Tips and Suggestions for a Healthier Home
As the Coronavirus in the USA continues to impact our lives, many of us continue to spend less time in public areas while opting to stay home. Now more than ever, employees are working remotely from home, families are staying in for dinners around the table and more of us are choosing to hold events at our residences rather than at public venues.
With all this activity under our own roofs, it might be a good idea to review health and safety conditions within your home. Here are a few tips to ensure your home is healthy so you and your family stay happy.
4 Essential Tests to Help Keep Your Home Healthy and Safe
With more of us staying inside, it’s crucial to safeguard our homes from potential health hazards. Here are a few simple, standard tests you can conduct in the home to prevent adverse living conditions.
Mold Testing: Mold in the home can lead to some unpleasant health issues like severe allergies, asthma, or even compromises of the immune system. The tricky thing about identifying health-harming mold is that it’s sneaky. Even if you can’t see any mold, it may still be lurking in your home. That’s why it’s important to test your home for mold. Testing kits are readily available at most home improvement stores and are generally easy to use. Testing for mold could make a big difference in reducing your family’s allergies and improving respiratory health.
Drinking-Water Tests: If you live in an area prone to higher pollution, it’s wise to test your drinking water. Regional testing companies purchase equipment from specialists like this Bay Area lab equipment company so they can test your water using scientific processes and render accurate results about the water quality you and your family are drinking every day. Once you receive the results from your local water testing lab, you are better equipped to make choices about filters and water purifiers if you find pollutants in your drinking water.
Radon Testing: Radon is a radioactive gas and if exposed to it long-term, radon may cause lung cancer. It is potentially a silent but deadly killer because it is odorless and colorless. Radon is a natural gas that is generated from the breakdown of uranium found in almost all soil. This gas can emerge from the ground beneath your house and waft into cracks in the home, leaving you and your family vulnerable to its toxic effects. The only way you can detect radon is by getting a radon test kit which can be found at any hardware store. They are relatively inexpensive and easy to use.
Carbon Monoxide Detectors: Carbon monoxide in the home can adversely affect your health if levels aren’t checked. Like radon, CO is colorless, odorless, and also tasteless, so it’s tough to detect. It is produced from burning materials, so if you have appliances that use fuel such as gas, you could potentially be at risk for carbon monoxide poisoning. You can gain peace of mind about CO levels by getting an inexpensive carbon monoxide detector from your local hardware store. Also have your HVAC technicians inspect your furnace, gas stove, and other fuel-based heat appliances to check for potential leaks or necessary repairs.
3 More Tips to Maintaining a Healthier Home
Air Purification: Since most of us are spending more time in our homes, it might be prudent to enhance the air quality to prevent allergy issues. Think about investing in an air purifier for the home which can greatly improve the quality of the air you and your family breathe. Another doable action for cleaner air in the house includes changing the air filters if you are using central heat and air to cool or heat your home.
Check or Replace Fire and Smoke Alarms: This seems like an obvious tip to maintaining a healthier home, but you might be surprised how many homes are at risk due to fire alarm neglect. Keep your house safe by checking your fire alarms every month and replace the batteries every year. Lastly, it’s recommended that fire and smoke alarms should be replaced every ten years. These small acts of prevention can save your home and even save lives from the tragedy of a house fire.
Keep a Tidy House: One of the best things you can do to boost the living conditions in a home is to keep it clean and uncluttered. Be sure to dust and vacuum regularly to minimize unhealthy organisms that cause allergies or ailments. Keep the clutter down as much as possible too. Stacks of boxes, newspapers, or trash tends to attract bugs or rodents, which is the antithesis of a healthy home. Keeping a clean and tidy home is vital to your physical wellbeing, and it also contributes to improving your mood. In other words, a clean home means a happy home!
Final Thoughts About Keeping Your Home Safe, Healthy and Happy
As you can see from these helpful tips, having a healthier home isn’t hard, it just takes a bit of time and attention to your surroundings. During this unprecedented time in history, the home has become more essential for our health and well-being now more than ever. Taking these small steps towards securing your home for optimal health will ensure the happiness of you and your family members for many years to come.
