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Health Information
Clean Your Indoor Air and Breathe Easier!
Wednesday, April 07, 2010
Clean Your Indoor Air and Breathe Easier!
Posted: 5/26/2009 10:28:00 AM
Did you know that EPA research has shown that the air inside the average house is 2-5 times more polluted than the air outside? No wonder the agency has ranked indoor air pollution as one of the top five environmental risks to public health. The good news is that there's plenty we can do to clean up our indoor air. Here's a quick list of tips:
- Use cleaning products made from natural, non-toxic, plant-derived, biodegradable ingredients and essential oils, which won’t pollute indoor air with harsh chemical fumes.
- Choose a chlorine-free dishwasher detergent. The chlorine found traditional dishwasher detergents is turned to vapors by hot dishwasher water and released into the air.
- When it's time to buy new home furnishings, choose those made from solid wood not pressed woods and particleboard, which use glues that emit formaldehyde vapors.
- Have your furnace, hot water heater, and other combustion devices cleaned and inspected annually to make sure they’re venting waste gases to the outside and not into your home.
- If your home's water supply is treated with chlorine, install a showerhead filter to prevent that chlorine from being volatized into vapors by hot shower water.
- Avoid air fresheners and room deodorizers. These products release a wide variety of hazardous volatile organic compounds into the air.
- Choose products with natural scents or no scent at all. Synthetic scents are made from volatile chemicals (many of which are hazardous) that are designed to stay in the air for long periods.
- Don't use pesticides inside or out. Small amounts of these poisons can vaporize into the air and be inhaled.
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