6 Easy Tips For a Healthier Home

As many people adapt to a green lifestyle, air quality remains one of the most debated issues. One area where air quality is of major importance is inside your home. Reducing the toxins inside your house not only has an effect on your everyday breathing, but can help reduce the risk of diseases like lung cancer, mesothelioma, and Parkinson’s disease in the process. Here 6 easy steps that can be taken to reduce the amount of toxins and improve the air quality in your home.

Tip 1: Changing the air filter regularly is an easy way to begin the process of removing toxins from your household. The air filter is used to catch dust and mold spores, but if it’s clogged, it defeats the purpose of having one. It will become ineffective at this point and start to spread toxins instead of stopping them.

Low or zero-VOC paints, like these from Yolo Colorhouse, ensure you can breathe easier.

Tip 2: Choosing paints that are low in VOC’s is another easy way to keep air quality at its best in your home. VOC’s also known as volatile organic compounds, can end up causing health problems such as different forms of cancer, liver, and kidney damage. Just about every common hardware store is carrying the new, low-VOC or, even better, zero-VOC paints these days. If you’re taking on a project around the house or using paint to decorate, make sure to make the wise decision of using the low-VOC paints.

Tip 3: Using organic cleaners around the house will help the air quality immensely. Many of the common household cleaners are also high in VOC, just like paint. There are a number of options to choose instead that can help reduce the spread of toxins inside. Most of the name brand cleaners now make organic versions of their supplies or if you’re feeling up to it, you can even make your own organic cleaners.

Replenish is one company making good non-toxic household cleaners.

Tip 4: If you own a house built before the 1980’s, checking for asbestos and having it removed can be of great importance. This material often used in the construction of old houses can cause many consequences, the worst of which are symptoms of mesothelioma, a cancer in the lining of the chest or abdomen. There are many resources to familiarize you with what asbestos looks like and how to go about getting it removed, in the rare case that that it may be present.

Tip 5: Keeping your windows open during the day removes stale air from your home and lets fresh air in which will help improve the air quality.

Keeping your windows open during the day helps improve air quality. Photo by glasseyes view, Creative Commons.

Tip 6: Using pesticides indoors will most definitely have a negative impact on the pollution inside your home. Around 50 percent of these are known to be carcinogenic and could possibly lead to Parkinson’s disease, kidney damage, or nerve damage. Take steps in improving the overall cleanliness, if you are having problems with bugs. Keep on top of garbage, make sure food containers are sealed, and keep things as dry as possible in bathrooms and kitchens, as well as sweeping and vacuuming regularly. Even having a no-shoes policy inside the house will reduce the chance of tracking in pesticides from outside.

Having a no-shoes policy inside the house will reduce the chance of tracking in pesticides from outside. Photo by Elizabeth Beers, Creative Commons.

Our houses should be a sanctuary, helping to protect us from dangers outside in the world. Lung cancer, Parkinson’s disease, and mesothelioma life expectancy are all pretty severe following diagnosis. Taking these small 6 steps to reduce toxins in your own home should have a great effect on the indoor air quality and help reduce the chances of these diseases in the future, as well as improving your overall health.