Home is supposed to be your safe haven. Regardless of how much time you spend at home during the day, everyone spends at least half their lifetime in their homes, in bed at night. Hidden toxins are lurking everywhere, but with a little awareness, you can begin to improve the air quality and healthfulness of your home. Chip away at the list and over time you will be amazed at how much you’ll be able to accomplish with a little patience and planning.
In the Kitchen
The kitchen is full of gadgets that make life easier, but we must be conscientious of the materials we are exposing our food, and ultimately our bodies to. Plastics leach endocrine disrupters and many cooking surfaces release heavy metals and chemicals that are known to bioaccumulate in the body.
Glass and stainless steel are best whenever available, but even these materials must be high grade, from trusted sources, in order to avoid hidden harmful materials. Find some of my favorite kitchen goodies here.
EMF safety
Radiation. Plain and simple, EMF (electromagnetic fields) is a form of radiation. There are actually multiple forms of EMF in our environment, each with it’s own deleterious effects on the human body. EMF is the umbrella term, but there is also RF (radio frequencies) which is essentially microwave radiation, DE (dirty electricity) which is electrical line noise, magnetic fields which are created by faulty wiring in buildings, DC magnetic fields which result from magnetized steel components in furniture and now 5G which hasn’t been rolled out entirely yet. Many cities and even countries are investigating 5G and trying to hold back the roll out, but some areas have already become guinea pigs for this mixed frequency form of radiation.
We are electrical beings and we are healthiest when we resonate with the earth’s frequencies. When the body is engulfed in frequencies that are out of sync with our body’s there are consequences.
Sounds a bit overwhelming to have so many sources of EMF around your body at any given time, doesn’t it? It is. The good news is that there are some things we can do to protect ourselves and reduce exposure.
Cleaning non-toxic
An easy and very inexpensive place to start cleaning up the toxins around your home is to change the way you clean, more importantly, change what you use to clean. Reducing these toxins in the home will also impact the earth, because everything we flush down a toilet, sink or tub, also ends up in our water table where it can effect our environment. When we sit our little ones in a nice warm bath, imagine their pores opening up and absorbing whatever is in that water…do you want the bleach or chemical cleaner you just coated the tub with to enter your child’s bloodstream? If you used it on the tub, it is doing just that!
The EPA ranks indoor air quality as a top five environmental risk to public health. EPA studies found indoor air pollutants were generally 2-5 times greater than outdoor pollution levels and in some cases, this soared to 100x greater! Many things contribute to this air pollution, like: poor ventilation, the use of air fresheners, chemical laden household cleaners, toxic paints, varnishes and furniture treated with fire retardants, mold biotoxins and so on. So, if you can work to reduce this burden in your environment, one step at a time, you will increase the quality of your indoor air.
There are many healthier products coming to the commercial market, but you must also be careful, because many of them advertise one thing and deliver another. I always use the Environmental Working Group website to help me navigate healthy options for the home and body.
Furniture
The toxins lurking in furniture are very hard to avoid even with the more conscientious manufactures. There was a time when natural latex was a common cushion material, but to cut costs, synthetic cushions and fabrics have become the norm. The only problem with this is that they are filled with chemicals and hazardous particulates and in order for these synthetic materials to be fire proof, they also have to be treated with more chemicals.
Looking for the CA Proposition 65 warning may help you decipher if added chemicals such as formaldehyde have been used in the piece. The CA Proposition 65 label suggests the product can expose you to levels of a listed chemical or chemicals that pose greater health risks than furniture that causes exposures to lower levels of listed chemicals.
Here you will find choices that limit your exposure to toxins.
Mold
Anyone and everyone with health issues involving the immune system should absolutely consider the possibility of mold in their environment, not just their home, but any environment frequented on a regular basis. About 25% of the population has a specific genetic mutation in the HLA-DR genes, predisposing them to sickness from water damaged buildings. Their body doesn’t recognize mold toxins as foreign, causing these toxins to accumulate rather than being excreted. HLA-DR genes tell your body to make antibodies to fight toxins. Without them, your body could not remove these toxins. For these people, the antigens remain in the body causing global inflammation leading to multi-system symptoms known as CIRS (Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome). Unfortunately, it is very common to have mold growing indoors, especially in newer style homes, because of the more recent building practices used.
Mold can begin to grow on a porous substrate within 24-48 hours of water exposure, if it is not properly ventilated and dried out. Mold is microscopic until it grows out of control, so just because you don’t see it, doesn’t mean it isn’t there. Also, having no active and obvious leaks, doesn’t mean you are out of the woods either, because hidden leaks can be brewing inside walls without visibility. We had three of them, which probably began when our home was built based on the location and the extent of the damage. There were very tiny, dripping leaks behind the walls, and it wasn’t until the problem escalated under unique circumstances that we saw visible evidence of the leaks on the interior of the home. Once we dug into them, it was clear that these leaks had been going on for years, unbeknownst to us.
Water filteration
You are exposed to your tap water daily, multiple times a day. It goes in and on your body and whatever is lurking in that water, whether it’s city or well water, is hitching a ride into your body! Learn about the many chemicals found in drinking water here.
There are a few ways you can go with this. You can filter your whole house with a basic whole house filtration device and then you can kick up the filtration at your drinking water either under the sink or using a pitcher or gravity filtration tank. Or you can invest in a more thorough whole house filtration system that will do it all, filtering drinking and showering water all in one.
At our beach house, we use a ProPur gravity filtration tank and their shower filter at the shower head. At our primary home, we use a generic whole house filter, then we also filter our drinking water and freezer ice cub maker water with a separate system by AquaLiv.
Building materials
The Green Building Supply company vets all sorts of building materials and when you are doing a remodeling project, what better time to replace things with safer, eco-friendly, non-toxic options? During a kitchen remodel, this was my go-to website for things like caulk, adhesives, grout, and more. You will find suggestions for cabinets, flooring, paints, stains, countertops and so much more!
Wool insulation
Fiberglass insulation is full of toxins that off gas as well as fiberglass which can end up in your air. Breathing fiberglass into your lungs is like breathing asbestos, it’s glass! Houses are filled with this stuff. When we had an environmentalist test our air quality multiple times, fiberglass came up in our air each time! With each remodeling project, we replace whatever we can with wool insulation.
The manufacture of sheep wool insulation requires 90 percent less energy to manufacture than mineral wool insulation. In use, the durability and moisture control properties of wool allow for a higher level of performance and longevity, retaining its insulating properties for the life of the building. Wool is naturally fire resistant and is treated with Thorlan IW so as to heighten its vermin and insect resistance.
Advantages
Controls condensation, wool absorbs and releases moisture yet doesn’t lose it’s thermal performance, wool can in fact absorb up to 40 percent of its own weight and remain dry, to the touch.
Wool actually heats up when absorbing moisture by up to 45 degrees F, this increases the dew point temperature reducing the risk of condensation.
Wool absorbs harmful gasses, e.g. formaldehyde, and then locks them up permanently. Man made insulation emits gases.
A better insulator compared to glass fiber insulation, requiring 10 percent less thickness to achieve the same insulating factor.
Glass fiber thermal performance deteriorates dramatically when any moisture is present, wool’s performance is not affected.
Wool will last for the life of the building due to the resilience of wool, glass fiber may compact and require topping up after 10 years.
Wool is truly sustainable, a yearly clip of wool is available as a by-product of the livestock farming. Mineral wool depletes the world’s resources.
Wool is a “Carbon sink”, it actually locks up CO2, man-made pollutes CO2 during its manufacture.
Very low energy required in its manufacture, requiring 85 percent less energy compared to man- made products.
Biodegradable at the end of its life.
Safe to handle, no skin or respiratory problems typical of mineral wool.
Lastly sheep wool insulation is a product of choice from the consumers perspective, who continue to express their concerns with mineral wool insulation.
See more great information on using wool insulation here. If you are building new, I would highly recommend getting a quote for insulting your entire home with wool. In other countries, like Estonia, wool insulation is standard building practice.
ECOS Paints
While there are many “zero VOC” paints on the market, many still contain toxins like petroleum. ECOS waterbed paints are far superior to the brands you will find in the big box stores and they will ship right to your front door no matter how big or small the order is.
Coverage is phenomenal and even our contractors were impressed by the paint when they realized only two coats were necessary for new building materials, when they usually need three. They are self-priming paints so literally just two coats! They have a handy coverage calculator to help you avoid over-buying.
They have paint, stain, varnish and craft paints and stains and they offer color matching, if needed. They even have a line of air purifying paints and varnish which absorbs VOCs, including formaldehyde, before they escape into the air! Great for covering those old paint layers!
Additional products they offer are: furniture paint, chalkboard paint, vinyl paint, stone and tile sealer, wood glue, fillers, plaster/wall board sealer and water repellent sealer for exterior surfaces.
ECOS organic paints are free of herbicides, pesticides, and fungicides for the health of your family and the environment. With non-toxic ingredients and no traditional paint and polyurethane odors, their award-winning odorless paints allow you to tackle your project without having to quarantine the room or the furniture due to fumes. Their environmentally responsible and engineered paints are available in several varieties for numerous uses including atmosphere purifying paint, MCS friendly paint, Zero VOC paint, Pet-friendly paint, and passivating paint - just to name a few.
