Article Source: msnbc.com
from:msnbc.comThe air in your home can be five times more polluted than the air outside, but there are simple ways to make a healthier environment
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Lets all live in caves! Wait are we safe from ourselves?
Man caves! Every home should have one.
Joking aside, Actually there are some cool ones converted to actual homes here in southern AZ. that are cool.
I have a convertible house, so I just lower the top!
We get rid of everything we can possibly be allergic to -- and then we end up with no resistance and worse allergies.
Not everything that doesnt kill us makes us stronger...
Not amputations.
Beth, let me guess, you're not a doctor or scientist, right? Whoa, how'd I know that? Do you believe the more you swim in the ocean, the less chance you have of drowning? How about drugs? Keep using that heroin because the more you use, the less chance you have of being addicted.
This article forgot to mention another source of toxicity in your living room. People need to turn on their TV & cable box and lock out MSNBC.
Years ago I discovered that whenever that channel came on (no matter how briefly) everyone in my living room would become violently ill.
Already noticed that and the work is completed at our house, with the cable boxes and tv's programmed with passwords to lock out the channel - but in this case it was the execrable propaganda network known as "Fox News" that got locked out. We all breath easier now.
smit-o-rama, do you have to make everything political?????
Locked out Faux News too! I was getting sick from all the made up news. I had to do brain exercises to get rid of the stupidity factor after watching that channel. I heard watching it too long can lead to terminal stupidity.
LOL!!!
Fragrant chemicals are toxic, yet they are used in all 'scented' household products.
Fragrant household products just got passing mention in this news article, but all those 'scented' household products like Febreze, Bounce dryer sheets, plug-in air fresheners and others are all scented with toxic chemicals that can make you very sick, especially in winter when the doors and windows stay shut. The toxic chemicals for these fragrant household products build up inside your home to levels that cause serious health problems, especially in winter.
These toxic fragrant chemicals have been linked to migraine headaches, allergies, sinus congestion, memory loss, blurry vision, lethargy, nausea, cancer, skin diseases, neurological problems, and many other adult ailments; but these toxic fragrant chemicals are even worse for pregnant mothers and for children.
Toxic fragrant chemical exposure in children have also been linked to ADHD, schizophrenia, cancer, severe headaches, allergies, concentration problems, kidney problems, and worst of all if a child drinks the liquid from a plugin air freshener the child will have serious kidney and liver failure and might even die.
The attached links are to the University of Washington reports that show some of the research finding on the toxicity of fragrant chemicals:
http://water.washington.edu/Outreach/Events/AnnualReview/2009AR/steinemann.pdf
http://www.ce.washington.edu/people/faculty/bios/documents/Steinemann_09_Undisclosed_Ingredients.pdf
If you want your house to smell nice, bring water, cinnamon sticks, cloves, and sliced oranges and lemons to a gentle boil. Monitor carefully when the stove is on. Completely natural and non-toxic.
please clarify, while you caution re big fans, that using normal size fans to keep air moving is, at least in my own personal experience over many years, very helpful, not only in hot weather. in winter they of course circulate radiator heat. and their white noise calms. i suggest that bedrooms tend to lack sufficient oxygen unless window kept open, or fan brings air from other rooms, by, e g, transom. indeed, travellers, especially elderly, should evaluate air supply in hotel bedrooms.
With evidence like this about your home, how can anyone do an accurate study on things like the effect of marijuana? The harms listed for indoor pollutants are worse than the alleged harms for MJ use. I'm more worried about using commercially made cleansers. The rational for outlawing MJ gets weaker every day. All these studies do is prove any statistic can be manipulated.
I don't know where you live but I am not leaving a window open in the winter......It's fricken cold and heat is expensive. I don't mind airing my home out but only when it's not freezing out!
It may be cold, but it may also save a life. A little ventilation goes a long way, especially if people are using alternative heating sources.
Nah, I say it's worth it. Wrap as warm a coat or blanket you have around yourself and let a little fresh air flow.....then close things up and get warm for a, hopefully, restful night. You'll feel better in the morning.....I can practically guarantee it.....but I've been wrong before. just don't fall asleep until those doors ARE closed up after the blast of fresh air.....and sweet dreams....
You don't have to open a window, you could just "forget" to close the door when you come back from shopping.
What kind of logic is that?
I call it "backdoor" logic.
Well i guess i could stop eating beans..nah i love beans.
Homeless people rejoice!
Put more potted plants in your house to help keep the air clean.
ttmad....house plants "help" improve indoor air quality. No study has shown them to keep the air "clean". Obviously clean needs to be defined....that is why folks cite such qualified statements as being true. Without data, and defintions of terms...it is just converstation.
I wonder if someday kids will sue parents for knowing exposing them to hazardous contaminants in the home ? Just saying....it is done all the time for those bad industrial sources..chemical exposure risk does not have the social/political agenda humans do.
In other words, living life to the fullest will cause death, while living a carefully planned life will only cause death.
"No gets out of here alive", Jim Morrison.
One of the worst things is carpeting.. wall to wall. it harbors dirt, mold, dust, pet dander, you name it...
What a silly statement. Carpet acts like a big filter, trapping all kinds of stuff that would otherwise float around.
Just have a decent vacuum cleaner. And use it once a week.
You're both right. I wanted to buy my wife a rainbow vac but she wanted the kirby.
Wet dirt can not fly as they say and no filters.
A decent vacuum cleaner still has to let air escape from the bag or it would blow up ...Air escaping equals dust escaping.
Our new home has wood floors sweep and mop cleaner imho.
Silly statement?? I've never heard of carpeting acting like a "Big Filter".... got any links to back that up? You aren't in the rug business are you??
Silly statement? I just pulled the carpet up in MY house a few months ago, and guess what was under it. Dirt, dust, little bugs (catepiller looking things), and MOLD! So, if carpet is a "filter", it filtered the mold from the outside of my house, to the INSIDE and MOLD makes people sick.
Em
guess what...I had mine wall to wall pulled after 15 years....nothing. You folks seem wound a bit tight about dirt and mold.
..just saying.....cell phone accident risk is likely 100-1000 times greater than worrying about carpet health impacts.
Wow, like I said, have a good Vac. That nasty grey stuff under the carpet, it's dead skin particles. With a good vacuum, there won't be any. Won't be any dust mites either, because that is their main food source.
The mold grows on it, if you don't have good ventilation and the moisture builds up.
I am not a big fan of water filter vacuums, watch them try to pick up flour or plaster dust. Just about every vacuum has a HEPA filter style bag. It'll trap 99% of the particulate down to 0.3 microns, a human hair is around 100 microns.
Never sold carpet, I did run several appliance stores that sold vacuums. I like built ins the best, but the long hoses can be a pain.
So basally what they have found for all this millions spent on research is what the old wives having been saying for centuries. Open up a window and air out the room you can sleep better. Air the bedding in the mornings and keep pets outside because they bring the majority of pests into the house. WOW! Gotta love those researchers.
Now you can't sit in your own living room without it killing you. Life kills us all eventually so better get over it. Meanwhile, pass me the remote- they're airing reruns of Gunsmoke this weekend and classic All Star Wrestling.
No mention of running a HEPA filter or high efficiency particle accumulator? I run mine all the time and I don't like the noise, but I think it keeps the air very clean. Any dust you raise is soon in the filter because it strains the air six times an hour in a big room. And it's even supposed to work on fine particles like cigarette smoke and viruses. Maybe it's because HEPA filters require electricity to power the fans so that's just not green enough for today's trends. I think it does work.
The EPA published this information a long time ago. This is a good reference for preventing pollution: http://www.epa.gov/iaq/pubs/insidest.html with common sense information that the sellers of these products won't tell you. It isn't about restricting your quality of life but about living without the diseases these pollutants cause. We aren't living longer productive lives, we are living longer with chronic illnesses from avoidable causes. How important is it to put farm chemicals on your carpet when there are less toxic pesticides available? Why buy an air purifier and leave sources of pollution around, pretending it isn't entering your lungs at the same time it enters the machine! Here is an article on fragranced products - why not use fruits and natural substances to scent the air instead of gasoline-type petroleum products. Save the benzene and simmer some apple peels. http://www.ieconnections.com/archive/feb_08/feb_08.htm#article3
We are wasting billions on lost work and school days from asthma because we don't open windows for a half hour per day to mix in fresh air with the stale. We confuse poisons with allergens - just consider that most allergens are things that are fine for most people. Cigarette smoke is harmful to all so is not about allergy; pesticides are registered EPA poisons, so allergy isn't the issue.
Think and ask for complete labeling of products so you can tell the difference between carcinogens and calories. Soaring health care costs are out of control because quality control is no longer in our hands. Simple isn't necessarily less. Just think about dragging that oxygen tank around - at 40.
Barbara Rubin
www.armchairactivist.us
We are wasting billions of dollars every year for people who just do not want to go to work. The EPA needs to stay out of our homes before Michelle Obama passes a new law.
Barbara....common theme to your issues.
Got any link to the chronic illnesses due to chemical exposure you are referring too ? I was unaware of firms links of the nature you reference, although the concerns are
How about just getting rid of fragrances ?? Just saying....I see no need for them....period.
And also just saying, open the windows for a half hour per day...what would the be energy impact of doing that.....likely billions of tons of carbon per year....plus all the other "toxics" from burning carbon fuels....just saying...the law of unintended consequences strikes again.
All of these problems are easily fixed through your HVAC system. We sell many air purification systems that remove harmfull gases, kills airborned living organisms, filters the air down to 3 micron pariculates, and introduces outside air in the house after it has been cleaned and conditioned. If your HVAC professional is worth his salt, he should be able to advise you on this. If he doesn't have the answers, then find a real professional. One thing the article failed to mention was the VOC problems. VOC (volatile organic compounds) is all the vapors emitted by your house (paints, carpets, upholstry, laminated items, etc). These gases can be filtered out and replaced with outside air to dilute the effects of it. Good luck and healthy living. It is not that hard but few HVAC companies promote this great feature of air conditioning.
stop farting
Speaking of "natural" air scents, the local health food store sells smudge sticks. That's tree parts, mostly green that you light and leave smouldering in your home. It's smoke! I bet it smells great but it has to be carcinogenic as well as being expensive. Another nature store sells candles with bees wax as though that's better than the other kind. Places like that would probably evacuate the store if I lit a cigarette but sell smudge sticks... sure.
solving one problem creates another problem even for an hvac guy .an experienced hvac guy would know this already.
Lordy, can people do nothing but complain and look for health hazards? Anywhere you live is going to have dust, pollen and probably mold. If you are exposed to it all of your life, you have probably developed an immunity to it. However, if you use a lot of toxic cleaners, antibotic products and try to sterilize everything, your world is an accident waiting to happen.
curly...I see you believe chemicals and sterilants have only negative impacts, and no benefits. Such a view does make life easier, but overall life may not be any healthier/better.
But I do agree people "clean" way to much....kind of silly consider the biological nature of life.
Lovely.
I used to have all the toxins in my home until I came in contact with an online Wellness Company little over 5 years ago. I've read that fumes(toxic) from furniture polish still has a half life by the time you dust again. Assuming you dust weekly. Also read that a favorite in many householde, Liquid Bleach, can interfere with brain function, and suspected to affect reproductive system. Vapors have been shown to aggravate heart conditions and asthma. I got a publication of Toxin Checklist through RM Barry Publications and the lists of toxins in the everyday products I was using was shocking. With all the toxins "outgassing" from under the cabinets that contained bleach, and other products, put chemicals in my home's air and the potential danger of a "toxic cocktail".
I was more than a little concerned, so I took action and switched from the grocery store brands to Melaleuca. I have taken all the toxins from my home. From laundry products, to cleaning products, even to the products I use for my hair and body. I breathe much easier, my husband's allergies have lessened, even my dog's allergies are better. I am thrilled with the high quality of their products and their 100% money bk guarantee on every product. They have over 350. Totally safe for babies and pets. Lord willing, I'll never go back to using the cancer causing chemicals in my home again. I feel so good when my grandchildren come over and play on the floors knowing they are not breathing toxins. They've also swithched. This is not new money you will be spending. Just re-directing what monies you allready spend now, but just buying from Melaleuca first. You will be telling everyone you know about these products once you start using them. They are awesome! Also, your order is delivered right to your door every month.
If you are interested in more information as to how to get safer, cleaner, and yes, cheaper products for your home, contact me after checking out our website: Melaleuca.com BKTerp4UPC@msn.com
I do energy audits using a blower door to depressurize homes. Air doesn't stick around in your home as much as this article would lead you to believe. Most homes get about a dozen (or more) air exchanges a day -- the target is between 8 and 9. I also use a laser particle counter for for mold inspections. You probably inhale about 10,000 .3 micron sized particles, 1,000 .5 micron particles and 10 to 20 5.0 micron particles in every breath you take. Find what you are allergic to and eliminate it in your home.
That makes more sense than this article!