Beneficial Buildings and Healthy Homes: Eleven Safety Tips

The Movement Toward Healthier Living Spaces

The "green" building movement has already made a lot of progress in publicizing techniques to utilize natural building materials, reduce energy consumption, and preserve scarce resources.

The emerging "healthy home" movement is working on ways to make your house (or place of work) safer from hazards, allergens, toxic materials, and man-made or natural disasters.

Important Disclaimer

Please note: This is general advice, not intended for construction purposes. Check with a licensed architect or contractor, as necessary, for specific recommendations for your individual circumstances.

Eleven Safety Tips

1. Regular Pillow Maintenance

Wash your pillow on a regular basis. You spend a significant amount of time with your face next to it.

2. Professional Carpet Cleaning

Have your carpets cleaned on a regular basis by a professional who uses hypoallergenic methods.

3. Non-Toxic Cleaning Materials

Review your cleaning materials and replace with non-toxic cleaners. Stay away from the ones with toxic warning labels. More and more stores are carrying Green/ Earth-friendly products that are less toxic. They are also available through catalogs. We recommend The Real Earth, Inc. at http://www.treeco.com.

4. Indoor Air Filtration Systems

Invest in an indoor air cleaner to filter some of the dust, pollen, and other particles. Place it in the area where you spend most of your time. The Consumer Reports magazine October issue has ratings for whole and room air cleaners, at http://www.ConsumerReports.org.

5. Natural Ventilation and Fresh Air

This one should be obvious. Open your windows! If you work in a building with inoperable windows, find out from building maintenance how many air changes per hour the HVAC system provides. Ask how much of that is fresh (outside) air and how much is re-circulated air. Ask your landlord about what they are doing to provide a healthy building.

6. Product Label Awareness

Read labels. Look for products that are non-toxic, all-natural, and biodegradable. Products to avoid are petroleum distillates, butyl ether, ammonia, chlorine, phosphates, benzene, and strong acids. If a label says "gray water safe" or "septic tank safe" or "biodegradable", then that product is healthier.

7. Hazardous Product Management

Use up your hazardous products, then buy non-toxic products. A product is hazardous if its label contains any of the following words: caution, irritant, combustible, warning, flammable, danger, poison, corrosive, or reactive. Never mix hazardous products. Do not dispose of hazardous products down the drain. For more information on hazardous household waste and its proper disposal contact http://www.co.sanmateo.ca.us/smc/department/home/

8. Air Filter Maintenance

Change your air filters with Hepa filters and replace them at least once a month during the winter season. There are better HVAC systems available (at a higher price) for more severe allergy conditions.

9. Moisture Control and Mold Prevention

Keep your roof gutters clean. This is a source of mold and can also breed insects like mosquitoes. Also get rid of any standing water, outside or inside.

10. Central Vacuum Systems

Install a built-in vacuum system that exhausts to the outdoors. These really do help.

11. Professional Design for Healthy Building

If you are building new or remodeling, use architects, designers and contractors who are knowledgeable and experienced with healthy building practices.

You can also research manufacturers specs on the Internet and insist on the healthier ones. You can help with this by becoming knowledgeable. Try http://www.greenresourcecenter.org or http://www.environmentalhomecenter.com. You can also subscribe to "Natural Home" magazine at http://www.naturalhomemagazine.com.

Creating Your Healthiest Home Environment

Implementing these eleven safety tips can significantly improve the health and safety of your living environment. Whether you're maintaining an existing home or planning new construction, prioritizing healthy building practices and materials will benefit you and your family for years to come.