How clean is the air you’re breathing?

Probably not very. The Environmental Protection Agency warns that indoor air could be dirtier than the air that’s outdoors. The new brēth (pronounced “breathe”) natural air purifier gets rid of indoor air pollution with unique technology that has the cleaning power of almost 200 houseplants! brēth uses just three plants, packaged in a cute, easy-to-maintain planter that takes up barely any room, to keep your air fresh and clean.

Read on to learn how to breathe better…with brēth – and how you can get your very own brēth air purifier, available on Kickstarter.

INDOOR AIR CAN BE REALLY ICKY!

Indoors is where we spend about 90% of our time, either at home or at work.

Unfortunately, the inside air we breathe can be contaminated with all kinds of pollutants. Most of those pollutants are chemicals that have been linked to cancer, asthma, itchy eyes, and other health problems. They include formaldehyde, a known carcinogen, and other “volatile organic compounds” (VOCs).

You know that “new furniture smell” or “new paint smell,” the one that gives you a headache or makes you antsy and maybe even nauseous? Or the smell left behind from furniture polish, cleansers, and so-called air fresheners? Those smells and fragrances are made from synthetic chemicals that can make you ill, and they’re the primary source of indoor air pollution.

Here are 16 Surprising Things That Pollute The Air in Your House

HOW DOES THE brēth PLANT AIR PURIFIER HELP?

brēth eliminates these harmful indoor pollutants using just three plants, an LED light, and a fan. Doesn’t that sound simple?

The fan actually captures the pollutants and sends them into a canister that also contains three plants. The pollutants get converted into organic compounds that nourish the plant roots, purifying the air in the process.

The technology works like “a miniature ecosystem,” says Mark Prescott, the company’s co-founder. The proprietary technology “greatly improves a plant’s ability to remove indoor air pollution.”

“This is the most natural purification mechanism that biology provides us to clean indoor environments.”

This video explains exactly how it all happens.

WHY PLANTS?

We already know that trees and forests help purify our outdoor air. NASA (yes, THAT NASA) wondered if houseplants could do the same for indoor air. The agency conducted a Clean Air Study that found that common indoor houseplants provide a natural way to remove toxins from the air.

The NASA study identified more than 50 houseplants, including pathos, spider plants, and dracena, that do a particularly good job cleaning the air. Those are some of the same plants that brēth uses to do the same. Ray Greenstreet at Greenstreet Growers, who co-created brēth and who is an expert at building “living green walls” to help purify the air in bigger office complexes, took NASA’s research and his company’s own expertise and voilá: brēth technology so you can breathe better.

IT WORKS WHETHER YOU ARE GOOD WITH PLANTS…OR KILL THEM!

The beauty of this system is that it works whether you’ve got a green thumb…or whether you’ve killed every plant you’ve ever tried to take care of.

⇒The brēth unit is self-contained.

⇒ It comes with a monitor that tells you when the plants need water, so you won’t forget to water or overwater, either.

⇒ The attached full-spectrum LED light makes sure the plants get enough light, so you can keep them in an office or bedroom or kitchen or dining room or living room or nursery – whether they get direct sunlight or no sunlight at all.

⇒ An app for your mobile device monitors the air and shows you just how clean your air is staying, thanks to brēth.

⇒ The plants only require watering every 10 days, and minimal trimming.

HERE’S WHERE YOU CAN GET ONE

You can order your brēth plant air purifier over on its Kickstarter page, but you’ve only got until October 13 to do so. Buy it now, and you’ll pay just $99 (plus shipping), which is 50% off the retail price.

FULL DISCLOSURE: I occasionally work with some of the backers of brēth. However, I wouldn’t recommend this technology to you if I didn’t think it provided an important health benefit at a reasonable price. Thanks!

The post This New Plant Air Purifier Makes Breathing Better appeared first on Big Green Purse.

You might think asbestos was banned. Not so. It was briefly up for a ban in 1991, but that was quickly overturned, and asbestos can still be used in many products today. As long as products contain only 1 percent or less asbestos, they’re perfectly legal.

Asbestos Causes Cancer

Mesothelioma is an aggressive and deadly form of cancer, says the Mayo Clinic, for which there is no cure for many people. Since the primary risk factor is from asbestos exposure, the most effective way to prevent this disease is to reduce your exposure whenever possible.

Asbestos Pollutes the Planet

Asbestos exposure isn’t just a worry for our health, either. It can work its way back into the environment, contaminating soil, air and water. Mesothelioma.Net points out that asbestos is still widely used in traditional power plants that burn fossil fuels. The asbestos may be found in plant insulation to prevent heat from escaping as well as to prevent fires. Workers may also use fireproof gear containing asbestos.

Asbestos may be used in coal mines, too, and in the gear miners use to stay safe. When not properly contained, asbestos can contaminate the air, soil, and water around mines, refineries, and power plants. “Residents may end up with asbestos in the air they breathe and the water they drink, putting them at risk for mesothelioma and other illnesses,” says Mesothelioma.net.

Asbestos is not only a risk when inhaled, but also when ingested.

The following chart shows the 9 most likely sources of asbestos exposure in your home. As the chart notes, though new asbestos use for home construction ended by 1980, many old homes still contain asbestos-laden insulation, flooring, ceiling tiles, and other materials.

Review the chart, take note of when your home was built, and get professional help from a contractor certified in safe asbestos abatement if your home was built before 1980 and you undertake home renovations.

Don’t DIY where asbestos is concerned!

What Else Can You Do to Avoid Asbestos Exposure?

In addition to renovating your home safely, you can protect yourself and your family by buying asbestos-free products.

Not only will this keep your family and the environment safe from exposure, but it’ll also show companies still using asbestos that you’ve had enough, says the Alliance.

Here are a few products that may still contain asbestos.

Textiles

Flame resistance is one of asbestos’ most useful qualities. For many years it was considered a miracle material for its ability to quench flames. In fact, the very name comes from the Greek word, asvestos, which means unquenchable or inextinguishable.

Asbestos was used frequently in fabrics designed to be flame resistant, like fire blankets, stunt man suits, and even curtains. Fabric usage was one of the most dangerous, because when these products came into contact with flames, the dangerous fibers would be released into the air.

How to Stay Safe

Using repurposed products like fire blankets and stunt man suits could seriously impact your health. So, if you’re looking for rustic accents to your bedroom or living room, stay away from vintage military or fireman clothes that may contain asbestos fibers.

Also, be careful when handling any family relics like old jackets or work clothes. Buying vintage is a great way to make your wardrobe eco friendly, but avoid old gear that could have been worn by firemen or repair men unsuspectingly working on contaminated sites.

Back to School Supplies

Reports of asbestos in Playskool crayons surfaced early in August, 2018, after the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) analyzed 27 back-to-school products. Playskool is sold primarily at Dollar Tree, but also through Amazon, eBay and DollarDays.com.

Even though the amounts found were very small, PIRG noted that children often chew on crayons or sharpen them, increasing chances that kids could end up swallowing or inhaling tiny but dangerous crayon shavings.

How to Stay Safe

Use colored pencils, beeswax crayons, and water-based markers from non toxic certified suppliers.

Don’t Miss Our Green Back-to-School Shopping Tips That Will Also Save You Money!

Kids Makeup

Earlier this year, a consumer watchdog group found asbestos in the products of Claire’s, a children’s makeup store. Claire’s has since said it’s removed the dangerous items from its stores and the remaining products are asbestos-free. But still…

How to Stay Safe

Skip the kids’ stuff and go with safe, plant-based, organic regular make up. For decorations, use face masks rather than painting right on kids’ skin, or easy peel-off stickers. Avoid face glitter (which kids could inhale or get in their eyes).

We pulled together 6 Non-Toxic Ways to Paint Your Face right here.

IMPORTANT!!

A proposed Significant New Use Rule (SNUR) opens the doors for increased asbestos production. This rule details how companies can present cases for asbestos use to the EPA, which would evaluate these appeals on a case-by-case basis.

That means that companies could resume using asbestos and potentially put consumers’ live at risk.

What you can do:

Share this post widely on your social media and with your friends and family.

 Contact the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance to learn more and find out what you can do to protect you and your loved ones from asbestos.

The post 9 Sneaky Ways You May End Up a Victim of Asbestos Exposure appeared first on Big Green Purse.

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.

Don’t Miss: 16 Causes of Indoor Air Pollution

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.

Take a look at : Indoor Plants for Air Purification

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.

Do you love daffodils and cherry blossoms…but hate pollen? As you’re oohing and aahing over the forsythia, are your kids sneezing, coughing and rubbing itchy eyes? Here are 7 ways to help your kids breathe easier throughout the pollen season.

Why Is Pollen So Hard on Kids?

Spring can be tough on little lungs, especially if they belong to kids who suffer from asthma and allergies.

Pollen is essential because it’s what plants use to propagate. It helps feed insects, too. That’s why pollen gets released for a good six months of the year, if not longer, depending on the climate.

It starts in early Spring, when deciduous trees, like maple, oak, ash and sycamore, send forth great waves of pollen-filled dust.

As the season progresses into Summer, grass pollens get into the act. And by the end of the summer going on Fall, there’ll be goldenrod and other flowering plants to contend with.

Here’s the problem: one pollen spore is typically smaller in diameter than a human hair – which is why spores are so easy to inhale.

Billions and billions of spores are released every year, making them impossible to avoid. When they get in our kids’ noses, lungs and respiratory tract, they wreak havoc.

At a minimum, they’ll send kids into what’s called the “allergic salute” – rubbing their noses upward to soothe an itch and then maybe rubbing their eyes.

In the worst cases, pollen can cause kids to suffer an asthmatic attack, which may lead to wheezing, difficulty breathing, and tightening of the chest.

None of these reactions is any fun, and in the direst scenarios, they can be life-threatening, especially when it comes to asthma.

7 ways to help kids breathe easier when they want to play outside in the Spring

1. Pay attention to pollen counts. Listen to local weather forecasts, or check out Pollen.com, a handy website where you can plug in your zip codes and get a report on the day’s pollen count and the top allergens in the air, and sign up for a mobile app that will send Allergy Alerts to your phone. The American Academy of Allergy Asthma & Immunology National Allergy Bureau also provides pollen counts for many cities in the U.S.

2.Limit time outdoors when pollen counts are too high for your child. This is a hard recommendation to take to heart since we all want our kids to be away from computer screens as much as possible and active. But if your child has asthma, or you notice your kid wheezing or blowing her nose a lot, she probably needs to spend a little less time outdoors. Pollen counts are usually lower in the later afternoon than earlier in the day, so sending kids out before dinner may be one way for them to get outdoor exercise without it taking a big toll on their lungs. Putting a little surgical mask over the nose and mouth may help, too. Maybe kids can invent games to play that involve them wearing masks. They could draw mustaches on them, or whiskers!

3. Enjoy the rain. Fortunately, spring is a pretty rainy season in many parts of the country. Rain washes a lot of pollen out of the air, so playing outside during a light drizzle or right after it rains is usually fine for most kids.

4. Keep car windows up and don’t circulate outdoor air into the vehicle. There’s no need to send pollen-laden air into a trapped space at high speed.

5. Dust with a damp cloth and vacuum. Even if you keep the windows in your home closed in the Spring, pollen will have a way of intruding. Dust with a damp cloth so you pick up the pollen rather than just send it swirling around, and vacuum to contain as much pollen as possible.

6. Laundry hung outside should be shaken off before being brought into the house. Pollen lands on everything outside!

7. Consult your family doctor or pediatrician. Depending on the severity of your child’s reaction, your doctor may prescribe antihistamines, an inhaler, or other medications. Your doctor may also conduct allergy testing to find out exactly what kind of pollen your child is most allergic to.

Are your kids allergic to pollen? We’d love to know how you help them deal with their allergies once Spring comes around.

Note: I originally wrote this article for MomsCleanAirForce.org. They’re a terrific group of more than one million moms working to protect us and the planet. Please check them out!

The post 7 Ways to Help Kids Breathe Easier When Springtime Pollen Arrives appeared first on Big Green Purse.

Are you wondering how you can live the green life you want if you’re renting an apartment rather than living in a space you own? We’ve teamed up with apartment search website RENTCafe to bring you these great ideas for enjoying an eco-friendly lifestyle in an apartment, condo, or home you rent.

How to Green Your Rental Apartment

 If you live in an apartment, you’ve likely made several changes to the décor to help suit your style.

But if you aren’t also making green improvements to your home, then it may not be as healthy or as energy efficient as it could be.

And while you may think that creating a more eco-friendly home isn’t possible as a renter, there are several ways you can green your rental apartment to save money and make it more comfortable to live in at the same time.

BONUS! You can get these done in one day and reap the benefits for a long time!

Invest in Drapes

The biggest source of energy loss in most homes is right around the window area. Even with double paned windows, if the area surrounding them isn’t well sealed, you could still be losing a lot of the energy you use to heat and cool your apartment.

By investing in good quality, thermal drapes, you can help stop this energy loss, eliminating drafts and making your apartment more comfortable at the same time.

As a bonus, most thermal drapes are also light blocking, so you can control how much sunlight your apartment gets – perfect for weekends when you want to sleep in.

By the way, if you install floor-to-ceiling drapes, you can easily take them with you when you move. They’ll fit other windows.

Swap Out Your Lightbulbs

Even if the light fixtures in the apartment need to stay as they are you can still lower your energy bill an get better ambient light at the same time by investing in new LED lightbulbs.

LEDs use far less energy than incandescents and last for at least a dozen years!

Plus, they can give off more lumens per watt (which means they produce more light for less energy), so you can get a brighter living area while saving energy at the same time.

Here’s how to choose the right LED for your apartment.

Replace Your Water-Wasting Showerhead for a WaterSense Model

It may be best to leave the main faucets and toilet in your apartment alone and encourage your landlord to make them more water efficient. But it’s easy to replace your shower head with a low-flow WaterSense model. Just look for the WaterSense logo, pictured right, when you shop.

Older shower heads use as many as 7 gallons of water a minute. New water saving units that meet EPA’s WaterSense standards use around 2 gallons. WaterSense technology helps make up the difference by spinning the water droplets as they leave the head, making the shower feel fuller.

You’ll reduce your water bill, paying for the modest cost of the shower head in no time.

Plug Into Power Strips

Many appliances end up sucking up energy even when they aren’t on or in use.

Sometimes known as “energy vampires,” these appliances and devices add a lot to your monthly energy bill.

To help save energy and money, put a power strip at each outlet, then plug your standby devices like lamps, televisions, gaming sets, and computers into these.

When you’re not using any of the items, turn off the power strip to stop the energy drain.

FYI, here’s one of the power strips I have my video monitor and Roku plugged into.

Purify the Air

If your apartment was painted in the last five years, chances are that it’s still giving off VOCs or volatile organic compounds, into the air. The effect is worse the closer you get to the time the paint was applied. In fact, about 50% of the VOCs are given off in the first year after the room was painted, with the rest “off-gassing” over the next four.

Plus, you might use air fresheners or cleaning products that are filled with synthetic fragrances, chemical compounds that can cause head aches, flu-like symptoms, and even trigger asthma attacks.

To help clean the air you breathe and eliminate some of those harmful toxicants, first switch to no VOC paint when you repaint.

In place of air fresheners, remove the sources that stink (like rotting food, dirty clothes, pet waste), circulate fresh air, and make potpourri out of fragrant natural herbs and dried flowers.

Use baking soda, vinegar, and fresh squeezed lemon juice for most cleaning projects. Open boxes or bowls of baking soda can also help absorb unwanted odors.

Monitor what’s in your air using a system like HomeLab’s, which will tell you what chemicals you’re breathing, and how you can turn your space into a healthy home.

Add Some Plants

Air purification systems aren’t the only way to clean up the air in your apartment and make it healthier; adding plants can make a big difference as well.

Greenery like English Ivy, rubber plants, and peace lilies clean the air in your home and enhance your décor, too.

Place plants in areas that may need air cleansing the most, such as kitchens, bathrooms, and bedrooms and breathe a little easier.

In my living room, I have a big peace lily. It gets beautiful white flowers once or twice a year.

Check and Replace Your HVAC Filter

If you have a furnace, central air conditioning unit, or HVAC system that uses ducts to heat or cool your apartment, make sure that you’re checking and cleaning the filter at least once per season (some companies recommend changing or cleaning filters monthly).

When the filter gets clogged, it causes the unit to work harder, spiking your energy bill.

If you aren’t sure if the filter needs to be changed, hold it up to the light; if you can’t see through it, it should be cleaned.

NOTE: You don’t need to buy a new filter every month; get one that’s reusable and wash it by spraying it with a hose or running it under a faucet. Just make sure it dries thoroughly before re-installing it. You can keep an extra on hand so you always have one to clean and one to replace it with.

Decorate Using Vintage and Recycled Furnishings

From rugs and bed frames to sofas, dining room tables and lamps, you can find great bargains and repurpose gently used (and sometimes brand new) furniture rather than buy brand new.

In addition to CraigsList.com, eBay.com and Freecycle.com, browse the listings at NextDoor.com, a site that makes it easy for neighbors to swap from each other or buy at a reasonable price.

Thrift stores, auction houses, estate sales and vintage shops (think antiques) are more great – and eco-friendly – places to shop.

Here’s one of the rugs I have in my home. When I got it 15 years ago it was already at least 60 years old.

Go Green

It doesn’t take much to green your rental apartment and make it healthier and more eco-friendly. Implement any of these changes and you’ll see the benefits in no time.

What Do You Do?

What else do you do to green your rental apartment? Please share!

Note: Partnerships enable us to bring you expert content at no additional cost to you. Our editorial opinions remain our own. Thanks!

The post 8 Inexpensive Ways to Green Your Rental Apartment (& Save Money Doing It) appeared first on Big Green Purse.

Headache? Achy joints? Runny nose? Itchy eyes? You’re probably thinking you’ve got a cold. It might just be that your indoor air quality stinks – literally.

Indoor air quality can be a LOT more polluted than the air outside. That’s bad news for those of us who live inside – which, I think, is everyone reading this post.

⇒ In addition to making us feel like we’ve got a cold, polluted indoor air can zap our energy and turn us into cranky grumps.

⇒ If you have asthma or another respiratory illness, poor indoor air quality will make them worse.

⇒ Lousy indoor air quality can even contribute to cancers caused by exposure to the toxic chemicals that pollute the air we breathe when we’re inside.

Because indoor air quality causes so many health problems, I’ve teamed up with the smart folks at HomeLab to make it easier for you to figure out what’s actually in the air you’re breathing at home and how you can create a Healthy Home.

Indoor Air Pollution Sources

The HomeLab Healthy Home Program to Create a Non-Toxic Home

HomeLab was started by Nate Bellino.

After working in energy efficiency for over a decade, Nate realized that the air inside our homes was pervasively bad.

His wife battled cancer twice and his daughter has asthma. When trying to create a healthy home for his family, he found trying to remove toxins and pollutants exceedingly difficult.

He started HomeLab so that more people could easily create a healthy home on any budget.

Nate’s ingenious Healthy Home Program is designed to help you make sure that the air you’re breathing is actually worth breathing!

Step 1 – Identify – First and foremost, you need to know what’s in the air you’re breathing. Once you sign up for HomeLab, you’ll get a monitor that will give you vital readings that show you what invisible toxins and pollutants are lurking in your home’s air. (NOTE: You can sign up for a Healthy Home Program for less than $10/month.)

Step 2 – Monitor – Once you know what’s in your air, you can use the monitor together with the HomeLab smart phone app to view toxin levels so you’ll know at any given time where problems exist and whether you need to act.

Step 3 – Take Action – HomeLab’s team of “Home Doctors” – experts with deep knowledge and experience working on indoor air quality – will prescribe the most effective ways for you specifically to create a healthy home that is right for you. They always start with no-cost activities that are surprisingly simple, some of which can remove up to 40% of the toxins and pollutants found in your home’s indoor air.

Step 4 – Continue to Monitor – “Our monitoring service places an effective shield against incoming pollution,” reports Nate. “We remotely observe your air quality monitor and notify you of critical spikes or alarming trends, proactively providing solutions and partnering with you until we kick pollution to the curb.”

Doesn’t that sound like a good idea?!

“Air quality is ever fluctuating in a home,” says Nate. “Different seasons, outdoor pollution events, different rooms all contribute to spikes. We start people off with simple activities and continue guiding them in creating a non-toxic home.”

Once you’ve got a handle on your home, you can continue to use the app as a sort of air quality watchdog.

Free eBook!

If you want to learn more about indoor air and how yours might be polluted, at least get a copy of HomeLab’s Free Healthy Home eBook.

Here’s what’s in it:

√ A list of the most common forms of toxins and pollutants
√ A description of how different products we have at home add to indoor air pollution
√ Common products and services to avoid
√ A step-by-step process for creating a healthy, non-toxic home
√ Recommendations for apartments and rentals

Here’s the link to get your free copy.

25% Discount for the Big Green Purse Community

As a special bonus for the Big Green Purse community, HomeLab is offering you an 25% discount off either the start-up or the premium package. You can check out the advantages of each one right here.

By the way, now is the perfect time to monitor your indoor air. Most of us have either closed our windows tight against the cold weather or , if you live in the south, buttoned your house up to keep air conditioned in.

Either way, the air could be stagnating a bit, which might actually make indoor air pollution worse.

Why not see what’s in your air, and take steps to fix it?

You’ll feel better and stay healthier, right away and in the long term, too.

DISCLOSURE: We’re partnering with Home Lab because we know how important it is to breathe clean indoor air. We will earn a small commission if you sign up for the Healthy Home Program, but we’d recommend Home Lab regardless because we want you to be well. Thanks!

The post You Don’t Have a Cold. Your Indoor Air Quality Stinks. appeared first on Big Green Purse.

• Use non-toxic cleaning products. Most commercial cleansers are notorious for the harsh chemicals they contain and the nasty residue they leave behind. What to Do? Choose eco-friendly and healthy cleansers certified for industrial and office use by Green Seal. They’ll get the job done without adding to the chemical burden already in the office.

• Bring in plants. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration discovered that over 50 different types of plants do a terrific job of helping to purify the air. Plus, adding natural greenery to a workspace is good for office morale. Most people just feel better around a plant, even if they don’t realize it consciously. What to Do? Once you figure out how much direct and indirect light you have, choose plants from this list to place around the office.

The post For an Eco-Friendly Healthy Office Make This Your Priority appeared first on Big Green Purse.

It’s great to crank up the heat when winter hits and we need to stay warm. But overly warm, dry air can make you pretty uncomfortable.

Low humidity can dry out the mucous membranes that line the nose and throat, causing irritation that may lead to a bloody nose.

Overly dry air can also cause chapped or cracked lips, and dry skin.

To fix the problem, use either a whole-house humidifier or a unit designed for a single room (a lot of people like to have a humidifier in their bedroom to make it easier to sleep).

Either one will add humidity to your space without making you feel like you’re in a rainforest.

Whichever type you use, it’s essential to use a humidifier air filter, as well. Here is why, thanks to our sponsor for this post, FilterBuy.com.

Why Use a Humidifier Air Filter?

Humidifiers work by evaporating water into the air around them. Usually, they’ll draw moisture up through a filter material; a fan will help evaporate and disseminate the water.

A humidifier air filters plays an important role. It’s designed specifically to trap minerals in the water you add to the unit, reports eHow.com. Why does this matter?

“When mist is created by a humidifier, any minerals that evaporate with the water enter the air and create a fine white dust,” says Jessica Kolirath, eHow contributor.

While there’s no conclusive evidence that this dust can make you sick, EPA recommends using water with low mineral content to prevent the build-up of scale and the dispersal of minerals into the air. You also need to use a humidifier air filter.

The humidifier air filter will trap the dust before it escapes into the air you breathe.

⇒ If your water contains high amounts of dissolved minerals, you’ll want to change your filter frequently.

⇒ Alternatively, you can use bottled distilled water, though you’ll still have to change your filter from time to time.

Your furnace may contain a humidifier, in which case you will want to replace it regularly and use the most efficient filter possible. An added benefit is that, replacing your air filter will prolong the life of your furnace, so you will save money over time.

If you don’t yet have a humidifier but are thinking of getting one, there are several styles to choose from.

√ Cool evaporation, warm evaporation and hot steam humidifiers are common. They all need filters, so if you choose one of these models, keep track of the kind of filter it requires and how often you should change it.

√ Ultrasonic humidifiers create mist through sound vibrations, not heat like the other models. They use no filters.

Before you buy a humidifier, identify how much space you have to humidify, and how effective each humidifier type is.

Important! When buying a humidifier air filter, make sure you get the right size.

Our sponsors for this post, FilterBuy.com, warn that the major air conditioner manufacturers change filter sizes frequently, which could make it difficult to find a filter that fits. (Irregular sizes of air ducts cut by housing contractors can make finding the right humidifier tricky as well.)

Sponsor: FilterBuy.com is a family owned and operated business concerned about indoor air quality. They provide one-stop filter shopping to make it easy for every customer to find the filter he or she needs. Sponsorships from companies like Filter Buy enable us to continue to bring your expert content at no additional cost to you. Our expert opinions remain independent.

SOURCES

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

EHow.com

The post Are You Breathing Icky Air? Or Do You Use a Humidifier Air Filter? appeared first on Big Green Purse.

Air pollution at work due to fragrances your colleagues wear has become almost as big an issue as secondhand smoke used to be.

Both are about indoor air quality and public health. Secondhand smoke affects the lungs and can cause cancer.

Synthetic chemicals like those found in perfume affect the nervous system and can cause debilitating headaches, nausea, joint pain and respiratory discomfort.

These conditions are magnified for people suffering from multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) — symptoms like fatigue, dizziness, congestion, sore throat, chest pain, diarrhea and breathing problems — which can all be linked to contact with low levels of chemicals such as those in perfume at work.

“Fragrance is a known respiratory irritant and neurological toxin,” writes researcher Christy De Vader of Loyola University of Maryland.

“For many people, such as those exposed to asthma, exposure to perfume can pose serious health risks such as migraines, nausea, tightening of the throat, and respiratory impairment.”

If you already suffer from hay fever and asthma, smelling synthetic fragrance can make it worse.[/box]

How Perfume at Work Makes Us Sick

The fragrances used in most commercial perfumes and aftershave lotions are actually made up of chemical compounds, many derived from petroleum or coal tar.

Over the past 50 years, notes Loyola’s De Vader, 80-90 percent of fragrances have been synthesized from petroleum.

They may also contain acetone, phenol, toluene, benzyl acetate and limonene, toxic chemicals that have been linked to a whole host of human illnesses.

The fragrance industry uses over 4,000 chemical ingredients to make their products and over 80 percent of these chemicals have not been tested for their toxicity, reported the Canadian Union of Postal Workers in their 2003 Health and Safety Bulletin.

Even if you choose unscented products, they may still contain fragrances that could trigger a rash or allergic reaction, Prevention magazine reported in August, 2001. “Unscented” products could actually contain other chemicals that block unpleasant ingredient odors.

And if your coworkers aren’t using perfume, cologne or aftershave, they could still be applying lotions, hairspray, deodorant and even sunscreen infused with synthetic fragrances. For those who are particularly chemically sensitive, even that can be too much.

Some companies are taking matters into their own hands and putting policies in place that restrict employees from coming to work smelling of any kind of fragrance.

Click here to learn about 16 surprising things that may be polluting the air in your home or workplace.

√  Talk with your human resources department. If necessary, provide a note from your doctor explaining how your sensitivity to fragrance is affecting your health and work performance.

√  Ask to remove fragranced products such as deodorant, hair spray, aftershave or perfume in restrooms, or get them replaced with products that are truly fragrance-free.

√  Install air purifiers, or put a small fan on your desk to keep air circulating. You may also need to wear a respirator mask.

√  Ask employees to voluntarily limit use of fragranced products if your workplace won’t institute a policy.

√  Work from home as much as possible.

Encourage your employer to follow the lead of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. They’ve had a fragrance-free policy in effect since 2009 that not only includes perfume at work, but also:

⇒ Incense, candles, or reed diffusers

⇒ Fragrance-emitting devices of any kind

⇒ Wall-mounted devices, similar to fragrance-emitting devices, that operate automatically or by pushing a button to dispense deodorizers or disinfectants

⇒ Potpourri

⇒ Plug-in or spray air fresheners

⇒ Urinal or toilet blocks

⇒ Other fragranced deodorizer/re-odorizer products

Further, “Personal care products (e.g., colognes, perfumes, essential oils, scented skin and hair products) should not be applied at or near actual workstations, restrooms, or anywhere in CDC-owned or leased buildings.”

CDC also encourages employees to be as fragrance-free as possible when they arrive in the workplace.

“Fragrance is not appropriate for a professional work environment, and the use of some products with fragrance may be detrimental to the health of workers with chemical sensitivities, allergies, asthma, and chronic headaches/migraines,” the organization says on its website.

“Employees should avoid scented detergents and fabric softeners on clothes worn to the office. Many fragrance-free personal care and laundry products are easily available and provide safer alternatives.”

Has your employer put a fragrance-free policy in place? If not, send a copy of the American Lung Association policy and encourage other employees to limit perfume use.

The post Is Perfume at Work Making You Sick? appeared first on Big Green Purse.

How clean is the air you breathe?

Because you don’t see smog inside your home, you might think your air is pretty clean. You’d sure want it to be, since you spend 90% of your time indoors, either in your home or at work. But in fact, indoor air can be two-five times more polluted than outdoor air.

Why? One reason is that 25% of outdoor pollution can still get indoors.

But more importantly, many common items we use in our homes actually pollute our indoor air.

Because indoor air doesn’t circulate as much as the air outside, it can stagnate, and the pollutants inside can concentrate.

Fortunately, there’s a LOT you can do to reduce indoor air pollution. We’ve partnered with AirFilterBuy.com to bring you this two-part series on indoor air pollution causes and what you can do right now, and affordably, to clean up your air.

HOW INDOOR AIR POLLUTION MAKES YOU SICK

The chemicals in indoor air pollution can have any or all of the following effects:

Irritation – Did you ever get itchy eyes or a scratchy throat after using an air “freshener” or home “cleaning” product? Most common cleansers contain powerful chemicals that we shouldn’t be inhaling.

Headache, Fatigue, Nausea, Dizziness – Those same chemicals can give you an annoying headache, make you feel inexplicably tired or dizzy, and even give you an upset stomach.

Shortness of Breath – You might also feel shortness of breath, not something that’s pleasant at all.

Trouble Concentrating – If you’ve got a headache or feel sick to your stomach, or just have an uneasy feeling, it will be hard to concentrate on what you have to do.

Allergic Reactions, Sinus Congestion, Coughing & Sneezing – If you already suffer from allergies or are prone to sinus infections, these can get worse when you breathe in polluted air.

INDOOR AIR POLLUTION CAUSES

Here are 16 surprising sources of air pollution inside your home. Let’s start with the no-brainers first:

1) Second-hand Smoke – If you are still smoking inside your home, at the very least, please go outside. The smoke you exhale along with the smoke that comes from a burning cigarette is full of all kinds of carcinogens that can get into the lungs and blood vessels of people who are in a room with smokers, even if they’re not smoking themselves.

2) Pesticides – Do you use pesticides when you spot ants or spiders or other bugs? Insecticides contain toxic chemicals designed to kill a pest upon contact. But if you inhales them, they can make you sick, too.

3) Mold – Mold crops up in lots of places in your home: damp showers and bathrooms, around leaky faucets, behind a wall that might have water damage, around the drain of a washing machine or dehumidifier. You’ll recognize it by the black stuff that looks like soot, or the grey or pale green spots you see on a wall, ceiling or floor.

Now, here are some other sources:

4) Your Pet Cat and/or Dog – I’m really sorry to report that dander and hair from Fido or Felix can pollute the air you breathe – but they can.

5) Fireplaces, Gas Stoves, Cars & Trucks – Both fireplaces and gas stoves can give off carbon monoxide. This is a tricky pollutant because you can’t smell it at all – but it is deadly. Your car or truck emits carbon monoxide (as well as carbon dioxide) when they burn gasoline.

6) Furniture in Your Living Room, Kitchen, or Bedroom – Furniture that is made from plywood or pressed wood may contain formaldehyde and glues that “off gas” those chemicals for a long time.

7) Your Beauty Products – I know, they’re supposed to make you beautiful! But make-up, soaps, and shampoos are often made from artificial fragrances and ingredients that contain trace amounts of toxic chemicals. Using one product one time wouldn’t be a problem. But because we use so many different products every day, the burden on your body can increase significantly.

8) Non-Stick Pots & Pans – If you use non-stick cookware, beware. The coating that gives non-stick pots and pans their non-stickiness may contain PFOA, a known carcinogen that goes airborne at high temperatures.

9) Household Cleaners – Most common household cleansers, especially sprays, contain artificial fragrances made from “volatile organic compounds” or VOCs. Depending on your sensitivity, they could cause most of the ill-effects described above. They do for me!

10) Home Computer Printer/Fax Machine – Depending on the equipment you use and your level of sensitivity, the chemicals in printer and fax machine ink could make you feel uncomfortable.

11) Household Paints & Finishes – Common wall paint is a big source of VOCs. Before I switched to non-VOC paint, I would have to leave my home to have it painted, and then wait until it completely aired out before I could move back in.

12) Radon – Radon is an odorless gas that can be extremely toxic, causing lung cancer and even death. It comes from the breakdown of naturally occurring uranium in soil, and gets into your home through cracks in your foundation, spaces in the walls, and even water that gets contaminated when radon gets into tiny cracks in your water pipes.

13) Pillows, Cushions, Bedding – Dust makes your house look dirty. Imagine if you’re breathing the same stuff that’s settling on your coffee table. An ounce of dust can be home to 40,000 dust mites. If you’re allergic, you’ll be miserable.

14) Crumbling Paint & Paint Chips – The paint used in homes built before xx probably contains lead, a powerful neurotoxin that is particularly dangerous for kids and can cause learning disabilities

15) Asbestos Flooring, Shingles, Siding, & Insulation – Asbestos has been widely used in home construction because if resists fire. Unfortunately, asbestos also causes mesothelioma and other cancers.

16) Rotten Food – Food will rot – plain and simple. When it rots in your compost pile, that’s good. When it rots underneath your couch or at the bottom of your trash can, that’s bad. Not only might it stink to high heaven. It might draw ants or roaches or mice or rats, and then you’ll have an even bigger problem to content with than cleaning up the rotten food.

DON’T DESPAIR…

Yes, this is a pretty big list. But for every item on it, there’s a clear and simple solution, and with a couple of exceptions, the solutions cost very little money.

Stay tuned (or jump ahead to “Everything You Need to Know about Indoor Air Pollution,” a very useful infographic produced by AirFilterBuy.com, the sponsors of this post).

The post Indoor Air Pollution Causes: 16 Surprising Things That Pollute The Air in Your House appeared first on Big Green Purse.