Healthy Space, Healthy Life: Keeping Your Space Germ and Pollutant Free

We spend a lot of hours in our homes. And as we approach winter, I know I’m getting ready to snuggle in and spend even less time out and about.

Of course, I like to think of myself as a pretty healthy person.I eat right (usually), and I exercise (fairly regularly). But, I don’t often think about the things around me every day that could be impacting my health.

Our apartments are full of possible contaminants. But, there are a few simple things we can do to cut down on the harmful and keep our homes clean, healthy, and a safe haven all year round.

Shoes

Do you know where your shoes have been? We walk around on all kinds of surfaces every day — streets, public bathrooms, dusty/muddy outdoor spaces. At the gas station, our shoes pick up tiny bits of spilled gasoline. At the doctor’s office, they pick up remnants of the last patient’s sneeze. In the yard, they pick up a few bits of dirt and bugs. And then we walk in the door of the house.

I lived in Asia for a couple years and was introduced to the custom of always removing shoes when you enter a house, or even a restaurant. People generally sit on the floor, so while there, I was much more in tune with the grime that shoes carried. Since I’ve returned, I’ve kept that habit, and my floors are so much cleaner for it. Leave those germs, dirt, grime, and contaminants at the door. If you don’t like going barefoot (or stocking-foot), keep a pair of house shoes or slippers to wear inside.

Water

Humidity comes with the territory in many places. But even in dry climates, our homes can get quite humid from showers, cooking, laundry, and even just people breathing. In the summer, we usually keep windows open or air conditioners running, keeping the air flowing and humidity levels lowered. But in the cooler months, we often close up our homes, trapping moisture in with us.

Water that has nowhere to go can settle and make a perfect growing place for mold and other fuzzy friends that may lead to respiratory illness or allergies. But it’s easy to avoid if you start early. Be sure that your bathroom has adequate ventilation. If there’s not a functional venting fan, open a window when taking showers or baths. Use fans or crack open windows when cooking. And regularly check for any condensation or water build-up around windows, on ledges, or on walls.

Cleaners

We rarely think about cleaning supplies as possible contaminants. But many household cleaners have dangerous chemicals that can irritate skin, lungs, and eyes during or after use.

You can switch to all natural cleaners with fewer harmful substances. In fact, baking soda and vinegar work for almost all household cleaning needs. But if you’re attached to your standard cleaners, just be sure to protect yourself during and after use. Wear gloves, eye protection (swim goggles are cheap and work well even if they look silly) and even try a mask to reduce inhaling chemicals. Get the air flowing during and after use. Open windows, turn on fans, and if possible, leave the area for a bit after cleaning to let the chemicals dissipate a bit.

Air

We all have some junk floating around in our air. Even if you reduce chemical cleaners, ensure ventilation for water vapor, and keep shoes off in the house, there will still be some things in our air that we’d rather not breathe. To step things up a notch, you can buy a few house plants. There are a handful of plant types that are particularly good at cleaning air and keeping our indoor spaces healthy. Try some of these:

• Aloe Vera — Aloe is one of my favorite house plants. It’s easy to grow, since it doesn’t need much water or attention. It’s pretty in its own way. And once it’s mature, you can break off a tendril and use the goopy inside to calm sunburns! NASA has also found that aloe is good at removing volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from the air. VOCs make up a lot of our typical indoor air pollution, so aloe is a great place to start with indoor air cleaning.
• Peace Lilies — Pretty flowers, easy maintenance, and rocks stars at removing many airborne contaminants, including those that come from household cleaners, plastics, furniture, and personal care products. Just give the plants some shade and water them once a week.
• Snake Plants — Try keeping one of these in your bathroom. They like the humidity and are good at pulling formaldehyde out of the air. Formaldehyde is found in many household cleaners and personal care products, but it is not great for human lungs.
• Spider Plants— Another hard-to-kill option for the brown-thumbed indoor gardeners, spider plants are usually easy to grow and good at removing a variety of air pollutants from their surroundings.

Light

Finally, try using some natural help. Sunlight can work wonders in many ways. Brightening a space can make it feel much healthier and fresher. But sunlight can also disinfect and reduce the growth of unsavory household guests. Almost all contaminants, like bacteria, mold, mildew and more, prefer dark spaces. Letting in the light can help prevent them from taking hold.

Big City Living: The Health Effects of Air Pollution