Dust, often invisible revealing itself only when the sunlight beams in just right– seems innocent enough, but what is lurking in the dust?   Think about all the products used in your home and outside in your neighborhood as well as all the vehicles churning past and businesses and what not nearby. Dust is comprised of everything from stardust to building materials to cleaning products, pesticides, lawn chemicals, window cleaner, animal hair, dead skin cells, bugs, microscopic organisms, lead paint dust, asbestos, heavy metals, soot,… you name it, it’s more than likely in there in some quantity big or small.

Breathing, that essential thing we do to stay alive involves intaking air around us. This is where dust can become a nuisance. If everything in the dust was benevolent no problem, but unfortunately much of what’s in the dust can harm our lungs, our airways, respiratory system, even our brain can be harmed by fumes and dust we breathe in.

Household dust is laced with toxic chemicals, study finds

SOLUTIONS

Protect yourself and your family by making your home and work space toxin free. Don’t know how, no problem. Call me for a free consultation (312) 714-5244.  I’ve been helping people make their homes toxin free for many years and would love to help you. Please visit our website www.adoreyourhome.com.  For more info, see my previous post about indoor air quality. 

Housekeeping Tips:

• Ventilation: Make sure your home is ventilated properly, keep vents clean and open the windows and air it out when you can
• Cleaning: Use nontoxic, zero VOC cleaning products, avoid anything containing chlorine or ammonia. You can make your own homemade and safe cleaning products using baking soda, vinegar, essential oils and goodies from your kitchen. If you like you can use the Contact Form below to request an Adore Your Home consultation, or simply ask and I’ll send you a list of the safest products to buy.
• Dust and vacuum regularly to keep dirt and dust from overloading the air. If you have a bagless vacuum, empty the vacuum outside in the garbage, rather than indoors.
• If you have asthma or allergies or lots of dust or pets, consider getting a vacuum that uses bags with a closed HEPA filter system.
• If you have wood or tile floors, consider using a steam mop as well as steam clean carpets monthly.
• Also to help with breathing, mist the air in your home with lavender, eucalyptus and peppermint. You can make your own spray with purified water, essential oils and a little vegetable glycerine.
• Consider investing in a quality HEPA air purifier that removes dust and dander down to .03 microns.
• Take your shoes off when you come indoors and if you have pets, wipe their feet off when they come in from outside. I made Perty Paws especially for this! (Go from dirty to perty as I say:) It’s safe for pets, organic and nourishing for paws as well, but mostly it keeps the dirt, chemicals and germs from coming in your home. This in turn improves indoor air quality. It’s safe to use on shoe soles too in case you don’t want to take your shoes off and is a fabulous floor cleaner!
• Wash your windowsills monthly to keep dirt and dust from accumulating and blowing inside

So what else can you do to keep your air as clean as possible? Here’s a few ideas for you:

1. Avoid Flame Retardants: Replace any furniture or upholstery containing fire retardants
2. Painting, choose low or zero VOC paints
3. Humidifier:  clean it regularly and consider using filtered water that doesn’t contain DBPs (disinfection byproducts)
4. PVC: If you have a PVC shower liner, replace it with a nontoxic variety
5. Pesticides: Avoid using pesticides indoors, there are many natural options to get rid of bugs and pests. Call me for free suggestions at (312) 714-5244 or see contact form below
6. Remove shoes indoors. This helps keep dirt and germs out of your home.
7. Avoid hand santitizers, most contain triclosan and other harmful chemicals that actually weaken your skin’s natural defenses. Better to use soap and water, or use Perty Paws  comprised of all natural antibacterial, antifungal goodies.  See and Order here, or if you request I’ll give you a free sample.
8. Avoid CFL Lightbulbs: Be careful with CFL bulbs, if they break even the EPA says to open all windows, turn off your HVAC or fan and evacuate the premises for at least 15 minutes. Do not vacuum or sweep up the broken bulb as you will scatter mercury dust throughout your home. Clean it up carefully while sealing the contents along with the clean up materials and discard safely. See this short video for a quick how-to
9. If you’re doing any renovation work, drywall, or removing old paint etc, make sure you seal off that part of your home and ventilate well outdoors. Also make sure that you protect your lungs and nasal passages by wearing appropriate safety gear–dust mask, nasal shields, safety goggles, and a respirator if you have one.
10. Consider investing in a shower filter and a water filter at your tap, this will prevent many harmful chemicals from escaping into the air. Believe it or not, steam is absorbed by our skin and our lungs. Unless you have a whole house water filtration (pricey but highly recommended) system, the water piping throughout your home contains chlorine and all the disinfection byproducts (DBPs) that come with it. These are volatile organic chemicals (VOCs) that cause respiratory problems and contribute to asthma, allergies, skin rashes, and a host of other troubling things including cancer. So if you can, filter your water at the tap and in your shower.  In the meantime, keep your bathroom window open a bit and your toilet seat down to diffuse any VOC build up.

Bye bye dust!

For more tips contact me below at Adore Your Home, thank you and have a good day!

Please contact me with questions or if you need help with any home issues:

As shocking as it may be, this is the green reality!