Being “healthy” is a popular topic these days. From mental health to healthy eating. Most of us would agree that eating nutritious foods, exercising, and focusing on are overall health is important. However, we often forget about the health of the air inside our homes. What does healthy air in our home even mean? Keep reading to find out more. As we prepare for the colder months of the year and more time inside here are 5 small changes to make to improve the health of your home.
For those that are reading this, are most likely people that take the health of their bodies very seriously. Meaning, Lyme Revival is targeted for the chronically ill population. However, you don’t have to be chronically ill to make these changes. Furthermore, it would be a great idea to start before you have a chronic illness.
1) Small Change – Switch To Unscented Laundry Detergent
Studies have shown there is a significant part of the population that has sensitivities to synthetic fragrances. What is a synthetic fragrance? Synthetic fragrances are high performing scents composed of synthetic material. That synthetic material can range from any of the following chemicals. Petrochemicals (petroleum-based), phthalates (which are endocrine disruptors), benzene derivatives, aldehydes, and toluene, which are all known carcinogens. Some fragrance compounds are neurotoxicants and others are linked with reproductive birth defects. Yikes! Essential oils are pure and not synthetic, yet are powerful and should be used with care.
And we use these on our clothes and in our houses. It is challenging for me to go for a walk through my neighborhood when everyone is doing their laundry. Or even do yard work in my own yard due to the intense smell of laundry detergent. This being said, I am not suggesting you make changes for your neighbors. Make them for yourselves and your family. Make the easy switch to fragrance free laundry detergent, most name brands now carry them, this can improve the health of your home. Over time sensitivities can develop in anyone, not just people with chronic illnesses. In addition, it lowers your toxic exposure in your home and air when windows are shut and your family are all inside breathing that air.
Fragrances – Children’s Environmental Health Network (cehn.org)
Five ‘Must-Knows’ on the Dangers of Synthetic Fragrance | HuffPost
Dangers of Synthetic Scents Include Cancer & Kidney Damage – Dr. Axe (draxe.com)
2) Small Change – Say Bye To Scented Plug-Ins
The second way to quickly improve the health of your home piggy backs on the first one. Say bye to those scented plug-ins, synthetically scented candles, and pretty much anything but diffusing essential oils in your home. There are candles that are made of soy or bees wax and scented with essential oils that can be a safer choice.
Anthony William from Medical Medium states, “these vaporized toxins then burden the lungs, building up a waxy, oily, chemical residue in your lung sacs and this may potentially reduce oxygen capacity.” I noticed I can not tolerate candles or smells anymore. After battling with chronic Lyme disease for a handful of years, I noticed I intuitively stopped using them. Even the “natural” candles as mentioned above. They give me and instant headache and I feel nauseous immediately.
After the last two years we have experienced in our world it seems very important to take care of our lungs. Kick these to the curb in the trashcan.
004 Air Fresheners, Scented Candles, Colognes and Perfumes (medicalmedium.com)
3) Small Change – Inventory Cleaning Supplies
Even though I am chronically ill I was guilty of having bleach in my house. Our home is older and the toilet and sink get dingy looking. When thinking up this post I was convicted that I too needed to make sure my cleaning products were not just safe for me, but my family.
I threw out the bleach and started scrolling Pinterest for DIY recipes that substitute bleach. Let me tell you, there are a plethora. Here are the two I liked…
Mommypotamus, How To Make Natural Soft Scrub
Savingdollarsandsense, How To Make Homemade Bleach
There are many safer choices when buying cleaning supplies, but what I have noticed is it’s super easy to make them. You can’t go wrong with Briotech!
Briotech Sanitizer & Disinfectant
See my Resource page for more clean living supplies.
4) Small Change – Consider An Air Purifier
If you visited my Resource page then you saw air purifier I use. My Molekule Air makes such a difference in my bedroom. I have used it for 4 years and absolutely love it. It also makes the Top 10 Air Purifiers for 2021. If purchasing an air purifier isn’t in your budget, just be sure to open up windows often and air your home out, even throughout wintertime. In updating this post, we have also added two Air Doctors, which we are loving.
An Experiment with Air Purifiers in Delhi during Winter 2015-2016 – PubMed (nih.gov)
5) Small Change – Turn WiFi Off At Night
This small change if FREE! The discussion of EMF’s and how they affect our health is on the rise. What are EMF’s? EMF stands for Electromagnetic Fields. Studies have shown that EMF’s can have adverse affects on our health. Especially for those of us that have chronic illnesses. I took this exert out of the article linked below, and this was in 2016, before 5G.
“On the one hand, there is strong evidence that long-term exposure to certain EMFs is a risk factor for diseases such as certain cancers, Alzheimer’s disease, and male infertility. On the other hand, the emerging electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS) is more and more recognized by health authorities, disability administrators and case workers, politicians, as well as courts of law. We recommend treating EHS clinically as part of the group of chronic multisystem illnesses (CMI), but still recognizing that the underlying cause remains the environment.”
What does sensitivity to EMF’s look like?
- chronic fatigue
- anxiety/depression
- poor sleep’
- loss of concentration
- inflammation
- chronic pain
- lowered immune response
For years my household has turned off WiFi at night. It is like putting your house to sleep. Our bodies need a break to recover and rejuvenate from the constant exposure.
You may or may not experience better sleep after doing this for awhile, but it’s simple, easy, and free so why not try? For more easy sleep improvement ideas check out my post on improving your sleep.
Small Changes Make Big Impacts
All of these are very small changes that you can make to improve the health of your home. Not just your home, but the people living inside of it. My expertise comes from my own personal research and experience. As a part of my undergraduate degree from Bastyr University we learned many aspects of health.
If you like the simplicity and great topic of this post sign up for my newsletter so that you won’t miss a post. I strive to make sure I am offering useable and effective advice on many health topics. There are also lots of posts from the kitchen. Leave a comment below on what your favorite tip is to maintaining a healthy home.
***Disclaimer: Please note this is my educated opinion based on scientific data presented above. This is not meant to replace medical advice from your health care practitioner.