24 tips for a healthier home

Keeping your home clean and beautiful is as much about what you can't see as what you can. Indoor air quality can suffer when homes are shut up tight and built with the wrong materials. We can make it better or worse depending on how we outfit our homes and what we use to maintain them with. Here are some pointers to help you clean up your act.

1. Check shingles for signs of wear and look for water damage in your attic. Water leaking through the roof can cause serious mould infestations.

2. Homes built before 1960 were often painted with lead paint, which is found in household dust. Remove a paint chip to have it tested. If you have lead, keep your home dust-free to protect against lead poisoning and hire an experienced contractor to sand or remove wall and ceiling materials contaminated with lead.

3. Replace blinds with washable drapes and you'll have a window covering friendlier to those with dust allergies. 

4. Use an exhaust fan to remove moisture and gasses from cooking that can build up and support mould growth, causing or irritating allergies and respiratory conditions.

5. Air out your dry cleaning or choose a company that doesn't use perchloroethylene, or "perc," a dry-cleaning solvent that's a probable carcinogenic.

6. Brush pets outdoors often, wash their bedding and vacuum your home regularly to control hair.

7. Soil in urban areas can be contaminated with lead from emissions of leaded gasoline. Have your soil tested and replaced, if necessary.

8. Keep your basement dry and mould-free by ensuring gutters and downspouts aren't blocked, and that they direct water away from the home.

9. Use a vacuum with a HEPA filter to pick up fine particles that could irritate asthma and other respiratory ailments.

10. Mount carbon monoxide detectors at knee height to detect leaks from your gas or oil furnace or ill-maintained appliances. Carbon monoxide poisoning can cause brain damage or death.

11. Choose natural materials, such as solid wood, bamboo or cork for flooring; where flooring is adhered to the subfloor choose low-emission adhesives. Avoid vinyl floor and wall coverings – vinyl chloride and polyvinyl chloride are carcinogens that can emit from some of these products and the adhesives used with them.

12. Wear a dust mask and use a dust collection system in your workshop, including an ambient air filter. Sawdust is carcinogenic and can irritate respiratory conditions.

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