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Chemical-Free for Life: Quick Tips to Detox Your Home Starting Right Now
In modern society, it’s predicted that the average home contains around 62 toxic chemicals – more than a standard chemistry lab! With a shocking 42% increase in asthma over the past decade and a 28% increase in child cancer, it’s safe to start assuming that our homes are now more toxic than ever.
But it’s not our fault; the majority of us don’t even realize the amount of toxic chemicals we’re bringing into our homes. Something as simple as a basic household cleaner can contain potentially dangerous chemicals, yet products like this are still advertised as household essentials which naturally encourages us to buy them.
However, if you’re serious about detoxing your home and significantly reducing the number of toxins that may be present, you’ve come to the right place! Below you’ll find some quick and easy tips you can start using right away that will rid your home of dangerous chemicals that have the potential to permanently damage your health.
Drink filtered tap water
When we go to the store to purchase bottled water, we instantly assume we’re making a healthy choice free of any dangerous health-damaging chemicals. But this couldn’t be further from the truth. And depending on where you live, tap water may not fare any better.
In fact, research across ten of the most popular bottled water brands has shown that each individual bottle contained up to a huge 38 chemicals including bacteria, pollutants and even fertilizer. This makes it no better, if not worse, than tap water, meaning you’re wasting your hard-earned money while innocently thinking you’re making a cleaner choice.
So, to avoid any potential toxins in something as simple as water, opt for filtered tap water instead. Water filters are available in a variety of stores and will not only save money in the long-run, but will also provide water that is fully detoxed. There are stand-alone filters that you pour water into to be filtered. There are also filters that can be attached to your tap water such as reverse-osmosis filters. Both types are known to drastically reduce the amount of chemicals in your water as long as they are maintained properly.
Use natural laundry products
One of the biggest culprits in this toxic menace is household cleaners, including the laundry products we use every day to clean our clothes. In order to effectively remove clothing stains and dirt, these products often contain extremely harsh chemicals that can leave an invisible chemical residue on our clothes. This means the ‘clean’ clothes you’re wearing right now could be covered in toxins, which in a sense can render them as very ‘un-clean’.
Instead of generic laundry products, try 100% natural alternatives instead. Completely paraben and chemical free, these organic laundry products will provide the exact same cleaning power as regular detergents without the danger.
House plants
House plants are regularly found throughout our homes, but are mainly bought for decorative purposes. Many people don’t actually realize that basic house plants act as an effective air purifier, absorbing the air’s toxic chemicals that could otherwise cause significant danger to you and your family.
One of the most successful plants for this purpose is ivy. Relatively inexpensive and very attractive to look at, with ivy in your home you can be rest assured that the air you are breathing is much healthier and safer. But if ivy isn’t your thing, virtually any leafy house plant will do the job!
Use natural candles
Attractive to look at and designed to make our homes smell better, scented candles are a firm favorite for many with $3.2 billion being spent on them every year. However, many commercially-produced scented candles have been shown to contain chemicals that, when burned, react with the air to produce cancer-inducing toxins. Extremely dangerous but hidden beneath an attractive smell, many candles present in our homes can result in harmful consequences.
Opt for candles that use 100% natural ingredients. They may be slightly more expensive than regular scented candles, but they won’t contain any harsh substances and will still burn beautifully and provide a home-filling scent. If you do your research you can find a huge variety of natural candles using beeswax and soy derivatives. So, you won’t have to sacrifice your love of pretty candles just by going natural!
If you were shocked by the earlier statistics regarding the toxic potential of our homes, you now have some simple yet effective methods you can use to make your home cleaner and safer for the whole family. Most of us don’t even realize the danger we’re bringing home by buying these commercially-advertised homeware products, simply because we’re not told the true facts about their ingredients.
Changes as simple and easy as drinking filtered instead of bottled water, and switching to natural laundry products, are guaranteed to make a huge difference not only to your home, but to your health as well!
Charlotte Hurst is on a mission to banish harsh chemicals from her home. 1 bottle at a time she is reaching a greener, cleaner outcome. Sharing her journey with others on a variety of lifestyle and Mommy blogs Charlotte hopes to raise awareness of what you have under the kitchen sink.
