Have you ever felt like you do your best to clean your home, but it still appears dirty? You know that having a healthier interior environment or a cleaner home is time-consuming and expensive. However, a few tweaks here and there to your cleaning management system can help you create a better home environment. Most of them are easy fixes but require you to rethink your lifestyle.
Changing your home’s environment for the better need not be costly or time-consuming. A few simple changes in lifestyle and choices can improve your family’s health and the environment in which you live.
Why Cleaning Your Home is Essential
When you clean, you remove germs along with dirt and dust. Nevertheless, toxic products are the first thing that comes to mind when we think of a healthy, clean home. Even though sifting through poisonous and non-toxic products is an excellent way to have a healthier home, toxic chemicals are everywhere.
Pesticides and lead are two of the main culprits. Several studies have shown that too much exposure to either of these toxins can cause fatal diseases, such as brain damage, behavioral issues, respiratory problems, and higher cancer rates. Furthermore, you are at high risk of developing cancer like mesothelioma if you’ve been exposed to toxic substances like asbestos used in the construction industry until recently.
Most people exposed to asbestos develop severe illnesses like asbestosis and mesothelioma. Army and navy veterans were exposed to asbestos when they worked with equipment and machinery, ship and submarine parts covered in asbestos to make them fire-retardant. If you are a veteran, diagnosed with mesothelioma, you should approach a legal specialist to get financial compensation from asbestos trust funds, which are in place to compensate people exposed to asbestos. By doing so, the trust fund payouts can pay for your medical expenses, and you’ll be free to focus on recovering.
Apart from its use in the military, asbestos was a popular fire retardant and thermal and acoustic insulator used in home construction before 1980. It is present in paints, flooring, roof and floor tiles, siding, dry walls, and pipes of homes built from the forties to the seventies. It is a harmful substance, and if its fibers are inhaled, they can get lodged in the lining of your internal body organs. If you find any suspicious substance around the house, you should leave it undisturbed. However, you should immediately report it, so experts can come and remove the material from home.
Now let’s discuss some easy and budget-friendly ways in which you can keep your home clean, safe, and healthy.
Manage the Dusty and the Rusty
Dust is in the very air we breathe. Fortunately, our body has the perfect filtration system, so we only breathe pure, undiluted air. If too much dust accumulates in the house, it can aggravate the airways and worsen allergies. Aside from that, house dust often contains toxins, lead, and fire retardants.
Studies show that even if you don’t use toxic products, those used decades ago can have a lasting effect. The quickest way to resolve this is to remove the wall-to-wall carpeting and replace your floors with wood, tiles, or non-vinyl linoleum. However, this is often not feasible, so we pull on our rubber gloves and prepare to scrub.
You should vacuum the floors regularly and thoroughly so dust does not gather and mix with other pollutants. To ensure that your vacuum works efficiently and effectively, ensure that it has strong suction and clean filters. Remember to clean the dust bag and filter regularly; otherwise, the dust will keep coming out instead of going in.
Throw out any decaying or rusted objects around the house. Rust in itself is not particularly harmful to humans but the bacteria that grow there can lead to tetanus but a tetanus shot can keep you safe.
Smoking Kills
Almost everyone is familiar with this phrase, yet smoking continues to pose a health risk in many homes. However, it is time to quit. For one, you are damaging your own body for no good reason. Secondly, you endanger those around you with secondhand smoke, which is even more dangerous than direct smoking. Last but not least, you pollute your own living space.
Nicotine particles are fickle and stick to clothing, skin, and paint. So even if someone smokes once or twice, the effect can be long-term for several people. Smoking raises the risk of asthma, as well as lung cancer.
You should test your home
Lead paint and radon are at the top of the list when it comes to hazards. Even small amounts of lead or breathing in particles can lead to lead poisoning. As a result, body growth is stunted, and brain function is damaged. If exposed to radon, cancer can develop.
Lead paint is a significant problem in old homes built before 1980, when lead paint was still legal. If you live in such a house, check the walls and flooring for lead.
Radon is usually released when soil and rock beneath your house break down naturally. It can occur anywhere in any home at any time. Due to its radioactivity, it can cause lung cancer. Besides smoking, inhaling radon gas is a significant cause of lung cancer.
Avoid the use of Pesticides
We use pesticides to kill nuisances like rats, pests, and roaches. But overuse of such things can lead to overexposure or chronic exposure in smaller amounts, especially in children. Aside from putting children at risk, it may also put adults at risk, leading to bigger problems like asthma, the development of disability, or brain diseases.
Plus, these products do not come cheap. So you are basically spending tons of money to kill yourself. So instead of wasting money buying toxic stuff, here are a few tips on what you can do while not killing yourself:
- Wash dishes very carefully to keep roaches away
- Get rid of all food residue
- Food packages and containers should be tightly sealed
- Seal any cracks around your home.
- Instead of spraying herbicides on your lawn, dig up those weeds.
Plastic bottles and canned food
Bisphenol A is present in polycarbonate bottles and epoxy resins lining the metal cans of canned food. Whether it is safe to use in such products is still a heated debate.
While some consider it safe to use, other researches show adverse effects on the brain and prostate gland and a higher risk factor for children. It also increases the risk of diabetes and heart disease.
As to how to restrict the use or exposure to BPA in your life, avoid canned food. When buying plastic bottles and containers, check the ingredients list to ensure they are BPA-free.
The Way Forward!
We hope these tips will help you make your home healthier and happier. The information that we’ve provided above can point you in the right direction, and you’ll look for cleaning products that are organic, healthy, and eco-friendly. In addition, to removing chemical use in the house, you can search for natural and far more beneficial alternatives to make your home safer and healthier. Airing the space by opening the windows and letting sunshine into your home can be the first, inexpensive way to make your home safer because the sun’s UV light kills bacteria. Using fresh-cut flowers and non-toxic plants instead of aroma diffusers can also help improve air quality and leave a fresh fragrance behind. So, what are you waiting for? Take out your cleaning gloves now and get to work!