How To Detoxify Your Home

Almost everything we use in our home contains dangerous chemicals – air fresheners, household cleaners, laundry detergents, and dozens of other products… Usually, these products include things like ammonia, formaldehyde, pesticides, heavy metals, and even chemical flame retardants. All of these chemicals are bad for your health.

How bad are they?.. Well, they can easily affect your nervous, immune, reproductive, endocrine, and cardiovascular systems. Not only that, but many of them are also carcinogenic.

What’s worse is that these chemicals don’t stay in the products. They get released into the air, dust, food, and drinks you have in your home.

This is important because we spend almost 90% of our time indoors, which means we’re exposed to these chemicals all the time. In fact, according to the world health organization, over 4 million people die each year from household air pollution. The good news? You can help to protect the health of your family and all you need to do (for starters) is to detoxify your home.

P.S. This is especially important if you have small children or babies.

 

Avoid products with fragrance

 

If you want to detoxify your home, start with the smelly stuff.

Fragrant products contain chemicals called phthalates and volatile organic compounds, which are used to deliver the fragrance. Problem is that these chemicals can also cause health problems like allergies and can irritate your nose, throat, and lungs, and even damage your central nervous system. If you want to make your home smell nicer, incense, flowers, frequent ventilation or candles are better alternatives.

 

Use natural cleaning products

 

Did you know that every time you use a cleaning product it leaves toxic chemicals behind? To detoxify your home, switch to natural cleaning methods or use non-toxic cleaners. They can get the job done just as well and won’t impact your health. You can easily make your own cleaning products using baking soda, salt, vinegar, lemon juice, tea tree oil, and similar natural cleaners.

You can even choose a solution that doesn’t require any cleaner at all – a simple sponge is enough, as with Trinova magic cleaning sponge:

Magic Cleaning Eraser Sponge

Also – try to apply the less is more strategy. Ask yourself if you really need so many cleaning products and is it really necessary to buy dozens when one will do?

 

Start using glass instead of plastic

 

Plastic contains a chemical called BPA. This chemical is extremely toxic and can actually cause cell mutations. Use glass as often as possible to store your food and avoid drinking out of plastic cups, using plastic utensils and plastic wrap.

If you drink water during the day, get yourself a stainless steel water bottle. These are BPA-free and as a bonus – they won’t break!

Tree Tribe Stainless Steel Water Bottle

Another thing you should do is to avoid non-stick cooking products, like pots and pans. These contain Teflon which can break, be eaten, and have been proven to cause cancer.

 

Dust more frequently

 

All of the chemicals in your household eventually end up in the dust around your home, and the worst offenders are electronics and furniture (which can contain flame-retarding chemicals called PBDs which are extremely toxic). To detoxify your home, dust, and vacuum as often as possible – this helps to collect all that toxic dust and allergens.

 

Detoxify your home water flow

 

You’ve probably heard about the enormous amounts of plastic pollution we have today in our waters… Unfortunately, it’s true and this means you could be ingesting plastic from your tap water. To counter this, invest in a good water filter or a water filtration system. It’s also a great idea to get your water tested for lead and other chemicals.

PUR PPT700W 7Cup Water Filtration Pitcher

Pull up your carpets

 

This might sound crazy… But if you really want to detoxify your home, you should consider getting rid of your carpets. A lot of carpets are made with glues and chemicals that are toxic to our health. Also, carpets tend to accumulate dust over time and dust is another allergen we can avoid.

 

Choose solid wood or untreated furniture

 

Be careful if you’re buying pressed wood furniture. Often, it’s made with a chemical called formaldehyde and this chemical is extremely toxic. Try to get solid wood furniture whenever you can and avoid treated wood.  If you have to buy pressed wood furniture, leave it outside for a few days so the fumes can dissipate.

 

Stop using pest control products

 

If you have pest problems, try to find a natural solution to them too. Bug sprays and poisons are some of the most toxic products out there. In fact, being a pest remover is one of the most dangerous jobs.

There are dozens of natural alternatives and remedies you can use instead! Pests hate lavender, thyme, tea tree oil, and other products with strong smells. There are natural, life-friendly catchers for bigger pests (like mice), that get rid of the problem but don’t exterminate the poor thing. Also, even cleaning your home more often is a good approach when dealing with pests.

 

Fill your home with plants

 

The final step to detoxify your home is to fill it with plants. Ideally, you should have plants in every room of your home. Leafy home plants help to clean the air and will also make your home more beautiful. If you can’t get plants, or if you don’t like them, another alternative is to get an air filter.

 

I hope these tips will help you on a quest to detoxify your home! Living in a clean environment is so important – and relatively easy once you know what to avoid, right? You can find more tips below and don’t forget to rate this article to tell me what you think!