2024 Healthier You Series: Reduce the Toxins You Eat, Breathe, and Touch – Home Air Environment

Part One of this article covered the toxicity of ingredients in our personal care products.This second part will focus on the air that we breathe in our homes. Since the pandemic, Americans are spending more time at home. According to the EPA, evidence suggests that the air in our homes and other indoor environments can be more seriously polluted than outdoors, even in the most industrialized cities: sometimes two to five or more times higher.^2,3 For a healthier life, here are some suggestions to lower the air pollution in your home; your immune system will thank you.

Home Air Environment

When you walk into someone’s home you probably notice that it has its own unique smell. The combination of its basic building materials, the fragrance of a skin cream used by its inhabitant, its furnishings, the products used to clean it, leftover cooking smells… all create odors that permeate the air.  The smell of home is familiar and comforting. Yet, some of the odors that make up home, contribute to the impurities of its air.

I don’t know that we tend to think of smells as particles that enter through our noses (at least, I didn’t). Yet, how can we smell something if there isn’t a tangible substance that reaches us? The answer is  yes, odors are tangible, microscopic chemicals: ³

          An odor is a chemical molecule light enough to be swept around by the environment. Scents travel through the air or underwater, before ultimately tripping sensors in our noses – known as olfactory neurons. 

When you sniff an odor you change its presence in the environment. Inhalation creates blank pockets in an odor cloud. For example, if you sniff the roses in a garden, every sniff changes the scent for someone else. A rose is a rose, but when you smell the (trade-secret-protected) synthetic floral scent of a household cleaner, you inhale chemical molecules of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), some of which may be toxic.  Likewise, the smell of new furniture or the fresh paint in a newly decorated room, which may evoke a sense of pleasurable accomplishment, is also due to VOCs. These chemical molecules are released in a process called off-gassing.

          Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are a large group of chemicals that are found in many products we use to build and maintain our homes.⁴

Common VOCs that contaminate indoor air are : benzene, ethylene glycol, formaldehyde, methylene chloride, tetrachloroethylene, toluene, xylene, and 1,3-butadiene. Sources in the home are paint, varnishes, caulks, furniture, carpet, and wood products. ^5,6 Not all VOCs are harmful, but many of them are; some can damage the liver and affect the central nervous system.They can also be skin and eye irritants and affect breathing. And, building and maintenance materials are not the only source of VOCs; they are also emitted by carpeting and home furnishings, household cleaners, air fresheners, and our personal care products. You might recognize formaldehyde and toluene as being on the list of “dirty chemicals” listed in part one of this article. Sources of generally harmful VOCs are toilet bowl cleaners, spray window cleaners, oven cleaners, and furniture polish.

VOCs are just one source of air pollution in the home. The EPA’s list of other sources includes tobacco products, heating and cooling systems, and pesticides from outdoors.  So as you can see, our home air impurities come from a number of different sources. Some are emitted continuously and others intermittently.   

Reducing Indoor Air Pollution

VOCs  

It seems paradoxical that the products we use to leave our homes smelling clean and fresh may substantially contribute to its indoor toxicity; the synthetic fragrances found in laundry detergents, air fresheners, soaps, all-purpose cleaners, fabric softeners, and dish detergents emit hundreds of VOCs – some, according to a 2010 study, are listed as hazardous and toxic by federal law. The study included some products listed as “green”, “organic” or “natural.”   

         Scented Products emit a bouquet of VOCs.⁷

Add to our indoor air, scented personal care products. Fragrances, which are trade-protected formulations, contain some of the most toxic chemicals.⁸

A bouquet of VOCs is not as appealing as a bouquet of roses. One solution  is to look for scent-free products. Be mindful that there are two categories of scent-free products. The first is unscented and may contain chemicals to neutralize the odors of other ingredients. The second is fragrance-free, which means that neither fragrance chemicals nor masking agents are used.¹⁰ Of course air fresheners are known for their fragrances, but there are alternatives here, as well. Essential oils used appropriately ⁹ make a good substitute. Others include baking soda, vinegar, fragrant houseplants, natural candles, and coffee. ¹¹  This list leads us to the next solution: DIY household cleaners and personal care products.

An alternative is to make your own household and personal care products.The ingredients you need for DIY household cleaners can be reduced to a fairly simple list of grocery store items: vinegar, baking soda, lemons, hydrogen peroxide, olive oil, castile soap, soap nuts (for laundry soap), rubbing alcohol, and essential oils. Add sugar, salt and honey for personal care products. With an internet search, you can find a plethora of homemade recipes for every household cleaning chore. The same is true for homemade recipes for personal care products.

For more long-range planning, you might consider looking into eco-friendly products whenever you remodel, repair, or maintain your home. Some examples are:

Low VOC and no VOC paints —  these paints tend to have less odor but may still contain other harmful solvents and additives. You need to research to determine exactly what is in the paint you select. Non-toxic and natural are more overreaching designations. Eco Paints are a trending option and include plant-based mineral paints, milk paint (water-based, yes, does contains milk), and recycled paint.¹²   

Eco friendly cabinets, flooring and home furnishings. A  growing trend is organic and sustainable furniture.   You can find a  number of eco-friendly brands to explore. Some major outlets, for example Pottery Barn, have eco-friendly lines. If you are a do-it-yourselfer, look for websites that will guide you through the process of selecting materials and following through on your home project.¹² Another option is to buy used furniture, which has already off-gassed some of its VOCs. Etsy website, which features handmade and vintage items, has a reclaimed furniture category. Ebay is another source of “pre-loved” home decor. ¹³ 

As you investigate options, a valuable resource is Environmental Working Group (EWG), an organization that evaluates and rates different products.  Another source of information is Greenguard, an environmental institute that tests and issues certifications for products with no or low VOC emissions. 

Tobacco Smoke

Smoke from cigarettes, cigars, etc., seems to be one of the hardest pollutants to eliminate. I have found suggestions for eliminating its odor (vinegar, baking soda and activated charcoal, and coffee grounds). Tobacco smoke contains a host of toxic chemicals: formaldehyde, arsenic, ammonia, benzene and more. Second hand smoke can remain in the air for up to 5 hours and quickly spreads from one room to the next. Air filters and conventional air ventilation cannot fully eliminate second hand smoke. What remains is the third hand smoke residue left on surfaces like carpets, furniture, walls, and drapes. When these surfaces are touched, the particles can be stirred up and breathed in.¹⁴ The best solution reiterated on most sites is to eliminate smoking.

Outdoor Sources 

Outdoor air enters the home through openings such as joints, cracks in the walls, floors, and ceiling, and around windows and doors. Some pollutants are radon (a naturally occurring radioactive gas), pesticides, and outdoor pollution. While one might not think of the chemicals you use to maintain your yard as an indoor pollutant, they can seep into your indoor environment. 

Radon kits can test the levels of this pollutant to see if it is an issue in your home. One solution to pesticide pollution is to consider a greener approach to your surrounding landscaping. Covered in an earlier article is the recognized toxicity of Roundup’s glyphosate, one of the most widely used pesticides in the world. Landscaping that reduces the need for pesticides will benefit your home and the greater outdoor environment. 

Detox with the IonCleanse by AMD

This article could go on endlessly, it seems. There are so many sources of toxicity in our modern world, I have only covered a few, and it is virtually impossible to create a toxin-free environment in your home. Yet, you can begin to make a difference by taking small, but significant, steps toward that goal. And as a complementary addition, it is important to eliminate the toxins you inevitably accumulate in your body. This is the reason we at AMD are so dedicated to the process of creating better health through the regular use of our IonCleanse by AMD detoxification system.

The last topic of this article  will cover the toxins in food. If you have any thoughts, comments, or suggestions, I would love to hear from you. I continue to learn from my research for these articles. I recently bought an air mattress, the odor coming from it was intense. The instructions to let it air in a well-ventilated room for a day or so did give me pause. As a partial solution, I bought an organic mattress top for it.  My email is barbara@amajordifference.com