A LESS TOXIC HOME ROOM BY ROOM SERIES: Whole Home: Week 1
Creating a healthier home can often feel overwhelming, but it does not have to be complicated or expensive. You can create a less toxic and healthier home + lifestyle with simple habit swaps. In addition, you can learn how to read ingredients and avoid certain words like ‘fragrance’ in your household products. You can also, slowly swap to your next better products as you go. This post is the first in the whole home series: A Less Toxic Home Room By Room, where I will be walking you through one room per week to help reduce the overwhelm in creating a healthier home and lifestyle. This week we are walking through additions, tips, and swaps that can be implemented throughout the entire home.
You don’t need to swap everything out at once, or add in every healthier lifestyle habit from the start. Instead, you can swap to your next better product when you are running out of a current product. You can also add 1-2 healthier home and lifestyle habits every few weeks.
Oftentimes creating a less toxic home can look like simplifying what you use and do. Think, removing instead of adding. Remove the household fragrance sprays, candles, and plug ins. Remove the 5-10 different household cleaning products and swap to one, non-toxic, cleaner ingredient, all purpose household cleaner.
All Purpose Cleaner Swaps
Branch Basics – Discount Code: LESSTOXIC, Aunt Fannie’s spray, Aunt Fannie’s wipes, Attitude,
Truly Free – Discount Code: LESSTOXIC30, Force of Nature, Bon Ami.
You can also DIY your all purpose cleaner for a healthier home, using castile soap, water, and a spray bottle. Combine 1 cup of distilled water and 1 tablespoon of liquid castile soap. You can add 10-15 drops of essential oil too if you’d like! Castile soap, Amber spray bottle.
A less toxic DIY all purpose cleaner option (with items you probably have in your pantry): Fill a spray bottle 50% distilled white vinegar, 50% water, and as an added option squeeze a lemon into the all purpose cleaning mix.
Fragrance Tips
Grow air spray, Rowe Casa spray, Rowe Casa candles, Fontana candles – Discount Code: LESSTOXICHOME, Big Dipper Wax Works, You can DIY an air freshener with a spray bottle, essential oils, witch hazel, and distilled water.
Fragrance in a product can be a cocktail of hundreds of toxic chemicals. Manufacturers are not required to list the ingredients in their ‘Fragrance’. Many chemicals used to make fragrances are classified as allergens, endocrine disruptors, asthma triggers, neurotoxins, and even carcinogens (potential to, or can, cause cancer). Phthalates are often hidden inside of the word ‘fragrance’.
Healthier Home Fragrance Tips:
- Look for hidden fragrance in toys, markers, etc.
- Reducing the word ‘fragrance’ on ingredients labels in your household, cleaning, and personal care products can help eliminate a plethora of toxins.
- Opt for unscented, or products that list out exactly what is in their scent compounds, and those ingredients are safe (ex: essential oils and plant isolates).
- Easy to spot red flags when learning to read ingredients labels:
1.) No ingredients or vague terms are listed.
2.) You spot the words, ‘Fragrance’, ‘Perfume’, ‘Natural Fragrance’ Without the actual ingredients in the fragrance.
Research/Studies/Articles: This Article From Force Of Nature Has Many Studies Linked Within The Article On Fragrance And The Hidden Ingredients Within
Air Quality Tips
HVAC filter, Bissell HEPA Sealed Vacuum, Air Doctor (with my discount)
Focusing on indoor air quality can be a large part of creating a healthier home. Especially considering the amount of time we spend indoors, and in our home.
Change hvac filters every 1-2 months:
Many of us were taught to change our filters every season. But now, many healthier home and mold professionals recommend every 1-2 months is ideal. MERV 13 is an excellent option to remove a larger amount of contaminants, including mold spores. Studies/Research/Article: (1)
Open windows daily:
Open windows on opposite sides of the home for at least 10 minutes per day (when it is not raining or high humidity). Studies show that indoor air is typically more polluted than outdoor air. Opening windows allows for the air to filter through (outdoor air in, and indoor air out). Studies/Research/Articles: (1)
remove shoes outside:
Research has shown the bottom of shoes to contain E. coli, pesticides, herbicides, formaldehyde, allergens, and many other pollutants we don’t want to bring indoors. Washing our hands when we get home can be a great added bonus to this. Studies/Research/Articles: (1) (2) (3)
vacuum regularly(hepa sealed if possible):
Vacuuming is an excellent way to collect dust and debris from around the home into the canister. HEPA sealed canisters keep the majority of those small particles inside of the canister. Your home’s dust is more than dead skin cells and dirt. In fact, the dust often contains contaminants such as Air Pollutants, Flame Retardants, Heavy Metals, Pesticides, Phenols, Phthalic Acids, Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons, Mold Spores, and more. (Study Here On Dust Contaminants)
wet dust regularly:
For the same reasons as above with vacuuming. Dust with a damp rag and throw into the washer immediately after.
use air purifiers (if in budget):
Look for air purifiers that have a carbon filter layer + true HEPA (or better) filter layer. We love and use air doctor, discount built into link. They are low EMF, lights can turn off, pre-filter, carbon filter, and better than HEPA filter (0.3microns), filter replacement notification lights, third party tested for efficiency, and priced well for the level of quality. Air purifiers can help contribute to a healthier home by cleaning up the air within your home.
use filtration while gas stoves are on:
Open windows, turn on exhaust fans that vent to the outside and ideally have intake air, or use portable air purifiers, whatever you have available to you. Gas stoves can release pollutants into the air while cooking, things like nitrogen dioxide, benzene, and other harmful and potentially harmful VOC’s. Does this mean we stress over our gas stoves? Nope, at least not for me. We love cooking with gas stoves and take steps to help mitigate while cooking (open a nearby window). Electric stoves have their downfalls as well, like higher levels of EMF. This area of stoves will be a personal preference, and I personally would not stress over this, or any one thing. Research/Studies/Articles:(1) (2)
hvac system serviced every 6 months:
HVAC system checks are usually done by your HVAC installation company, or another HVAC company you trust. Here is an EXCELLENT post from PJ Harlow Wellness on IG with the images we use as a guide when our tech comes out to service our units. Sometimes they seem confused, so we just keep digging in with questions and explaining what we want done + going with them to verify the process.
Lighting Tips For A Healthier Home
Lumebox – Discount Code: LESSTOXIC, Blockbluelight – Discount Code: LESSTOXIC, Boncharge – Discount Code: LESSTOXIC15
Light hygiene is an often over looked area of creating a healthier home and lifestyle. I personally have started to learn more over the years on the major impact our light hygiene can have on our overall health and wellness. Check out this evening lighting reel for more tips on instagram.
- Upon waking at least 5 minutes of morning sunlight on your face (outdoors or through open windows). Aim for sunrise, or as close as possible.
- Early morning bright sunlight after sunrise, 5-30 minutes (if overcast closer to 30)
- Afternoon sunlight on skin + face without sunglasses on.
- Sunset outdoors or through open windows.
- Once Dark: Limit all light and try to avoid blue & green light.
- Affordable Immediate Option: Turn off overhead lights, use 1-2 lamps with a warm incandescent bulb, turn all screens to red (google how).
- Other Options: Use third party tested Red Lens blue light blocking glasses and red light or, full spectrum on the no blue (nighttime), bulbs in lamps or overhead lights. Grab red light nightlights. Use red lens glasses if on screens. **Look for no flicker, truly no blue or green, low EMF on the bulbs (Block Blue Light & Bon Charge are two good brands).
- Use third party tested (low or no flicker, low EMF, high irradiance) Red Light and Near Infrared Light therapy devices, like Lumebox, throughout the day as needed to help with cellular healing.
Water Swaps
Greenfield Whole Home Filter , Greenfield Under Sink System ,Greenfield Countertop Filter – Greenfield Discount Code: LESSTOXIC, Zero pitcher, Clearly Filtered, Crystalquest bath filter, Good For Co. Shower filter, Discount Code: LESSTOXIC15.
Water filtration can play another large role in an overall healthier home + lifestyle. My free download Whole Home Guide has more options listed out for water filtration on page 15.
Most tap water in the US (well water can have it’s share of contaminants as well) contain contaminants such as: Pharmaceuticals, Chlorine, Flouride, PFAS, Parasites, Heavy Metals, and more. You can learn more Here, plus look into the potential state of your drinking water on their database. Filtering your drinking water can be an excellent healthier lifestyle habit to start with. I will have an entire water post coming on this during the Food / Pantry Week of this series.
Even running to your local Walmart or Target to grab the Zero Pitcher for around $30 can be an good first step. The Zero pitcher goes through NSF certified testing and shares their results online. I do not personally recommend other store bought pitchers such as Brita.
TIP: Use MyTapScore to get your water tested. You can then use greenfield, or another great company to customize your exact needs.
TIP: For drinking water filtration: look for NSF certified, third party testing that will share their results.
Moisture Tips
Govee Water Leak Detectors, Hygrometer, Squeegee, Homelabs Dehumidifier
Mold within a home has the potential to cause health implications. It is an area that can often feel overwhelming for some to tackle. You can follow these tips below to help reduce the potential of mold growth from moisture. If you already have a current mold problem, you may want to look into a consultation (last few bullets have people I personally recommend).
- Monitoring your home’s humidity and moisture can help prevent water damage and mold growth. Ideally you want humidity to stay between 30-50%.
- Under 30% – Can have health implications: dry skin, cracked lips, sore throat, and certain viruses and bacteria can thrive. Can be hard on woodwork (furniture, floors, baseboards, etc).
- Above 50% – Can start to become a hight enough level of moisture for mold to grow. Especially for extended periods of time.
- If you suspect a mold problem in your home, look into hiring a professional for a consultation. Your inspector and remediator should be different companies. It is a red flag, and conflict of interest, if your inspector says they also remediate.
- Mold Consultants I Recommend On IG: @MoldAuthorityLive and @PJHarlowWellness
- Healthy Home Building / Renovation Consultants On IG: @AwakeningSpaces and @HolisticHomes.ByChristine
Other Tips For A Healthier Home
Wi-Fi kill switch, Bissell 2998.
There are simple little things you can do to help create a healthier home. A few of these can be: turning off wifi at night and when not in use, let new furniture off gas, keep your home decluttered and well cleaned, vacuum mattresses and pillows monthly, and also washing sheets + bedding weekly.
If you want to learn more + see other addition items linked for healthier home shopping: check out the Whole Home Free Guide below.
