Want a healthier home? Here are a few tips to follow:
Green Your Air
The number one way to combat indoor air pollution is to never let anyone smoke in your home. Cigarettes are full of toxic chemicals, and secondhand smoke exposure can cause cancer.
Growing plants around your home act as natural air filters, and some plants are particularly effective absorbers of harmful pollutants emitted from carpets, furniture, and electronic equipment. Fill your home with spider plants, Boston ferns, rubber plants, and palm trees.
Carbon monoxide is an odorless gas and exposure to it can be deadly. To prevent carbon monoxide poisoning, install a carbon monoxide detector in your home.
Radon is a radioactive gas that is naturally present in soil, and it can enter your home through cracks in your foundation. Radon is also the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States. Radon test kits are available at most hardware stores.
Conserve water
Try not to turn on the washing machine or dishwasher until it’s full. Each washing cycle uses more than 25 gallons of water.
A shower uses about half as much water as the average bath, as long as you keep it to less than 5 minutes. An egg timer suction-cupped on the shower wall is a good way of keep track.
If you fill the sink with water to do dishes, you will use a fraction of the water that is used by leaving the faucet running.
Only flush the toilet when needed. Up to one-third of the drinking water that comes into the typical Western home goes straight down the toilet, which is a terrible waste of this precious resource.
Household hazardous waste
Inside nearly every household’s garage, basement or kitchen sink cupboard lurks harmful substances like old paint cans, used motor oil, garden pesticides and weed killers, used batteries, old computers or electronics, harsh cleaning chemicals, or pest killers. If you dump this noxious stuff down the drain, you will pollute the water supply. If you dispose of it in landfills, they will leak dangerous chemicals. Some cities or counties have monthly or annual pickups. Others have special drop-off sites. Call your local government to learn more.
Maid Brigade House Cleaning Services cares about our environment and the health of you and our family. For more information on healthy green living and green cleaning, please log on to
greencleancertified.com and maidbrigade.com. To learn more about the hidden allergy and asthma triggers in your home, log on to greencleancertified.com/greentv.
