It’s a common misconception that you don’t need to worry about the air you breathe unless you’re outside. Smog, carbon monoxide, ozone, and polluting particles sometimes make it difficult to breathe outdoors. However, the air INSIDE our homes can be even more dangerous to breathe. That’s because the chemicals we use in our homes can build up and pollute our indoor air. People spend more than 90% of their time inside rather than out, so if our indoor air is polluted, it can pose a real threat to our health. That’s why we’ve teamed up with EcoExperts.com to offer you these 5 smart and easy ways to improve indoor air quality.

Improve Indoor Air Quality 5 Smart Ways

1)Keep your floors clean.

Surprised by this one? Think about it. Whatever you’ve walked through before you came into your home you’re bringing right along with you. Allergens and toxic chemicals can accumulate along with household dust and normal dirt.

⇒Keep floors clean first and foremost by putting a door mat outside and inside the door so it is easy to trap loose dirt before you even come in your home.

⇒Leave your shoes at the door so you don’t track all that pollution everywhere in the house. This is especially true if you have carpeting or area rugs, as the dirt and dust can get embedded in carpeting fibers.

⇒Vacuum weekly, using a vacuum with strong suction power and rotating bushes to raise pollutants up and out of the carpet where they can be easily sucked up.

⇒Use a microfiber mop to sweep up on hard floors and tile. Depending on how much traffic you have going through your home, or if you have outdoor pets coming inside, you may need to do this daily.

2)Reduce home humidity.

A cool home may be comfortable, but if it’s too cool and damp, it will breed mold and mildew.

⇒Keep the humidity level inside your home between 30% and 50%.

⇒In basements and below ground family rooms, use a dehumidifier to pull excess moisture out of the air.

⇒In bathrooms, turn on ceiling fans when taking a shower, and let the fan run 20 minutes afterwards to do its job.

3)Test for radon.

One of the most fatal of indoor toxins, radon is a colorless, odorless gas that has become a leading cause of lung cancer worldwide. This poisonous gas is common to all kinds of soil and seeps up into basements and homes without basements, then persists when air circulation doesn’t vent the gas to the outside. Even granite countertops have been found to emit radon.

Fortunately, testing for the presence of radon is inexpensive. service providers like Eco Experts can conduct the test, determine whether you’re in danger, and help remediate the problem before you get sick.

4)Use non-toxic household cleansers; avoid synthetic perfumes and fragrances; don’t smoke. 

Many cleansers contain “VOCs,” volatile organic compounds that are known carcinogens. Commercial “air fresheners”  probably contain phthalates, which are known to trigger asthma, headaches, nausea and worse. The dangers with “second hand smoke” are well-documented and almost as significant as if someone were smoking rather than inhaling someone else’s cigarette smoke.

Most home cleaning can be accomplished using a simple solution of fragrance-free liquid soap, some baking soda, and warm water.

For a more fragrant interior, simmer a pot of popourri on the stove, open windows to let in fresh air, and remove rotting food and pet waste if it has not been cleaned up.

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If you must smoke, go outside and stand far away from any open windows or doors to prevent the smoke from getting inside.

5)Vent kitchen ranges, chimneys, wood stoves, and fireplace inserts.

Prevent carbon monoxide and other byproducts of gas and wood combustion from building up in your home. Use the stove fan when cooking and make sure your chimney is clean and allowing dirty smoke and air to escape up the chimney rather than into your home.

Keep a carbon monoxide detector in good working order to avoid deadly build-up of this lethal gas.

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By the way, take many of these same steps if you work in an office. And make sure whether at home or at work, you get outside frequently. Going in and out will both help you clear your lungs and help promote air exchange between bad air and good (or at least, not quite so bad).

The post Improve Indoor Air Quality 5 Smart Ways appeared first on Big Green Purse.

Drugstores initially were places where we went to get medicine. While we may still get our prescriptions filled there, today’s drugstores also sell food, cosmetics, toys, office supplies, and home goods—and a surprising number of these items are the opposite of medicine. Many contain chemical compounds that can actually make us pretty sick if we’re exposed to them over time.

Here’s a rundown of some of the most toxic drugstore items that you should probably avoid—or at least cut back on—as well as healthier alternatives.

1 ) Tampons and Feminine Care Products

A disturbing array of toxic chemicals have been found in conventional tampons, menstrual pads, wipes, douches, and other feminine hygiene products. These chemicals, which include pesticide residues, dioxin, unknown fragrance chemicals and adhesives, have been linked to cancer, endocrine disruption, allergic rash, and reproductive harm. They raise alarms because vaginal tissue is particularly porous, which means that chemicals put into the vagina are easily and effectively distributed throughout the body, says Women’s Voices for the Earth in its comprehensive report “Chem Fatale.”

Safer Alternative: Skip products marketed as “vaginal cleansers.” The vagina is designed to self-clean; douching and excess washing, in fact, can lead to infections, says WomensHealth.gov. Choose unscented tampons, as well as chlorine-free bleached or unbleached cotton tampons and pads. Reusable, washable menstrual pads are also available, as are washable menstrual cups to collect rather than absorb menstrual flow.

2) Mascara

Mercury—a potent neurotoxicant that can cause kidney damage and potentially disrupt fetal brain development if the woman using it is pregnant—is sometimes used in mascara as a preservative and germ killer.

Stacy Malkan, co-founder of the advocacy group Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, says there is no reason “a known neurotoxin should be allowed” because safer alternatives exist. Unfortunately, there’s no way you would know whether your mascara contains mercury or not, because companies are not required to list it on their product labels.

Safer Alternative: To be safe, search online for “mercury-free mascara” or shop at natural foods stores. Or, try this recipe for making your own mascara.

3) Air Fresheners

Phthalates help disperse the fragrances in air fresheners into the air, where you may inhale them or absorb them through your skin.

Once these chemicals enter the blood stream, they can alter hormone levels or cause symptoms like headache, runny nose and itchy eyes.

The State of California notes that five types of phthalates are “known to cause birth defects or reproductive harm,” reports the Natural Resources Defense Council. Exposure to phthalates in air fresheners has also been associated with increasing the risk of asthma.

Safer Alternative: First and foremost, root out what is making your home smell bad. Then open the windows and let fresh air circulate.

Keep bathroom floors and the base of the toilet clean, use fans to move moist air out of bathrooms so mildew doesn’t develop, and don’t leave old food on kitchen counters or in an uncovered trash can, where it will smell as it decomposes.

To add a pleasant fragrance to your home naturally, simmer cloves, orange peel, and apple cider or pieces of apple on your stove, and enjoy fragrant cut flowers like roses and lilies.

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4) Lipstick

The post The 10 Most Toxic Items on Drugstore Shelves appeared first on Big Green Purse.

Walgreens’ action was taken after an analysis by the Natural Resources Defense Council and other environmental and health organizations showed that 12 of 14 brands tested contained hormone-disrupting chemicals known as phthalates. Only two, Febreze Air Effects and Renuzit Subtle Effects, contained no detectable levels of these chemicals.

Products that tested positive included ones marketed as “all-natural” and “unscented.” The three with the highest level of phthalates were Walgreens Air Freshener, Walgreens Scented Bouquet, and Ozium Glycolized Air Sanitizer.

The federal government does not currently test air fresheners for safety or require manufacturers to meet any specific safety standards.

“More than anything, our research highlights cracks in our safety system,” said Dr. Gina Solomon, NRDC senior scientist.

“Consumers have a right to know what is put into air fresheners and other everyday products they bring into their homes,” Solomon added. “There are too many products on the shelves that we assume are safe, but have never even been tested. The government should be keeping a watchful eye on these household items and the manufacturers who produce them.”

NRDC and its colleagues filed a petition calling for the Environmental Protection Agency and the Consumer Product Safety Commission to assess the risk air fresheners pose to consumers. Air fresheners are not tested for a variety of chemicals, including phthalates, says NRDC, because the government does not require it.

“Manufacturers are getting away with marketing products as ‘natural’ when they’re not, and that’s because no one is stopping them,” said Mae Wu, an attorney in NRDC’s health program. “Our research suggests this could be a widespread problem in a booming industry that – so far – has been allowed to do what it wants.”

Though Walgreens removed its products from the shelves, other phthalate-bearing air fresheners remain. You can use your purse to keep the pressure on by switching to a phthalate-free alternative like Febreze Air Effects Air Refresher or Renuzit Subtle Effects. (Don’t forget to add that purchase to your “One in a Million” bottom line!).

Better yet, stop using air fresheners altogether. To air out a room, open a window, use fresh flowers or try a potpourri made from herbs and dried flowers.

The post Clearing the Air appeared first on Big Green Purse.