5 Little or No Cost Changes to Reduce Toxins in Your Home - Part 2
- Open Windows -
Just like Part 1, I know this seems wildly simple. But I can’t express enough how big of an impact allowing fresh ventilation in has on the air quality in your home.
Here’s Why:
Because we spend an average of 90% of our time indoors, our biggest exposures to toxic chemicals are most commonly tied to our indoor air. See Part 1 for more details on this.
The majority of research shows very close connections to indoor air pollution and negative health effects - everything from obesity to autism.
Because we are in an age of energy efficiency, much of construction and home improvements are centered around being heavily insulated, our windows and doors are double paned, and not a crack of energy escapes.
The problem with this is, it doesn’t allow for good air exchange in our homes, which creates an increase in indoor air pollution.
This is such an issue, there is now a term called “sick building syndrome” which is attributed to time spent inside.
The sources of these negative effects are the things our home is made from:
• paints and solvents
• formaldehyde used in wood materials and furniture protectants
• drywall and insulation
• flooring
• household cleaners and laundry detergent
• air fresheners and candles
• pesticides
• lawn treatments drug inside
• insect treatments
• personal care items
• radon
….and more
Not only has the EPA found indoor air can be up to 100x more dangerous than outside air, a study also found that indoor air levels in summer exceeded toxicity guidelines in 84% of homes and 100% of homes in winter
From 1980 - 1995, when homes shifted to more energy efficiency, childhood asthma rates double to 7.5%. According to the CDC, this number is now up to 9.3% which is around 7 million kids. Additionally, Black children have almost double the rates of white children.
Asthma is also the leading chronic cause of school absenteeism- leading to more than 13 million missed school days in the US.
Asthma isn’t the only thing caused by indoor air quality, however.
All of the sources of indoor air pollution shared above, are sources of VOC’s (volatile organic compounds). Although asthma is the most obvious and acute health connection, VOC exposures from indoor air pollution are shown to contribute to:
headaches, loss of coordination and nausea
allergies
fatigue
memory impairment
nervous system disfunction
mood disorders and irritability
depression
kidney damage
increased cancer rates
lower testosterone levels
decreased fertility
spontaneous abortion
fetal malformations
To illustrate further the impact of toxic indoor air quality, a lifetime cancer risk study actually found “estimated cancer risk for housewives was the highest...[and] the lifetime cancer risk of the home living room was one to two orders of magnitude higher than that of other indoor environments.”
Although my passion and education primarily focuses on reducing toxic exposures, we don’t always have the option to get away from things our home, workplace, or schools were built with and expose us to. Because of this, focusing on tactics that reduce the build up of these indoor air pollutants,
Such as opening windows
can and will have a large positive impact on our immediate and long term health. Although this is not a perfect solution, as shared in the title of this post, it is one that is accessible to all.
Learn more!
For brands of products I approve to reduce the amount of toxic exposures in your home, check them out here.
Sources:
https://www. epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/volatile-organiccompounds-impact-indoor-air-quality#
Bloom B, Jones LI, Freeman G. Summary health statistics for U.S. children: National Health Interview Survey, 2012. National Center for Health Statistics.Vital Health Stat 10(258). 2013.
U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, The Condition of Education 2001, NCES 2001–072, Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 2001.
https://www.cdc.gov/asthma/most_recent_national_asthma_data.htm
* The information offered by me is for general educational and informational purposes only. None of this information is a substitute or replacement for professional or medical advice
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