires’ disease have been traced back to contaminated air conditioner units. Most people don’t even consider their uncared-for air conditioner might be toxic and sapping their health. The compressor might be outside your house, but inside, often in the attic or basement, is usually where the condensation occurs. The pan that sits underneath the handler to collect it is connected to a drain tube. The pan can get clogged fairly frequently, which creates an extremely friendly environment for harmful bacteria to grow. The transition from cold to warm weather can also create water condensation that then sits there, turning stagnant. It may even cause scaly buildup on metal pieces, indicating the accumulation of a potentially deadly bacteria.
IN HUMID LOCALES, USE A DEHUMIDIFIER
Mold grows in damp and humid environments. Use a dehumidifier and air conditioner to keep the humidity indoors below 50 percent. Make sure to clean both units regularly.
AVOID STORING CHEMICALS INDOORS
Avoid storing paints, adhesives, solvents, and other harsh chemicals in your house. If you must have them, keep them in a detached garage or shed.
OPEN YOUR WINDOWS
One of the easiest ways to reduce the pollutants in your home is to open your windows. Opening windows on the opposing sides of your home will effectively create cross ventilation. Because most newer homes are energy efficient and have little leakage, even opening a window 15 minutes a day can improve your indoor air quality.
INDOOR POTTED PLANTS
Plants purify air, making them part of what NASA calls “nature’s life support system.” Adding potted plants to a room has been shown to reduce the amount of air particulates (although plants in bloom may be contributing their own compounds to the air) . Plants absorb some of the particulates from the air at the same time that they take in carbon dioxide, which is then processed into oxygen through photosynthesis. But that’s not all— microorganisms associated with the plants are present in the potting soil, and these microbes are also responsible for much of the cleaning effect.
SALT LAMPS
Himalayan Salt Lamps can help cleanse and purify the air inside your home. A Himalayan salt lamp by its salty nature is able to easily attract water vapour to it. With this water vapour often comes indoor air pollutants, including allergens, mold and bacteria. When the water hits the heated lamp, the salt traps the pollutants but releases the water vapour. This cycle repeats while the lamp is on and warm. By removing pollutants from the air, the salt lamp leaves you with cleaner, healthier air.
If you are curious about how to improve your toxin level in your home, check out my Low Tox Lifestyle Course!