Avoid particleboard at all costs for kitchen cabinets, counters, bathroom enclosures, and furniture.
Store unused solvents (all of which contain volatile compounds) in a sealed cabinet, preferably in an outbuilding or storage shed rather than in your basement or attached garage. Better yet, only purchase as much as you need and safely discard the remainder rather than leaving it around.
Choose all-natural upholstery, draperies, throw rugs and bedding whenever possible. Natural fibers generate beneficial negative ions, keeping you more alert, and they avoid outgassing from plastic fabrics. Harmful positive ions in indoor air, which cause fatigue, are generated from plastics used in nylon carpeting, latex paints and synthetic upholstery, draperies and bedding.
Avoid new plastic shower curtains. They are made with polyvinyl chloride (PVC), which contain plasticizers, known as “phthalate.” Phthalates make the rigid PVC more soft and flexible. They are known to aggravate asthma, particularly in children, and they can cause cancer. If you already own a plastic shower curtain that is several months old, you can keep it because it has already done its damage and is no longer outgassing. When you need to replace it, however, purchase a cotton shower curtain instead and wash it regularly. They are sold by Healthy Homes (www.healthyhomes.com ) and other healthy product retailers.
Always choose natural cleansers over synthetic ones. Avoid cleaning products with fragrance and perfume. Avoid plug-in electric room deodorizers.
It is especially important to avoid fragranced dryer sheets and fabric softeners. Read the article, “Health Risks of Fabric Softeners,” from the website for the Allergy and Environmental Health Association, Ottawa Branch (www.aeha.ca/help-with.htm ). These products emit petroleum-based fragrances that are known neurotoxins and endocrine-mimicers. They disrupt the normal hormonal pathways, causing developmental damage in children and a long list of acute and chronic illnesses in people of all ages. They should be avoided at all costs.
Likewise avoid drinking out of soft, number 1 or number 2 plastic bottles, as they also contain phthalates that are known to cause cancer when consumed. Use glass bottles instead and store your leftovers in glass containers.
Never heat food in a plastic container in a microwave oven. This is because plasticizers used in soft plastic containers or food wrap can get into the food when cooked in a microwave and are considered to be carcinogenic. There is evidence that microwave ovens seriously alter basic nutrients, including proteins and fats, within food and beverages as they are cooked. This makes them unrecognizable to the body as nutrients and actually toxic. Studies in New Zealand show that children raised on diets high in food cooked in a microwave oven have a substantially higher degree of chronic health problems. We recommend microwave ovens not be used to avoid these issues altogether. Use a countertop toaster oven instead.
Avoid applying toxic, synthetic pesticides and insecticides in and around your house. These products are harmful to you as well as to pests. Choose natural pest management such as recommended by the Biocontrol Network (www.biconet.com ) and in the book, “The Best Control: Intelligent Pest Management” by Steve Tvedten (www.thebestcontrol.com ).
Install a whole-house water filtration system to filter out chlorine and agricultural chemicals from household water. Every time we shower with unfiltered water, our skin absorbs as much chlorine as if we drank an eight-ounce glass of tap water. Backflush the water filter on the shower head at the frequency recommended by the manufacturer. Keep under-the-sink RO units well maintained and change the filters regularly.
Avoid opening your dishwasher right after the cycle is complete and turn off the electric heat element during the drying cycle (which also saves energy). That way you avoid letting chlorine and chemicals in traditional detergent from entering the indoor air. Use all-natural dishwashing detergent.
Avoid hanging newly dry cleaned clothes in your bedroom. Hang them outdoors if possible, or in a laundry room or utility room, to let the perchlorates outgas for a few hours.
In general, if you purchase an existing home, choose one that is older than five to eight years old. This gives the house enough time for the indoor materials to thoroughly outgas. A new home less than five to eight years old is still outgassing some of its materials. It is better to consult with a Building Biologist to choose non-toxic materials when you build a new home in the first place.
Likewise, choose non-toxic materials whenever you remodel, because to live in your home while it is being remodeled with traditional materials will expose you and your family to very harmful airborne chemicals. There are healthier options available to avoid this. For more information go to Oram’s website, www.createhealthyhomes.com and click on “Tips for a Healthy Home,” then click on the link to the handout entitled, “Recommendations for Healthy Renovations and New Home Construction.”
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