To improve indoor air quality in your home, use natural cleaning products.
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Your Efficient, Comfortable, Safe Home
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When our homes are closed up in the winter, toxins, pollen, and chemicals can build up and affect air quality … and potentially our health. Both the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) and EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) say that indoor air is generally more polluted than the air outside our doors.
There are a number of reasons for this. One is that we bring in chemicals, such as cleaning supplies, that enter the air we breathe when we open the bottles and use them. Other items we bring into our home—including paints, new furniture, other fabrics, and more—may contain VOCs (volatile organic compounds) that are also toxic. Many homes have mold problems that can affect us, especially when the home is closed up during the winter. There are also dust, dirt, dust mites, bacteria, and viruses that may be lurking within your home. Carbon monoxide can be a problem, also.
Suggestions from Natural Home magazine:
- Change your cleaning chemicals to natural cleaning products. You’ll decrease toxins and probably save money, also, as these products are cheaper. Natural Home suggests that these eight cleaners can handle nearly any cleaning job you have: white vinegar, lemon juice, baking soda, mild liquid soap (castile, olive oil soap), Borax (sodium borate), washing soda (aka soda ash, sodium carbonate), dry salt, sodium percarbonate, and hydrogen peroxide (alternatives to chlorine bleach). To learn how you can use these cleaners, check out Natural Home.
- Seal in VOCs on wood, pressboard, and plywood articles with varnish or polyurethane. First, though, make sure the sealant is nontoxic.
- Cover furniture with slipcovers made of cotton, wool, or linen to seal in toxins in foam, fabrics, and adhesives.
- Prevent mold growth by running your bathroom fan and venting your clothes dryer properly.
Additional suggestions:
- Vacuuming and dusting frequently and thoroughly can remove “bad stuff” from your home. For example, vacuuming your mattress and carpets can help remove dust mites, a common allergen (and don’t forget to clean curtains, furniture, and pillows, too). If you’re in the market for a new vacuum cleaner, a bag-less model offers better dust control (just be sure to empty it outside the house). HEPA vacuums are a good choice, also, if you purchase a new vacuum cleaner.
- Again, to prevent dust mite problems, wash your bedding frequently, using the hottest possible water.
- Carbon monoxide can be a killer, so if you have any gas appliances, install carbon monoxide detectors for safety. Have your furnace serviced each year to be sure you don’t have leaks. And if you have an attached garage, DO NOT warm up your car in the garage. Research conducted at Iowa State University showed that warming up a car for just 1-2 minutes allows fatal levels of carbon monoxide into the home. Even 8 hours later, CO levels can remain high within the home.
- Change or clean your furnace filters regularly, according to the furnace manufacturer’s instructions. You might also check into HEPA filters for your unit or a portable HEPA unit for additional air cleaning.
- House plants can help reduce harmful toxins from the air. A study conducted by NASA showed that plants such as ivies, peace lilies, bamboo palms, gerbera daisies, and mums can improve your indoor air quality.
- Control your home’s humidity levels. Keeping humidity levels low is easier in the winter months. Lower levels (30% to 50%) limit mold growth, as well as growth of bacteria, viruses, and dust mites.