For most homeowners, their house is the place where they spend the most time throughout any given week. Thus, it makes sense that you’d want your home to be as healthy as possible. But if you don’t have a plan in place, then your home probably isn’t as healthy as it could be.
Your house might feel safe to you, but it’s probably teeming with germs, toxins, bacteria, and other unsavory elements that wreak havoc on your family’s health.
Unless you’re okay with this, you’re probably wondering, “What do I do about it?” Well…we’re glad you asked. Creating a healthier home doesn’t have to involve thousands of dollars in renovations and expensive investments. Sometimes the most effective ways to promote a healthy house are also the simplest. Take a look:
A large percentage of the germs, toxins, and bacteria in your home actually originate outside of the walls of your house and are tracked inside via people, pets, and items that are carried indoors. Dirty shoes are one of the biggest culprits.
According to one report, roughly 80 percent of the dirt in a typical house is tracked in via shoes. By installing a doormat on the outside of every entry point, you can solve most of this issue. For even better results, install doormats on both sides of doors and require people to remove their shoes before proceeding beyond the entryway.
It’s not just people bringing unwanted dirt and germs into your home – it’s also those furry little friends of yours. If you have indoor-outdoor pets like dogs or cats, create a little pet station near the door where they enter and exit.
A pet station should consist of towels, brushes, pet cleaning supplies, and other items you may need to quickly clean up any messes before your pets return from the great outdoors.
The air in your home probably isn’t as healthy as you’d like to believe it is. And while it may smell fine, it’s likely lurking with little invisible particles that are hurting your present and long-term health.
While it may cost you a few hundred dollars, a whole home purifier can use advanced technology to eliminate odors, pollen, smoke, dust, mold, pet dander, bacteria, and viruses from your home’s air. It destroys air pollution and actually pulls out harmful elements that are embedded in things like carpet, furniture, clothing, walls, and other surfaces. (Here’s a Consumer Reports guide to help you find the right whole home purifier for your needs.)
Ironically enough, the supplies and chemicals you use to clean your home may actually be making your house even unhealthier. That’s because most of today’s cleaning products that you purchase in stores have dozens of toxic chemicals in them.
“Manufacturers argue that in small amounts these toxic ingredients aren’t likely to be a problem, but when we’re exposed to them routinely, and in combinations that haven’t been studied, it’s impossible to accurately gauge the risks,” health journalist Jessie Sholl writes.
While some products cause immediate reactions – such as headaches or skin burns – most of the effects aren’t immediately known. However, over the long run, it’s believed that many of these chemicals play a role in cancer, tumors, heart problems, and other conditions.
The best thing you can do is throw away all of your cleaning products and start fresh. While there are some healthy products on the market, you can make your own with simple ingredients like baking soda, lemon juice, borax, and other household items.
Today’s homes are built too well for their own good. In many cases, the energy efficiency of modern structures means there’s no chance for outside air to leak in (or inside air to escape). This can trap toxins and chemicals inside.
In addition to installing a home air purifier, make sure you’re regularly tuning up your HVAC system so air has a chance to circulate and the appropriate filters catch various toxins. You may also occasionally have your air ducts cleaned out.
It comes as no surprise to anyone that we spend most of our waking hours indoors. And when you consider that natural sunlight is a key source of Vitamin D, this is somewhat problematic.
As ElementalGreen explains, “Vitamin D influences the bones, intestines, immune and cardiovascular systems, pancreas, muscles, brain, the control of cell cycles, and more. Having your home set up to receive as much sunlight as possible can help you get some of your daily vitamin D, without you even having to think about it.”
You can let in more natural light by being strategic with window treatments and blinds, installing skylights, and pruning trees and bushes away from major light sources.
In case you’ve forgotten everything you learned in science class, here’s a quick refresher. When you breathe, your body takes in oxygen and releases carbon dioxide. During the process of photosynthesis, plants absorb carbon dioxide and then release oxygen. It’s because of these opposite patterns that plants and humans make for natural partners.
“At night, photosynthesis ceases, and plants typically respire like humans, absorbing oxygen and releasing carbon dioxide,” BioAdvanced explains. “A few plants –orchids, succulents and epiphytic bromeliads –do just the opposite, taking in carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen. Place these plants in bedrooms to refresh air during the night.”
At Green Residential, we understand how important your home is to your family. That’s why we make it a point to let sellers keep more of their hard-earned equity at the closing table. Instead of the standard three-percent seller’s commission that most agents require, we operate on a flat fee rate that could potentially save you thousands of dollars. For additional information on how this works, please contact us today!
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