Many homeowners think they have to spend a lot of money to make their homes greener and healthier but this is not actually the case. There are so many changes that you can make and that will improve health for everyone inside the home. Most changes are very easy fixes but there are also some things that will challenge you to re-examine habits. The really simple tips that will quickly make your home healthier and safer are those below.
Control Home Dust
House dust will aggravate allergies and can include many hazardous chemicals. This includes fire retardants, lead, pesticides and various other chemicals. Some of these were actually used tens of years before but they do accumulate in house dust.
One of the best solutions is to replace your wall-to-wall carpeting with tile, cork, non-vinyl linoleum and wood. Something like this is not necessarily economically feasible but you can always go for elbow grease and you can frequently vacuum.
Check Your Plumbing System
One thing that you might not know about the plumbing and drains in your home is that they can lead to various different exposures to substances that can be really dangerous. Bacteria, for instance, can grow in various parts of the system. It is really important you check the integrity of the plumbing system or you would end up with numerous problems that you most likely have no idea why it happens. If you never had your pipes checked, you want to hire a plumbing company in Sydney Australia and get everything fixed when problems are found.
Kick Your Nicotine Addiction
It is a really good idea to quit smoking. Around 40 percent of the children in the U.S. are often exposed to secondhand smoke when at home. This can trigger asthma and you also end up wasting a lot of money in the process. You can easily find a mental health professional, nurse, or doctor that can build a program that would help you quit smoking.
Get Your Home Tested
Radon and lead paint are really serious health hazards that simply cannot be afforded. Lead poisoning will potentially cause brain damage in younger children and even in developing fetuses. Also, radon is a radioactive gas that can cause cancer. The main lead exposure source is dust that appears as paint chips or erodes and old paint. If the home was built before the year 1978 it is a really good idea to test for the existence of lead paint. Lab testing is not that cheap. It is going to cost up to $50 per sample, but it is a very good investment.
Radon is odorless and colorless. The existence of radon gas is a problem that any single home can have, new or old, drafty or properly-sealed. If you breathe air that contains the gas, lung cancer can appear. Home radon testing kits are just around $20. Newer homes may have larger issues than old homes due to air-tight construction of newly built houses. The gas can become trapped inside and a by-pass system may need to be installed to remedy this problem.
Eliminate Pesticides
Pesticides are really good at killing mice, roaches, lawn pests, and ants. However, overexposure can easily put both adults and children at risk of various health problems, including learning disabilities, brain development, and asthma.
Unfortunately, people do not actually realize the damage that such chemicals do to people. It is always better to save money and simply promote health through a focus being put on prevention. There are numerous simple steps that are going to keep the roaches away. This includes washing your dishes with care and cleaning the food residue as soon as possible.
Filter Tap Water
What few people know is that filtered tap water can actually be a healthier choice than bottle water. Scientists proved that in many bottled water brands there are numerous contaminants present. Tap water is now regulated by authorities, but the bottled water is only regulated by FDA, which does not have really good requirements.
You just need pitcher-type water filters, which do not cost a lot of money. Make sure that filters are regularly changed and as an extra tip, do not buy plastic bottles only to eventually toss them away.
The Teflon Problem
If there are pans and pots that have Teflon coating, carefully use them. Such coatings are made out of perfluorinated (PFC) chemicals. Unfortunately, the chemicals can end up accumulating inside your body. There is a possibility that one PFC commonly used, PFOA, is a carcinogen. In the year 2015, its use was eliminated by manufacturers but this does not mean that you might not have some of these in the cookware you use right now. It is normally better to use stainless steel, cast iron, copper-coated pants, anodized aluminum, or iron that is enamel-coated. Molds made out of silicone are also quite safe.
