Healthier living starts at home
These days, it’s harder than ever to maintain a safe and healthy home. Whether it’s the chemicals in our household cleaners, the formaldehyde in our carpets, or the dangerous elements in our non-stick cookware, it seems like there’s no escaping the harmful contaminants that surround us. And while we’ve done our best to help you by providing an all-natural, eco-friendly cat litter, we certainly realize that buying Feline Pine is only a piece of a much larger puzzle.
Thankfully, there are lots of additional things we can all do to help safeguard our homes against toxins. We hope that the following links and information will help you identify potential trouble spots and provide the solutions you need to make your home a healthier place for your family.
Germs, Germs and More Germs in Your Home
Most people are surprised to find that some of the most germ-infested places we encounter are located within the friendly confines of our own home. For example: The kitchen sink is probably the dirtiest place in your entire house, (yes, including the bathroom.) The pathogens on raw fruits, vegetables and meat, combined with the bacteria attracted to the moisture of your sponge and faucet handles make the kitchen sink a major hangout for germs and bacteria. Reduce your risk by cleaning your kitchen sink with any one of a growing number of all-natural home cleaning products that are available at most grocery stores. Or, make your own home cleaners using such common household products (and natural cleaners) like baking soda, white vinegar and cornstarch. The Internet is full of helpful websites that will give you the formulas you need to create your own cleaning solutions.
Try these out for starters: www.eartheasy.com and www.care2.com/greenliving
A Good Paint Job
Before you paint your living room green, be sure to consider how “green” your paint is. VOC’s (volatile organic compounds) include a wide variety of chemicals and are traditionally found in paint, paint stripper and lacquer, (not to mention a bunch of other applications.) Exposure to VOC’s in paint can have adverse health effects including asthma attacks, eye irritation, nausea and dizziness. Extended exposure has even been linked to kidney and liver disease. Clearly, this isn’t the kind of stuff you want on the walls of your home. The good news is that thanks to consumer health concerns and new government regulations, alternative paints are now readily available to be used on the interior walls of your house. Log on to www.greenseal.org to find paints that have been certified with appropriate VOC content.
The Great Outdoors
If you take the time to vacuum your house, you’d like to think you were actually cleaning it effectively. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case. Many vacuums do an equally good job of blowing out the tiny particles that you trust them to remove. Having and/or changing the filter on your vacuum is essential to collecting the dust and debris that could be hazardous to your family’s health. If you struggle with allergies or respiratory problems, you may want to invest in a HEPA filter for your vacuum. Basicalhttp://www.naturesearth.com/healthyhome/ly, HEPA (high efficiency particulate air) is a type of filter that can trap the very small particles that most other vacuum cleaners re-circulate back into the air of your home. Typically, HEPA filters are more expensive than other vacuum filters but the extra cost might be worth the cleaner air.
Write On!
They may not make your home that much healthier, but it’s still kind of fun to stock your drawers with pens and pencils made from completely recycled materials. Especially when you consider that pencils are now being made from recycled newspaper, money and even denim. And you can find pens made out of anything from cornstarch plastic to recycled tire rubber. These repurposed pens typically feature less toxic ethyl alcohol ink as well.