How Your House May Be Harming You and Your Family Articles | Environment

By: Darren Williger

Different forms of home furniture and products made for the home can result in air pollution in the home. These pieces of furniture may include kitchen cabinets, furniture, while products include perfume, candles and air fresheners.

Researchers have estimated that the amount of toxins that can be deadly to people that live in their homes may be greater than 5 times the amount of toxins available in the air of the dirtiest city.

Indoor air pollution is of a greater risk to the health of individuals than external pollution. Exposure to tobacco smoke, structural materials, household dust, mold and even a number of other materials can make people sick. Different biological contaminants exist such as mold and mildew and these contaminants allow disease-carrying pollutants reproduce and spread their spores through the air.

The toxic chemicals that can be found in air fresheners and other average cleaning and grooming materials can be dangerous whenever a build-up of such materials occurs in rooms which are badly ventilated. 90% of the world’s furniture is held together by formaldehyde which in turn causes different ailments such as headaches, nausea, lethargy and various breathing related problems.

Some other concerns include lead paint, radon and asbestos too. These are usually in homes which were built in the 1980’s or before then. These substances and odorless, tasteless and colorless and they are all impossible to detect without properly testing for them.

Whenever you want to protect your home from indoor pollution, you should follow these simple forms of advice:

• Use pump bottles to disperse your cleaning supplies rather than spray cans. These pump bottles spray a lot less fumes and can be directed much more easily.
• Environmental testers should be hired in order to check for other things such as radon, asbestos and lead.
• An addition of ventilation is necessary, other than this you can simply open your windows and doors in order to help reduce pollution indoors.
• Products that are “green“cleaning products should be used. These products are cheap and simple to make. These are some of the recipes for some simple household cleaning materials:

All Purpose Cleaner:

-1 qt. warm water

-1 tsp. liquid hand soap

-¼ tsp. lemon juice

It works wonderfully with floors, countertops, rugs and upholstery

Oven Cleaner:

Grime should be covered with baking soda. It should then be sprayed with water until it is wet. After this, it should be kept dry for around 4 hours. It should then be allowed to remain overnight and in the morning it can simply be cleaned with clear water.

Furniture Polish:

-1 pt. mineral oil

-1 tsp. lemon juice

Caustic household cleaners and chemicals could be the source of most of the human exposure to toxic substances. If you have to use any caustic substance around your home you should remember these two important bits of advice:

• Understand how to use these cleaners properly. Make sure that you use these caustic chemicals and cleaners in an area that is ventilated properly. Make sure that you use an air mask too if it is possible.
• Understand how to dispose these cleaners properly too. Disposing household cleaners improperly is one of the contributory factors that are responsible for toxic pollution in the United States today.

Follow these tips when getting rid of your household chemicals:

• Refrain from pouring any hazardous household substances down the drain.
• Original containers for ingredient lists and storage should be kept intact.
• You should remove the lids of paint cans and allow them dry before disposing them.  
• All chemical containers should be taken to any local hazardous waste sites for onward disposal.