The Healthy Home: Minimizing Household Health Risks

Flip through a magazine, browse the web, turn on the television or radio and you are bound to find someone talking about how to be more health conscious. Organic and all natural foods have hit a new high with everyone paying more attention to what they put in their mouth. But have you ever stopped to think about having a HEALTHY HOME? Not only do we need to pay attention to the kinds of food we eat- but the home we live in too...




Indoors is where Americans spend 90 percent of their lives – 25 percent at work and 65 percent at home, and the latter is increasing as home offices become more common. So it's important to take a look at how healthy the home environment is.

Mold isn't always this obvious!

• Mold is one concern that has gotten a good deal of attention recently, involving possible problems with allergies, the brain and the circulatory system. Wherever there is a leak, condensation or flooding inside a house, causing housing material to stay damp for more than a few days, mold begins to grow. So it's important to clean and repair roof gutters regularly, grade your land away from the house foundation to keep water from running toward the house, keep air-conditioning pans clean, and keep household humidity low.

• Radon is another naturally-occurring challenge that has become a common concern of potential homeowners. Radon is a gas that can cause lung cancer; it is present in soil and rock and can enter a home through basement walls and floors. Some states are more at risk than others, but the only way to be sure about levels of this colorless, odorless gas is to get a qualified radon inspection. 
• Proper ventilation in general is important for any home – an adequate exchange of air from within and without, to minimize humidity and disperse possible toxins, is needed even in the most energy-efficient of structures. And you should always make sure that fireplaces, stoves, furnaces and dryers are not venting any particles, gases or other unhealthy substances into your house.

• You should also be careful of everyday materials which can contain toxins (such as formaldehyde in carpets, to which alternatives are increasing), and, if your current or new home gets its water from a well, be sure to have it tested regularly. 

So, not only do we need to pay attention to having a healthy BODY but a healthy HOME as well!

info from TEAMERA.com