Why Should You Detox Your Home?
There comes a time in your life that you start catching diseases and feeling tired all the time, not knowing the reason or how to improve your health. Eating healthy and exercising will not always protect you, especially if you are living in a toxic environment. And I don’t mean only the pollution that surrounds us from transportation, factories and other human violations against nature. I mean the place you are living in; your home and everything inside it… the things that you touch, use and sleep on.
How to detox your home? It is a question I have been asking myself since the beginning of coronavirus pandemic, when we all were forced to use chlorine and wash everything with soap and detergents.
I started first by asking myself about detoxing my body, and if that was beneficial in preventing coronavirus infection. I tried to eat healthy and exercise, and I admit I felt great, but every time I had to use bleach/chlorine I got terrible feeling in my lungs. It happened also with using soap;frequent hand washing and cleaning the house affected my skin on different levels. In addition to all that, I thought of my cats and thought if I had children or babies, they all surely would be harmed.
That moment I stood in front of the bathroom looking at all the cleaning products in my sink, asking myself “how to detox your home?”.
After thinking of cleaners and chemicals, I remembered what we studied in early school years about the many forms of pollution in soil, air, food, water, noise, gas, plastic, littering, heat and radiation.
Lets view these creative ways to detox your home and enjoy a healthy life:
1- Stop using chemical cleaners.
2- Use green or nature-friendly cleaning products.
3- Stop eating outside and start cooking clean, healthy meals.
4- Make simple cleaning solutions.
5- Start adding plants to your home.
Populating with plants is the best way to purify your surrounding air and detox your home. They don’t just absorb carbon dioxide, they also absorb ammonia and formaldehyde, which are both found in cleaning products.
6- Make your own air freshener.
Air fresheners are the worst thing for our lungs. They are full of chemical compounds that are responsible to give the nice smell.
Use small baking soda bowls around your home to absorb the unpleasant scents, and spray essential oils in the corners to give a nice smell. Use orange peel, lemon peel, vanilla, clove, anise, peppermint leaves, basil leaves/seeds, or any other natural stuff to detox your home and make it smell fresh and beautiful.
7- Try baking soda instead of shampoo.
Many kinds of shampoos include harmful products, not only to your hair or the environment, but also to your own body. If you want a simple change, make shampoo by mixing baking soda with water in a small cup. It cleans the scalp well, and you can use apple cider vinegar with water as a conditioner. Then apply a layer of natural oil on your wet hair.
8- Make your own masks and conditioner.
Use egg yolk, avocados, yogurt, banana, butter, mayonnaise, aloe vera gel, coconut oil, olive oil, flax seed oil, argan oil, and almond oil to make nutritious masks for hair and skin, instead of artificial products. Rinse with baking soda to clean your scalp and body.
9- Buy fragrance-free products.
Fragranced home cleaners, shampoos, body lotions and other stuff, specially those we use for babies, are kind of harmful for the lungs and the body. So, if possible, try homemade shampoos and lotions or buy natural products to help detox your home as much as possible.
10- Try natural pest control.
Pest sprays and traps are very harmful for the lungs and eyes. They are also lethal, if you have kids/babies and pets. Instead of those toxic chemicals, use homemade recipes for pest control, or plant flowers and pest-repellent plants, if you want to detox your home and live healthy.
11- Use baking soda for cleaning.
Baking soda is used in cleaning, showering, and washing fresh produce. So, why use harmful chemicals when you have all these amazing benefits helping you to detox your home easily?
Baking soda removes dust and odors from carpets and furniture, they can clean dishes, stains, stove, cabinets and bathroom when mixed with white vinegar.
12- Use glass instead of plastic.
Some types of plastic containers contain a harmful compound BpA, that is added while manufacturing. Bisphenol A is a very toxic material, and through food/water contact, you are prone to ingesting it. So, removing as much plastic as possible from your home, especially dinner ware, is the key change to detox your home.
13- Install a water filter.
A good water filter should be an essential part of your health improving plan. Tap water may contain heavy metals, harmful materials and sometimes dust. The heavy metal may exist because the water is not well-treated, or due to the lead pipes or brass faucets. Lead is very toxic and also harmful for the brain, kidneys and other organs.
Make sure to buy a good filter, and read the label, ensuring that it removes heavy metal and lead. That way you will detox your home and also your body.
14- Test for Radon.
Radon is a colorless, tasteless, and odorless radioactive gas. It is one of the radioactive components resulting from the natural decay of radium ‘radiating material’.
It can enter your home through cracks in the walls, pipes, water tap, or any other openings. It is very toxic and causes lung cancer. You may buy a testing kit or hire a professional, and if you have elevated radon levels, consider installing a radon reduction system. That will be a very crucial step to detox your home.
15- Buy untreated furniture.
Wood, especially pressed-wood, can be treated with toxic materials while manufacturing, like formaldehyde and some carcinogenic compounds that are found in cigarette smoke and car fumes.
If you are not sure which kind of furniture you have, or you don’t know the nature-friendly brands, populate with plants to detox your home, make sure to circulate the air always in your house, use baking soda bowl near your furniture, and use protective covering for the furniture, if possible.
16- Use organic mattresses and natural fabrics, like cotton and silk.
17- Keep your shoes outside.
Make a cabinet or closet for the shoes outside your home, because shoes usually bring all dirt, bacteria and harmful things from outside. It is better to make a cabinet or closet for the shoes and place it in the entry or on the porch. Use baking soda to deodorize it and clean it from dust.
18- Air-dry your clothes.
Instead of the dryer, let your clothes outside in the air and sun for a few hours. That will help reducing the odor of detergent and also sunlight has a sanitizing effect.
19- Avoid non-stick pans.
Use cast iron or stainless steel pans as both are healthier. Clean them with baking soda and vinegar.
20- Beware of the mold.
Having mold in your house or around it, in your yard or outside pipes, can cause you different diseases starting from eye and lung problems, to kidney infection. Make sure that every place in or around your house is dry, and clean damp places if you have rainy climate. Clean the pipes and drains and buy a dehumidifier, if you can’t solve the problem.
Sources:
Happy Healthy Mama.
What To Expect.