Is your home a healthy place? You want it to be. You breathe the air in your home on a daily basis and you want to make sure that the air you are taking in isn’t going to cause you issues, like allergies and lung problems.
You might be surprised what things are in your home that could be harming your health. It’s not just about having a smoker in the house or not cleaning up after your pets when they have an accident. Here are some of the things that could be in your home and could be harming your health (now or over time).
Pests
Pests in your home can cause all kinds of issues. Mice can carry disease, and they go to the bathroom where ever they eat (which may be in your food or in your clothing). This ruins your belongings since you have to throw it away.
Moths can ruin your clothing as well. While bed bugs may not spread disease, they can cause painful and itchy bites. Even critters moving into your attic can make you sick (squirrels and raccoons doing their “business” in your home can cause respiratory infections and more).
Mold
Mold in your home can also cause asthma and allergy issues. If the mold in your home is black mold and the infestation of it is bad, it could cause neurological disorders as well. If you do have black mold it may be worth it to have a professional come in and get rid of it. Black mold isn’t the only mold in your home, get to know it all (and keep it all out of your place).
Asbestos
If you own an older home it’s possible there is asbestos in it. It could be in the walls, in the ceiling, and it could even be in the flooring. Yes, even some older flooring tiles are made with asbestos. It’s not as dangerous to you if it’s left alone, though. It’s the dust from asbestos that causes problems.
Lead Paint
Another problem with old homes can be lead in the paint. Leaded paint needs to be removed, just painting over it is not going to fix the problem. However, as long as the paint is not chipping it’s not as big of an issue, healthwise.
Toxic Air
Is the air in your home safe? You want to make sure to have a radon detector and a carbon monoxide detector as well. These poisonous gasses can kill you. A safe home also needs smoke detectors and a working fire extinguisher.
There are other things in the air in your home that could make you sick, on a lesser scale. Consider investing in an air purifier to help keep the air you are breather cleaner!
