better
H EALTH
• o ff-gassers
d u st
C arp ets, cabinets, furniture, vinyl sh o w er cu rtains— alm ost
e v e ry th in g y o u bring into y o u r ho m e off-gasses a stead y
stream of chem icals, som e o f w hich are toxic. “ Fo rm ald ehyd e
is o u r biggest co n cern , because it’s a know n carcino g en and
can off-gas fo r years,” says Building G reen ’s W ilso n . If yo u have
o ld er cabinets, y o u ’re prob ab ly past th e peak danger, but if
y o u ’re thinking ab o u t rem odeling a kitchen, look fo r cabinets
w ith low er fo rm ald eh yd e con ten t. “ M o st o f th e co m p anies
th a t are doing this are ad vertising th a t fa ct up front,” says
W ilso n. “ If you d on’t see any m ention of it, assum e th e y ’re
using standard high-form aldehyde p article board.”
Paint is an o th e r key co n cern w h en y o u ’re rem odeling,
because stan d ard fo rm u latio n s can include a host o f d anger-
ous chem icals know n as Volatile O rg an ic C o m p o un d s (V O C s).
“ I w o rry m o st w hen exp ectant m om s get that nesting instinct
and d ecid e to paint th e nursery,” says Dr. Siegel. “ Resist th a t
urge if yo u can, because V O C s and o th e r paint chem icals are
bad fo r y o u r develo p ing b aby and co n tin u e to off-gas fo r
m o nth s afterw ard s.” N o w ad ays,yo u can easily find no-VO C
paint lines fro m m ajor m an ufacturers such as B e h r and
Benjam in M o o re.
H o w to b re ath e easier
► S K IP T H E C H E M IC A L S
D itch th e m oth crystals and
to ilet bow l d eod orizers w hen
possible; th e y can contain
p ara-dichlorobenzene
(p -D C B), a know n ca rcin o -
gen, says Dr. Siegel.
► O P T F O R L O W - O R
N O - F O R M A L D E H Y D E
“ D o n ’t th ro w out everyth in g
in y o u r house th a t m ight
contain fo rm ald eh yd e, but
it’s a g o od idea to ask if
th e re ’s a safer alternative
w h e n e ve r y o u ’re buying new
furnishings, carpets, or
ca b in etry fo r y o u r hom e,”
advises Siegel.
► L E T IT B R E A T H E
W h e th e r y o u ’ve just painted
a room o r purchased a new
sofa, o pen up th e w in d o w s
and run a fan fo r a day o r
tw o , especially if th e re ’s a
stro ng chem ical sm ell right
o ff th e bat. “ You w o n ’t ve n t
o u t all th e toxins, but this can
red u ce y o u r exposure,” says
Siegel. W ash bed linens and
to w els b efore using.
If y o u ’re w aking up w ith a stu ffy nose and itch y eyes, o r tro u b le
breathing, odds are good th a t th e dust situation in y o u r house
isn’t un d er co n tro l— and y o u r b ed room is g round zero. “ O ve r
tw o m illion m icro scop ic dust m ites live in th e average bed and at
least 10 p ercen t o f us are allergic to them ,” says Dr. Bassett. Dust
w ill also g a th e r on blinds, carpets, and arou nd collectib les filling
shelves and nooks, so regular dusting is im p o rtan t, tho u gh not
th e w h o le solution. “ C leaning is great fro m a hygiene p erspective,
but e very tim e yo u dust o r vacuu m , y o u ’re actually releasing huge
cloud s of p articles into th e air in y o u r hom e,” says Dr. Siegel.
M a n y o f th e se p articles are invisible, w h ile th e visible o nes flo at
d ow n and reform th e ve ry layer
rem o ve in th e first place.
H o w to b re ath e easier
► D U S T C A R E F U L L Y H ave
y o u r least-allergic fam ily
m em b er d o th e dusting.
A llergy-sufferers should w e a r
a p ap er face m ask if th e y ’re
planning to do any cleaning,
says Dr. Bassett. W a it 30
m inutes b efore entering a
just-cleaned room so airb orn e
pollutants have a ch an ce to
escap e o r settle.
► F IG H T M IT E S P ro te ct y o u r
bedding fro m dust m ites by
encasing y o u r m attress and
pillow s in p rotective covers
and w ashing all linens w eekly in
hot w ater. Kill dust m ites in
stu ffed anim als and o th e r
bulky item s by p utting them in
th e freez er fo r th re e to five
hours per week.
► R E M O V E Y O U R S H O E S
“ W e track in all kinds of dirt,
pollen, and pollutants w h en w e
: dust you w e re tryin g to
w e a r o u r shoes indoors,” says
Dr. Siegel. “ All things being
equal, shoeless households
alm ost alw ays have b etter air
quality.” T h e exception to th a t
rule: H ousehold s w ith an
ind oor/outd oor pet. “ Y ou r dog
is bringing all th a t sam e stu ff in
on his paw s and coat, so taking
o ff sh oes b eco m es m oot,” Dr.
Siegel explains. “ It's b etter to
m aintain a m ore rigorous
cleaning schedule.” Keep a
track-off m at at th e fro n t door.
► C O N S ID E R A IR F IL T E R S
If y o u ’re o ne of th e 70 p ercent
o f A m erican households w ith
cen tral air, try forced -air filters
w ith a M in im u m Efficien cy
R ep o rting value (M E R V ) of
8 o r higher. N o central air?
A freestan d ing H E P A filter in
y o u r b ed ro om o r o th e r main
living spaces can do th e
sam e job. (S)
T O T R Y
T Y S H O W E R C U R T A IN
($30,
graindesign.bigcartel.com
) is
m ade of recyclable #2 plastic, breathes
better than vinyl (m eaning less mold
and m ildew), and doesn’t off-gas toxins—
keeping m old grow th at bay.
B E N JA M IN M O O R E N A T U R A N O - V O C
P A IN T ($5o/gallon,
benjaminmoore.com).
“Ten years ago, paint pros w ould run the
other w ay if you suggested a no-VOC
brand, but their p erform ance is now on
par with regular paints,” says W ilson.
D Y S O N D C 2 3 T U R B IN H E A D V A C U U M
($400, d yson.com ) has a H EP A filter
and reduces total allergen burden.
Dysons are the only vacuum s certified
allergy friendly by the A sthm a and Allergy
Foundation of Am erica.
G A IA M O R G A N IC C O T T O N
M A T T R E S S PA D ($139-$199
.gaiam
.com)
will keep dust m ites sealed
inside yo u r m attress, aw ay from
yo u r sheets and yo u r lungs.
218
MAY 2010 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS
