We spend 90% of our time indoors – where the air is 2x – 5x more polluted than outdoor air. Shouldn’t the air we breathe indoors be as clean as possible? You bet, especially given how sick tainted indoor air can make us. In this previous post, we reviewed the top 16 causes of indoor air pollution. But what’s important is to fix the problem, which is why we’re focusing here on indoor air pollution solutions.

Fortunately, the solutions we’re suggesting are pretty easy actions, many of which you can take yourself and at an affordable price. But the truth is, if you’re suffering from indoor air pollution, you really can’t afford NOT to act. Hopefully this guide will make it a little easier for you.

Indoor Air Pollution Solutions

1) Test for Radon & Mold – It is easy to spot moldy build-up in your bathroom or around a drain. It is black or spotty and is hard to get rid of when it’s dark and damp. But mold can also build up inside an air conditioning system, where it’s difficult to see. Radon, meanwhile, can get into your home through cracks in your foundation or fissures in your walls. As a matter of course, have your home HVAC system inspected annually to maintain top performance. The inspector can test for mold at that time. As for radon, the U.S. EPA recommends starting here to find a qualified inspector who can also recommend mitigation if necessary. Home radon testing kits are also available online and in hardware stores.

2) Fix Water Leaks – You may be able to fix water leaks yourself by replacing a washer in a faucet or taping a pipe. If that doesn’t do the trick, call in a plumber. Many plumbing companies offer monthly service specials that will help you save a few bucks on the visit, but even if they don’t, you’ll end up saving money on your water bill in the long run once you have the drip fixed.

3) Repair Gas Leaks – If you suspect a gas leak from your stove or furnace, call your gas company immediately and they’ll send someone out to check your appliances and keep you safe. At the very least, install a carbon monoxide detector in your home to alert you if the gas reaches dangerous levels. Most smoke alarms these days also include a carbon monoxide detector. They’re inexpensive to buy and easy to install.

4) Install Air Filter Systems & Replace Filters Regularly – Air filters trap dust before it has a chance to circulate around your interior living space. But they need to be changed regularly in order to do their job. Get to know how to change the filters on your HVAC system and air exchange vents in your home. The filters are very inexpensive and easy to change out yourself.

5) Ventilate Your Bathrooms – Keep air circulating your bathrooms to prevent moisture and mold build-up. If you have windows, crack them open, especially when someone is taking a shower or bath. Install a ceiling or wall fan to help the space dry out more quickly.

6) Avoid Cleaning Products Filled with Artificial Fragrances – Forget so-called air fresheners and spray cleaners that rely on synthetic fragrances and phthalates, which mask orders rather than get rid of them. Instead, find the source of the bad odor and dispose of it. Simmer a pot of water and some cinnamon sticks, cloves and lemon to freshen up the smell of a room. Or here’s a unique idea: open a window and let in fresh air. Especially during winter months when our houses are all closed up, rooms can start to smell a little stale. Open a window for a few minutes and let a brisk breeze do what no artificial fragrances can – actually freshen the air. And remember, you can clean pretty much everything in your home with baking soda, water, vinegar, fragrance-free liquid detergent, and some lemon juice.

7) Skip Synthetic Perfumes, Deodorants, and Personal Sprays – Like cleaning products, personal care products may be filled with chemicals that hang around in the air and make us feel ill rather than pep us up. If you want a little perfume, dab some plant-based essential oil behind your ears or on your wrists. You can find lavender, jasmine, rose, and any number of other flower-based fragrances to choose from. Look for fragrance-free roll-on deodorants, too.

8) Make Your Home Tobacco Smoke-Free – No one should smoke inside your home. No one. If you and your guests must smoke, do it outdoors, out of consideration for any children or others who should not or don’t want to be subjected to your second-hand smoke.

9) Use No- and Low-VOC Paints – Pretty much any color paint you would want to use is now available from many paint companies in a no- or low-VOC option. Remember, the VOCs are what give you the headaches, nausea and sometimes even flu-like symptoms. Why put yourself through that when a no- or low-VOC option is so easily available?

10) Wash Bedding Frequently – If you or family members are susceptible to dust mites, you may find that you need to wash your bedding every week in hot water. Of course, you may do this as a matter of course, anyway. But it’s highly recommended to control dust mite build-up.

11) Place Floor Mats Outside Your Home Entry Points or Right Inside the Door, and Take Off Shoes Upon Entry – Our shoes track in all manner of pollutants, from basic dirt to pesticides that someone might have sprayed on their lawn. Keep them from contaminating your living space by wiping your shoes before you enter your home, and taking your shoes off once you get inside the door. Keep a pair of slippers near the door so it becomes habit to slip off your shoes as soon as you come in.

12) Clean Up After Your Pet – In addition to cleaning up any accidents your pet might have, make sure you vacuum regularly to pull up fur that’s been shed and dirt your pets might have brought into the home from outside. I keep a cloth by my door to wipe off the pets’ paws when they come in, especially if it’s been raining outside.

13) Leave Asbestos Alone – If you think your shingles or tiles might be made from asbestos, leave them alone if they are in good shape. However, if you are renovating or the tiles are deteriorating and they have to be removed, hire a licensed contractor to do the job. Asbestos if very dangerous and your should not work with it under any circumstances.

14) Hire a Professional to Remove Lead Paint – Because lead paint chips and peels, it is dangerous to have around. Ingesting lead causes birth defects, developmental delays, and many serious health problems that can be easily avoided by getting rid of the offending lead. It is essential to hire a professional who can capture the contaminated paint and dust as they are being removed. This is one of those fixes that does cost some money, but it is crucial to do this job correctly.

15) Reduce Wall-to-Wall Carpeting if Possible – Most carpeting is a trap for dirt, dust, and pollutants we and our pets track in from outdoors. Plus, cleaning wall-to-wall carpeting often involves strong chemicals infused with synthetic fragrances that can give us headaches and otherwise make us feel ill at ease. If it is possible to replace wall-to-wall carpeting with wood flooring and area rugs you can easily clean, go for it! If not, carpeting really needs to be vacuumed at least once a week, and cleaned with water-based, fragrance-free, non-toxic cleansers.

Many thanks to AirFilterBuy.com, our sponsors for this very useful and informative post. For more information, and to see a complete infographic about both the causes of and solutions to indoor air pollution, stop in here.

The post Indoor Air Pollution Solutions: 15 Affordable Actions To Help You Breathe Clean Air 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.

Apart from the fact that they’re smelly and unsightly, mold and mildew can be very unhealthy. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, breathing in mold spores can cause a variety of respiratory illnesses. Both mold and mildew can lead to headaches and nasal congestion and even trigger asthma attacks.

Mold and mildew build up in damp places, which is why you might find them in your basement or shower or on your shower curtain. But they won’t get a foothold if you follow these steps.

PREVENTION

Mold and mildew can’t grow where it’s dry, so the best way to keep them at bay is to reduce dampness.

• Crack open a window and start your ceiling fan when you turn on the shower so excess moisture moves out of the room, rather than condenses on the walls and tile. Keep the fan running and the window cracked open at least 15 minutes after you turn the shower off to let as much moist air escape as possible.

• Wipe down the shower and tub as soon as you’re finished. Keep a small squeegee in the shower so it’s convenient; you can get a squeegee very cheaply at a hardware store, home goods retailer, or online. Or, use a hand towel or washcloth to do the job. A cloth is particularly good at getting to the tile grout and in the corners where mold has a tendency to start.

• Use a shower curtain you can actually launder in the washing machine. That means, skip the vinyl or plastic in favor of cotton, hemp, or nylon.  Wash it in hot water, run it through your machine’s spin cycle to remove excess water, then hang it up to dry in the shower. After every shower, wipe down the tile, let the fan run, and at some point, pull the shower curtain wide to let it air out.

• If you have a non-slip mat in your shower, you will need to pull it up and wash it down regularly. I’ve gotten rid of my shower mat because it was too much trouble to keep clean. If you want yours, you’ll have to wash it frequently. It helps to spray the back of it weekly with a solution of white vinegar and water, or tea tree oil and water.

• Use a terry cloth hand towel in the shower instead of a mat. Most of us have extra hand towels lying around. Or, pick up a few hand towels at a dollar store or when your department store is having a sale. Put the towel on the bottom of the shower or bath tub. It won’t slip, you’ll have traction, and when you’re finished, you can wring out the towel and let it dry, or throw it in the laundry.

• Keep your shower clean. Wash it down regularly with a good non-toxic cleanser, like baking soda and a plant-based liquid soap, or something like Bon Ami, which is essentially pulverized rock. Use a mop and a stepladder to reach the ceiling above the shower if needed. Dry it with a rag or towel when you finish washing it.

• Fix leaky faucets and showerheads. Stop the drips to limit mold and mildew around drains.

• Install a dehumidifier in the basement. You can adjust the appliance to remove as much humidity from your space as you need. Empty the water collection bucket frequently – in the summer, I need to empty mine almost every day. If convenient, you can use the collected water to water your plants. You can usually eep the dehumidifier bucket clean by washing it out with hot soapy water and wiping away any mold or mildew that might be building up.Remember this true adage: An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. The more you do to prevent mold and mildew from building up, the better off you’ll be.

TREATMENT

As soon as you notice mold or mildew, attack! If you have black mold in the walls, ceiling, or floor of your home, you will probably need to hire a professional mold remediation company to treat the problem for you. Black mold can pose a real health hazard, so don’t wait to take it seriously. For more superficial problems, the following steps will help:

• Make a spray of water and vinegar, tea tree oil or hydrogen peroxide, using between one and two tablespoons of the product for every cup of water you add to the spray bottle (experiment a bit to see what works in your situation; you may need up to a 50% vinegar/50% water solution). You can add fresh squeezed lemon juice minus the pulp to sweeten up the smell of the vinegar. If using vinegar or hydrogen peroxide, spray the potion directly on the spotty areas, leave them alone for 10 or 15 minutes, and then rinse. Dry with a rag you don’t mind throwing away. If using tea tree oil, which is more expensive but is supposed to be more effective, spray the cleanser on the tile or shower stall and leave it overnight. Run the fan and open the window to keep air circulating and to counter the smell from the vinegar or tea tree oil.  Reapply as soon as you see the mold reappear.

• If the grout in your shower can’t be thoroughly cleaned out, you may need to replace the grout.  If this is too much to do on your own, you can find a professional service to replace the grout for you. Get a price estimate before you commit to the work. It may be a little pricey, but probably cheaper than dealing with health problems that could result from living with mold and mildew.

MAINTENANCE

Getting rid of the mold and mildew in your shower doesn’t mean you can be less vigilant. Inspect the shower and shower curtain once a week to make sure you’re staying mold and mildew-free. Wash the shower curtain regularly to keep it fresh. Wipe down the tile or shower stall each time you finish using it, and don’t forget to keep the window open and the fan going to reduce moisture build-up.

The post Naturally Kill Mold and Mildew appeared first on Big Green Purse.

LEAD

 Renovation and remodeling may result in lead poisoning in children, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The lead primarily comes from old paint.  Power sanding and demolishing walls and ceilings can release toxic dust, which can poison kids and pregnant women in particular. Your contractor can do a test to detect the presence of lead in wall, ceiling, door and window trim paint.

To be safe, if your house was built before 1978, assume the worst so you’ll take the best precautions. Work with a contractor who is certified in safe lead removal practices. Seal off the area that is being renovated with plastic sheeting and make sure the paint is being removed using a wet sand or wet scrape process, which reduces the presence of dust and fumes. Clean up thoroughly every day. And keep pregnant women, babies and children, and even pets far away from harmful dust and debris.

PARTICULATES

Minute particles of dust and fiber seem to come from everything: drywall, plaster, concrete, soil, wood, masonry, flooring, roofing, and insulation. Even if these particles aren’t toxic themselves, because they’re so fine, they can irritate the lungs if they’re inhaled, leading to such health risks as asthma and chronic obstructive lung disease. Motes of fiberglass and insulation can irritate the skin, eyes and respiratory tract. Toxic dust containing asbestos, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and lead can cause serious long-term health effects.

What to do? Before construction starts, set a plan to minimize exposure. Separate the area being remodeled from other areas in the home, creating a secure barrier if needed. Exhaust ventilation is critical as well, to remove dust and fibers from demolition as well as the construction process.

MOLD AND MILDEW

Water can get into the house via foundation cracks, leaks in the roof, even a window left unintentionally open during a rainstorm. Before long, mold and mildew can build up, causing a wide variety of respiratory and system ailments.

Foundation cracks will require professional attention, as will most leaks in the roof. What is critical is to get mold under control before it has a chance to spread. You may see it show up on walls and ceilings, but it also may be hidden from sight, maybe inside a dehumidifier, for example, or between floorboards.  If a roof leak or water spot shows up, you ignore it at your own peril.

ASBESTOS

The use of asbestos has been banned in many industrialized countries, but materials containing asbestos can still be found in many buildings, including houses and apartments. That’s because, after World War II, a shortage of bricks led to creation of new composite materials. One of these, known as “fibro,” was actually asbestos cement sheeting.  Experts worry that do-it-yourself home renovation projects can be particularly deadly, since so many people don’t know the proper way to protect themselves around asbestos.

Many professionals recommend not disturbing asbestos unless it absolutely must be disposed of. Wherever it is encountered, it should be treated by professionals who are trained and certified in safe and effective asbestos removal.

The post “Green” Home Renovation: Get the Lead Out! appeared first on Big Green Purse.