5 Tips For a Healthier Home

Update your cleaning solutions

Help yourself and your wallet - don’t buy cleaners with potentially harmful chemicals. Use the below ‘recipes’ to clean your home. But if you are loyal to a cleaner already, open your windows when used to make sure the air has a chance to filter out.

All-purpose cleaner: Dissolve 4 tablespoons baking soda in 1 litre warm water.

Drain cleaner: Pour a half-cup baking soda down the drain. Add a half-cup white vinegar. Close the drain and wait five minutes, then flush with a kettleful of boiling water.

Toilet bowl cleaner: Make a paste with lemon juice and borax (available in hardware stores). Apply the paste, let set for two hours, then scrub and rinse.

Oven cleaner: Sprinkle water on spills while the oven is still warm, then add salt. When the oven cools, scrape the spill away.

Clean that sponge

Kitchen and bath sponges can be breeding grounds for harmful bacteria. It’s important to either clean, or change your sponge bi-weekly. If you’re looking to move away from plastic, we suggest looking into sea sponges. They’re a natural, renewable resource and can be cleaned by just soaking them in a mixture made from warm water and baking soda: one cup of water to 1 tablespoon of baking soda.

Dust & Vacuum

Seems easy and obvious, but this simple task easily helps eliminate dander, dust, and other contaminants build up. These things combined can aggravate allergies. If you have sever allergies, consider a HEPA air filter.

Water and air are two cornerstones of our life. What if either was working against you? It’s important that homes on a well system get the water tested for arsenic, lead, and other contaminants. Also check whether your home has a radon mitigation system installed. If not, it may be worth getting the home re-tested to ensure the air your breathing is safe.

Easier said than done, plastic is all around us. Unfortunately lower grade plastic is known to contain Bisphenol A, which can potentially disrupt our endocrine system. Where you are able to, move to safer alternatives such as wood, or glass.