Detox Your Home!

October 31, 2017

Detox your home?! If you’re a healthy germaphobe, regularly wash your hands and avoid living with and consuming cancer-causers, no doubt you already know a lot about how to detox your home. On the other hand, with 500-1,000 chemicals in the average house that we can’t see, smell or taste, it’s the time to learn some basics if you don’t already know.

We’ve heard the research exposing the dangers of BPAs, petrochemicals and phthalates for years and consumer health advocates have helped us get them out of consumer products. But studies continue to find these toxic chemicals in everything from bedding and shower curtains to canned goods and boxed mac and cheese!

Is nothing sacred?

Knowing how to detox your home isn’t just for germaphobes anymore, it’s for you and me and every family everywhere!

Frightening Phthalates

Phthalates – the chemicals that make plastic more flexible — were banned from children’s teething rings and rubber duck toys a decade ago because they can disrupt male hormones. They’ve also been linked to birth defects and learning/behavior problems in older children.

And if boxed mac and cheese is your go-to, quick lunch for a hungry bunch, read this: a new study detected phthalates in all but one mac and cheese boxed mix! So while you can’t shop your way out of the problem, you can learn how to detox your home from those processed food phthalates with these quick tips.

Experts advise us to avoid packaged foods in a box since there’s bound to have been phthalates involved in the process.

The more toxic phthalates accumulate in fat, so try to eat low-fat dairy products.

Use glass, stainless steel, ceramic or wood to hold and store your food instead of plastic.

And for a great replacement recipe for mac and cheese with no phthalates, try Living Well Mom’s kid-friendly recipe.

Family-Unfriendly Fragrance

Since aerosol air fresheners and artificial fragrances may contain phthalates and synthetic petrochemicals linked to cancer, central nervous system damage and allergic reactions. it’s important to know how to detox your home from those, too!

Choose unscented personal care products, including laundry detergent, and if it’s not warm enough to open the windows for fresh air, Mother Earth Living has an aromatic recipe for a refreshing spray with vodka and essential oil.

The site also has four more suggestions about how to detox your home, like ditching the synthetic fabrics in window treatments and bedding and opting for something like bamboo shades and organic, untreated cotton, linen or hemp.

Deadly BPAs

Research on the Environmental Protection Agency website shows the compound BPA or bisphenol A has been linked to breast cancer, prostate cancer and birth defects. But that hasn’t encouraged retailers to completely eliminate the toxin in canned food linings.

A report from the Center for Environmental Health found that 40 percent of cans tested contain BPA and 19 percent of cans contain PVC, or polyvinyl chloride, a form of plastic that has been linked to kidney and liver problems.

If you want to know how to detox your home from BPA, opt first for fresh or frozen foods when you can find and afford them. You can also check treehugger.com for cans that don’t contain BPA, and let your grocer know you prefer BPA-free products. Be a squeaky wheel!

Toxin-Free Doggie

Unsuspecting cats and dogs have been known to ingest all sorts of hazardous edible and inedible objects so it’s important to know how to detox your home for your pets. The risks of poinsettias and chocolate, two common items that are mildly to super toxic for both dogs and cats, are well known. But get a load of the Pet Poison Helpline. It lists a passel of possibilities – everything from bread dough and tinsel to avocados and live plants – that can irritate, sicken or incapacitate your pets.

If you have a dog or a cat, bookmark that helpline!

Top Tips to Detox Your Home

The top tips from the experts we surveyed include putting living plants in every room, removing our shoes when we walk inside, and if we haven’t already, switching to greener cleaners and avoiding non-stick pans, pots and bakeware.

Your home is your refuge; family-friendly, pet-friendly, and you want it to be free from anything that might threaten your loved ones’ health and welfare. Learn more about how to detox your home and life with these tips from EarthEasy.com.

Family-Friendly Southshore

We’re all about family-friendliness in the master-planned community of Southshore and take the welfare of our homeowners seriously! We invite you visit our community and tour the beautiful new Delaney model from Richmond American Homes and explore the latest home designs from Century Communities at The Hills in Southshore! These lakeside homes, available in ranch and two-story models, are priced from the upper $300s to the $700s.