Staying healthy is a comprehensive process, and one part of it is having a healthy home. There are many things you can do to ensure your home is contributing to your health, and we’ve found five important things to focus on.
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Take Off Your Shoes
As basic as it sounds, taking off your shoes before entering your home is one of the biggest ways to keep dirt out of your house. Your shoes are a magnet for dirt, and are always covered in the latest dust and debris you’ve picked up while being outside. By removing your shoes before you enter your home, you keep all that dirt outside.
Your shoes also carry bacteria, insects, and toxins from outside. This will all get ground into your floors and carpet if you leave your shoes on. Keep your shoes outside to keep the toxins out as well.
If you have little children, this is even more important. Children crawl on the floor, picking things up and putting them in their mouth. Additionally, their immune system isn’t as robust as adults.
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Filter Your Water
Filtering your water is a great way to promote a healthier home. Tap water comes with chlorine, ammonia, and fluoride. It has traveled through old, dirty pipes to get to your home. Not only does filtering your water make it taste better, but it dramatically improves its quality.
Think of all the areas you use tap water. You not only use it for drinking water, but also for cooking and bathing. While you can’t filter everything out, filtering your drinking water is a fantastic first step in creating healthier water.
Don’t just buy the first water filtration system you find – many are designed only to help the flavor of your water, and not filter toxins out.
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Careful About Cleaning Products
Many of your household cleaning products, designed to make your home cleaner, are actually full of damaging and poisonous chemicals. Phthalates, triclosan, and sodium hydroxide – just to name a few. These chemicals are put in cleaning products to help them perform faster and better, but they are also known to be toxic to humans.
Examine each of your favorite products, and spend a few minutes looking into the chemicals that are in them. Chances are, you can find an organic or homemade version of the cleaning product that does just as good of a job.
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Use a HEPA filter
A HEPA filter is a mechanical air filter that filters dust mites, pollen, and pet dander out of the air. They work wonders to help ensure that the air you breathe is as clean as it possibly can be.
A couple of places that you can ensure you have a HEPA filter is in your vacuum cleaner and your air purifier. Many vacuum cleaners today come equipped with a HEPA filter built in, and this is one of the best places to be filtering the air. As you vacuum, you are kicking up all of the dust and dander that is on your floor. Without a HEPA filter, that dirt gets blasted throughout your entire home. With a HEPA filter, you are filtering the dirt away every time you vacuum.
You can run a HEPA air purifier in your home throughout the day. This also works to remove the dust and dander, although not as actively as a vacuum because the air is being actively kicked up.
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Stop Mold From Appearing
Mold is highly toxic, and often times goes unnoticed. Mold forms in dark damp areas of your home, and typically are not in areas that you’ll see on an everyday basis. Preventing mold from forming starts with a well-ventilated house. Air flow keeps indoor humidity low and moisture out.
Check your home for leaks, as even a little bit of water can sharply increase the chances of mold forming. Check the areas outside of your home and ensure there is proper water run off, away from your house. Never let a wet area of your house sit long – dry it immediately and ventilate the area.
Keeping a healthy home is a great way to stay healthy. There are many simple steps you can take to ensure you have a healthy home.
