My wife and I have constantly been trying to get rid of toxic materials from our house as part of Our Green Year, and over 230 days into it, we feel like we may be succeeding. There is an amazing amount of materials in all of our houses that have the potential to cause detrimental health effects on people, as well as pets. However, we have surrounded ourselves with these products under the belief that we need the products.
These products have been known to cause cancer, hormone disruption and more. If you want to have a healthy environment in your home, think about banning these materials as we have.
- Any pesticides should be avoided at all cost. They can cause cancer, as well as cause gender bending in unborn fetuses.
- Moth balls have been used extensively in homes for years, but Napthalene, an ingredient in Moth Balls, was found to be a carcinogen by the U.S. Government.
- Formaldehyde is very common in the home, despite it also being a carcinogen. It is found in pressed wood and particle board. Instead of buying items that have this, buy eco-friendly furniture.
- Paint, pharmaceuticals and refrigerants have Volatile Organic Chemicals in them, which are man-made chemicals that can cause people to become sick due to the fumes. Some paint thinners and dry cleaning products also contain this. It should always be avoided.
- Fragrances will usually have phlatates in them, which are particles that help carry the scent. They also carry cancer and hormone disruption agents in them, making a nice smelling room come at a very high cost.
- Lead is very bad and everyone seems to know that. It is a heavy neurotoxic heavy metal that was part of paint until 1978, but it is also found in many other places in the home and should be removed at all costs. Lead is also found in house dust, phone cords, tin solders, metal candle wicks, white paint dust, soil outside homes and even in drinking water.
- Dry cleaning is very popular, but also very bad for your health. A solvent that is used in dry cleaned clothes is considered to be a suspected carcinogen and neurotoxin by the U.S. Government.
- Oven cleaner is not something you should play around with. It contians a big chemical soup of items that can cause some serious problems for people who use it. Use vinegar instead.
Our homes are covered in bad chemicals, and it is up to us to clean them out and replace them with natural materials that keep the air and our bodies clean.
