We carefully watch what goes into our mouths and on our bodies—organic this, petroleum-free that. But when it comes to keeping a healthy home, knowing what to do isn’t so easy. In fact, the average house may contain as many as 400 chemicals, some of them toxic, many untested, according to a 2009 study in the journal Environmental Science & Technology. Short-term contact with one toxin in small amounts isn’t going to kill you. But with so many questionable chemicals swirling around us, “you definitely want to take simple measures whenever possible to lower your exposure,” says Phil Brown, PhD, director of the Social Science Environ-mental Health Research Institute at Northeastern University in Boston.
And reducing your contact with chemicals— even a little—can yield clear benefits. Depending on your sensitivities, you might experience fewer allergy and asthma symptoms, headaches and skin irritations. Long-term, Brown says, you may even lower your risk of infertility and cancer.
We know what you’re thinking: Where the heck do I start? And how much work is this going to take? While some people would have you ripping up carpeting and chucking furniture, we talked to environmental health experts to find low-effort, high-impact ways to minimize your toxic load and boost your health, then ranked them from the super easy to the more ambitious.
Try a couple of these, or more, to really clear the air:
1. Leave shoes at the door to keep out 80 percent of the crud they track in. That can include nasty stuff like road sealant, pesticides and lead dust.
2. Indoor air can be five times as polluted as outdoor air, so open the windows whenever the weather—and your AC or heating budget—permit.
3. Dump the dryer sheets. Most coat clothes with chemicals like quaternary ammonium compounds—which have been linked to the development of asthma—and acetone, also found in nail polish remover. Plus, your towels will be more absorbent sans the chemical covering.
4. Detox your dry cleaning. Remove the bags and air out clothes in the garage or hall for a day or two to shed some of the solvent, called perchloroethylene, that sticks to the fibers. Inhaling it can trigger respiratory and eye irritation, headaches, dizziness and vision problems, according to the Environmental Working Group.
5. Trade your vinyl shower curtain for one made of cotton, nylon, polyester or EVA or PEVA plastic. (Not sure if it’s vinyl? Look for the number 3 printed on the recycling seal on the curtain or its packaging, or the letters PVC.) In a 2008 study, vinyl curtains were found to release 108 volatile organic compounds (VOCs), chemicals that become gaseous at room temperature, potentially triggering headaches, nausea, dizziness and irritated eyes and throat.
6. Make your own cleaner. For an all-purpose, nontoxic cleaner that gets counters sparkling, try this DIY formula from Lisa Beres, author of Just Green It!: Mix ½ teaspoon washing soda (found in grocery stores), 1 teaspoon natural liquid dish soap and 2 cups hot water in a spray bottle.
7. Instead of sprays (which add to your chemical load) or feathers (which just kick up more dust), use dry, unscented microfiber cloths, which attract dirty particles instead of scattering them.
by Aviva Patz
From Health magazine
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