| |
| |
| Home Improvement Information | |
|
Five Ways to Create a Healthy Home
Have you ever thought of your home as being healthy or unhealthy? While the concept of a healthy home may be new to some of us, it is steadily gaining popularity with homeowners. A healthy home can include a number of elements from building materials used to construct your home to using non-toxic cleaning products. Below is a list of five ways to assist you in creating a healthy home environment. 1. Clean Air and Circulation: Here are some little known facts from the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) about the air inside many of today's homes: ? Indoor air pollutant levels may be two to five times higher than the pollutant levels outdoors. ? Indoor air pollutant is one of the top environmental concerns today. ? Americans spend up to 90% of their time indoors. ? Indoor air pollutants such as tobacco smoke, pollen, mold, dust, and animal dander have the ability to create asthmatic and allergic reactions. Listed below are a few ways to improve the quality of your indoor air: ? Consider an Indoor Air Purifier. The Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) has put forth industry standards for indoor air purifiers. To view results of their standards and testing or to find a certified indoor air purifier, you can visit their website at cadr.org. ? For better air circulation, leave doors between rooms open most of the time and open windows when possible to allow for a good supply of fresh outdoor air. You can also install exhaust fans in bathrooms to help remove moisture and chemicals from your home. ? Upgrade the air filters on your furnace with the pleated filters that capture smaller particles. Change the filters regularly as recommended by the manufacturer's instructions. ? You can also use indoor houseplants to aid in purifying your home's air. For example, Boston Ferns cleanse formaldehyde from the air. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, formaldehyde is a colorless, strong-smelling gas. When present in the air at levels above 0.1 ppm (parts in a million parts of air), it may cause watery eyes, burning sensations in the eyes, nose and throat, nausea, coughing, chest tightness, wheezing, skin rashes, and allergic reactions. Formaldehyde can be found in insulation, particleboard, paper products and many cleaning products. 2. Dust-proof Your Home: ? Dust your rooms and knickknacks regularly with a damp cloth. ? Dust your hardwood, tile, linoleum, and laminate flooring regularly with a dust mop or a vacuum made for hard flooring. ? Vacuum carpets, rugs, and upholstered furniture regularly. Consider buying a vacuum cleaner with a HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filter. A HEPA filter is capable of removing a minimum of 99.97% of all particles that are 0.3 microns or larger. In addition, consider using a bag-less vacuum to avoid the exposure of dust when you change a bag. ? Encase pillows, mattresses, and box springs in an airtight, dust-proof cover. ? Dust/clean ceiling fans regularly to make sure they are not releasing dust in the air every time you run them. ? Replace dust-collecting blinds and long drapes with window shades or washable curtains. 3. Use Natural and Non-Toxic Cleaning Products: One way to assure that the fragrances in your home are clean and fresh is to avoid using harsh cleaning products, which can create fumes that may linger for days. Try using natural ingredients such as baking soda, vinegar, club soda, and lemon juice. For example, to make a natural glass cleaner, combine: ? 2 teaspoons white vinegar ? one quart of warm water ? Mix ingredients together and pour into spray bottle. Spray on surface and wipe dry. 4. Fill Your Home with Natural and Earth-Friendly Products. Below is a small list of eco-friendly products available on the market today: ? Organic cotton towels, linens, clothing ? Mattresses, bedding, pillows ? Cork flooring, wool carpet ? Sofas, chairs, ottomans ? Toys and games for all ages ? Pet products ? Soap and laundry detergents ? Organic candles, home décor accessories ? Personal accessories 5. Use Safe, Non-Toxic Interior Paints that have: ? very low VOC (volatile organic compounds) content ? no formaldehyde ? low odor Try using any of the above suggestions to create a healthy home environment. Although the concept of a healthy home is relatively new to many, there are numerous resources available including books, articles, and websites, where you can find additional information. Lesley Dietschy is a freelance writer and the creator/editor of The Home Decor Exchange and the Home & Garden Exchange. The Home Decor Exchange is a popular home and garden website featuring resources, articles, decorating pictures, free projects, and a shopping marketplace. The Home & Garden Exchange website is a link exchange program and directory dedicated to the home and garden industry, as well as offering free website content and promotional ideas. Please visit both websites for all of your home, garden, and website needs. http://www.HomeDecorExchange.com http://www.HomeGardenExchange.com
MORE RESOURCES:
Electrical |
General |
Heat & AC
| Pool / Spa
| Plumbing
| Roofing
| Solar
| LP Gas Landscape | Contact Us | Links | Home Improvement | Home Home Improvement Information Site Map
Home-Improvement - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
11 Tips for Stripping Wallpaper: How to Get Rid of Ugly Wallpaper! I broke my promise to myself and stripped wallpaper again. The only reason I did this is for $100,000 profit. Which Lamp Should I Choose? With all the lighting choices out there, you may want to reconsider just purchasing a lamp for your lighting needs. Whether you are looking for interior lighting or outdoor lighting, you can find many options pretty easily. Buying The Right Bed Sheets For Your Bed You spend a lot of your life in your bed sleeping and rejuvenating for the next day's activity. Sleeping is a process that takes up roughly about about a third of the average person's life. Is a Hot Tub for You? Top 5 Questions You Need to Answer As a way of relaxing, more and more people are adding a hot tub to their home. Not only are hot tubs relaxing but they also offer tremendous benefit for people of all ages. The Right Bathroom Accessories Will Make Your Bathroom Unforgetable Bathrooms aren't just about the basics but are about the bathroom accessories! Bathrooms have become places to relax and unwind. They are not just for doing your business and leaving. Guide to Bathroom Design The first step is to plan the design - as with kitchens, your local supplier will run off a computer-generated plan based on the room's dimensions and your particular requirements.If you're sticking with the same layout, measure your bathroom suite carefully before you go shopping for a replacement so that you know the new items will fit. Discovering Fiberglass Roofing Panels for Your Roofing Needs Roofs are an integral part of the house. The design of a roof tells a lot about the structure. A Beginner's Guide to Buying House Plans Learn How to Select a House Plan That Will Result in The Home of Your DreamsBuilding a home for most people is one of the most adventurous and time consuming projects a family can invest in during a lifetime. Because of that, it is important that care be taken when buying, selecting and implementing a house plan. Colors: Their Connotations and Perceived Meanings Throughout the ages, colors have been used to evoke certain emotions, and an examination of the history of color offers fascinating insights into the human condition, as well as showing how different cultures have developed different attitudes about color. Here are a few examples of what various colors have come to represent over the years:RedRed has traditionally been associated with courage and love in Western culture, but in China, red is the color of happiness and good fortune. Feng Shui Your Home, Work and Life For Balance and Harmony Feng Shui describes the communication that takes place every day between you and your environment, be it your home, garden or work. This discipline investigates the universal feelings and reactions of human beings to all environments, including our world. Sparkling, Clean Lighting Will Add The Perfect Touch To Your Home When one thinks of the many factors that affect the look of a room, most people think only of the paint and furniture. In doing so, they overlook the most important factor: Lighting. Home Inspection Basics The Home InspectorWhen you think about it, it is a bit odd. A person hires a stranger to snoop around another stranger's house for a couple hours and report back. How To Choose The Perfect Granite Work Surface My Grandmother used to say to me "Nothing cheap is good and nothing good is cheap". This ring true when dealing with the purchase especially on the internet of Granite Work Surfaces. Hardwood Floor Care Will Keep Your Hardwood Looking Fantastic Hardwood is still the homeowner's favorite choice of flooring and caring for it takes minimal effort. Unlike laminate or engineered wood, hardwood can be refinished many times, and will add years of beauty and warmth to your home, as well as increase its value and speed its resale. Five Ways to Create a Healthy Home Have you ever thought of your home as being healthy or unhealthy? While the concept of a healthy home may be new to some of us, it is steadily gaining popularity with homeowners. A healthy home can include a number of elements from building materials used to construct your home to using non-toxic cleaning products. A Guide to Commercial Steel Buildings Commercial steel buildings are prefabricated and custom-designed for use as offices, stores, distribution centers, freight terminals, service stations, aircraft hangers, commercial garages and more. Since they can be molded into a range of shapes and sizes, steel buildings are finding applications in most any industry imaginable. Old House Remodeling: Removing Old Tile and Glue When you live in old house like I do, remodeling is always a challenge and a surprise. I am currently involved in a major kitchen remodel. New-age Paint Thickening & Rheological Additives : Solvitex & Solvizen For Paint Manufacturers worldwide, there has come a radical new development in the legion of Thickening Agents & Colloidal stabilizer for Aqueous Latex Paints. So far most of the companies producing aqueous Paint emulsions, the most preferred thickening agent was Hydroxy ethyl cellulose (HEC). Solar Energy Advantages Disadvantages Many of us know that solar energy is a good thing, but few really understand why. Therefore, I compiled a comprehensive list of solar energy advantages and disadvantages that will enable you to make an educated decision whether on not Solar Power is right for YOU. Your Home is Your Symphony "Dr. Carl Sagan once wrote, "Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.
|
Electrical |
General |
Heat & AC
| Pool / Spa
| Plumbing
| Roofing
| Solar
| LP Gas
Landscape
| Contact Us |
Links |
Home Improvement |
Home
Home Improvement Information Site Map
site map
MediaRocket
|
