Recent estimates put the time we spend indoors at approximately 90% on a daily basis. Despite this finding, there are scant studies that have measured the average air quality that exists in a home in the United States. While you can definitively improve your home’s indoor air by using a Hepa air purification system, there are a number of other critical actions that you can take to help clean out your home’s toxic environment, and help to keep it at a much healthier level.

Steps You Can Take to Clean up Your Home’s Air

•    Clean your home’s ventilation system. This also includes cleaning the air condition and heating operations. Regardless of the type of venting your home uses, it’s been shown that ventilation ducts and their forced air systems habitually become collection sources for many noxious allergens and irritants. Many homes carry high levels of pet dander, mold, insect parts and debris left over from home renovation projects. Getting rid of these particles as soon as possible should be step one in your action plan – including the following steps:
 
                 – find a qualified contractor
                 – have the air handling unit cleaned
                 – clean your blower;
                 – clean the evaporator coil
                 – have this done at least once every 2 – 6 years, depending on whether        there are smokers present in the home, pets, a recent renovation project or if you live in a geographical area that experiences high humidity on a regular basis (this contributes greatly to mold spores increasing exponentially).

•    Make sure that your kitchen is well ventilated, as well as your bathrooms and laundry room. These areas should be directly ventilated to the outside, taking care also use outdoor intakes for these rooms whenever possible.

•    Properly vent your wood stoves or fireplaces – this sounds obvious, but in many instances homes who have stoves or fireplaces often have poor air outflow, which can lead to devastating effects on your home’s air quality.

•    If you must use pesticides, paints and other highly toxic solutions, make sure to store them in areas a discernible distance away from any ventilation ducts, and as far away from your daily living areas as possible.

•    Use items such as heaters without vents, indoor barbecues and candles sparingly.

•    Open your doors and windows when the weather allows – providing fresh air to your home from the outdoors is not only an important source of cleaner air, it’s also cheaper than using your air conditioner to cool your home in the summer.

•    Your kitchens and bathrooms should have exhaust fans and air filters installed – make sure that the air filters don’t get dirty and are regularly replaced.

•    Do not use carpeting in areas prone to mold and mildew collection, like basements and other areas that can become damp, like cement floors.

•    Go easy on the carpeting in the rest of your home. Carpeting can become a real source of concern for those seeking to limit the amount of mold and other allergens like bacteria.

Along with using a high – quality air cleaner, having your home’s ventilation systems cleaned regularly by a qualified HVAC contractor will help you live a healthier life in the long run.      

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Over the past few years the general public has become aware of the growing toxicity of our environment – both indoors and out. One of the contributors to indoor air pollution is the kind of chemicals we release into our atmosphere through the use of chemical cleaning agents. While the consumer can opt to pay a premium for cleaners that are non – toxic, another (and far cheaper) option is to make your own.

There are many advantages using this method -

Saving money – the savings can be dramatic when you make your own;

Cleaner Air – no airborne pollutants are released into your home environment;

Safer for You and Your Pets – pets are often more vulnerable than humans when it comes to toxicity issues involving chemical cleaners;

No waste – there’s no packaging that you wind up throwing out after you’re done.

Listed below are some of the more common household cleaning chores and the non – toxic cleaning solutions that you can make yourself:

Stains on your Carpet – club soda works well on these.

Removal of Mold – use Borax both on the area affected as well as the surrounding areas, and also place that might be at risk for mold development.

Cleaning the Sink – use baking soda and water.

Polishing Furniture – mix ¾ cup of olive oil and ¼ cup vinegar, or if you don’t like the smell of vinegar, substitute lemon juice instead. Use a soft cloth with the solution to clean your furniture.

All – Purpose Cleaner – when in doubt, use hot water.While there are some commercial home steamers that can do the same job, in a pinch you can always clean with hot water from your tap and using a mop and/or a sponge.  

Rust on Metal Surfaces – mix a tablespoon of lemon juice with two tablespoons of salt.

Toilet Bowl – hard to believe, but just sprinkling lemon juice and some baking soda usually does the trick. Let it sit for awhile, then come back and use a toilet brush.

Deodorizing your Carpet – again, use baking soda and sprinkle it across the carpeting. If you prefer, you may add basil to the mix. Wait up to an hour, then vacuum thoroughly.  

Nasty Kitchen Odors – use a disposable pie pan and sprinkle some nutmeg, cinnamon and a pinch of orange essential oil. Put the pan inside your oven (provided it’s still warm from the cooking), and let it sit there until it cools completely.

Hate Cleaning your Oven in the First Place? – line the inside and the bottom with aluminum foil. That way any spills will be prevented from reaching the hard surfaces in the first place.

Polishing your Silver – your grandmother probably knows about this one. You use common toothpaste to rub your silver, then rinse it thoroughly with water.

Cleaning your Microwave – put a bowl of water with around 20 drops of tea tree oil and heat it up for around two minute’s time. Then use a clean cloth to wipe down the insides.

Waxing your Floors – use equal parts of vinegar and olive oil; you only need to put down a thin layer and then rub.

Cleaning your Sink – use a solution of water and baking soda.

Clean your Drains – avoid the temptation to use chemical drain cleaners; they rarely work, and their toxicity levels are off the charts. Instead, try a cup of baking soda mixed with a cup of vinegar and pour it down the drain. Wait about 10 minutes, then pour a full teapot of boiling water down the drain while flushing it at the same time. If that doesn’t work, then buy a snake or use a plumber.     

Clean your Indoor Air – light an organic candle or burn incense; you can also buy a small essential oil diffuser and put in essential oils such as orange or spices like lavender. You can also buy an air filter using Hepa technology to help keep your home’s air toxic – free.  

In short, don’t feel overwhelmed in trying to rid your home of toxic chemicals. All it takes is a little ingenuity and you’ll soon be well on your way towards living a healthier lifestyle.   

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How to Rid your Home of Dust Mites

Allergy and asthma sufferers know full well that dust mites are among the worst offenders when it comes to pernicious allergens that reside in their home environments. In addition to getting an air purifier, controlling the dust mite populations in your home is a critical component in reducing your allergy symptoms. Although it is virtually impossible to eliminate dust mites from your home completely, there are a number of steps you can take that will sharply reduce their populations.

Dust mites proliferate in our bedrooms much more dramatically than in other areas of our homes. That’s because we spend an inordinate amount of time in our bedrooms – getting dressed and sleeping tend to increase the number of dead skin cells that dust mites feed on, so using the appropriate measures in this critical area is step one of the process of getting rid of dust mites. Towards that end, washing your linens (sheets and pillowcases) every week and your blankets in hot water at least once every two weeks will bring an improvement in the reduction of dust mites almost immediately. In addition to washing your linens and blankets, putting an air tight cover on your mattress and pillows and also using a washable mattress cover on top of your mattress will help in the process of dust mite elimination.

Although almost every home has at least some version of wall – to – wall carpeting in one or more rooms, the best advice here is to get rid of as much carpeting as feasible. Dust mites love to live and multiply in carpets, since they’re hard to keep clean in even the best of circumstances, owing to the constant foot traffic they usually endure. Go with bare floors as much as possible, since they’re more easily cleaned and in many cases look better as a result. If you must have some kind of carpeting or rugs on your floors, try to use space rugs that are also washable.

When it comes to clothes storage, it helps immensely if you keep your out – of – season clothes in a room other than your bedroom. As you can already guess, unused clothing tends to attract more dust, which in turn attracts more dust mites to breed and proliferate in your bedroom. If you happen to live a small space that doesn’t have separate storage for those clothes, then use airtight containers as an effective alternative.  

When it comes to cleaning your home, try not to perform deep cleaning, if at all possible – this just tends to stir up more dust in your home’s atmosphere, which will not prevent dust mites from future proliferation. When you do clean, use vacuums as much as possible, since other cleaning utensils such as brooms and dust mops tend to just spread the existing dust around to other areas.

By adhering to these relatively simple steps, you can start breathing healthier air and reducing your allergic episodes and asthma events significantly.  

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