Cathy O’Rourke found comfort in scrubbing, spritzing and spraying her home with an arsenal of cleaning supplies she stored under the sink. But things changed when her 6-year-old son developed asthma. “I started reading the labels on things I was using. The long lists of crazy-sounding chemicals made me think about their effect on the air in our home,” says the 37-year-old dental hygienist. “Now if there’s a chemical I can’t pronounce, I don’t buy the product.”
When we think air pollution, we think outdoors. But the chemicals in everything from beauty products to food to furniture mean the air inside can be worse than outside. In fact, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ranks indoor air quality—in our homes, cars, workplaces and schools—as among the nation’s top five environmental risks to public health. So how do we clean it up? We make healthier choices for our family and the planet. Here, we clear the air by cutting through marketing lingo to help you make confident choices when buying the essentials.
Home
“There are so many easy things you can do to remove toxins in your home, where allergy and asthma triggers like dust, mold, pets, pests, smoke and environmental pollutants can make it tough to breathe,” says Sonya Lunder, senior analyst for the nonprofit environmental Working Group (EWG).
To start, she suggests avoiding fragrances, never smoking indoors and not letting your car run inside the garage. Here are other simple changes to make your home a nontoxic haven.
Air fresheners
Sure, you want your home to have a clean, fresh scent, but most candles and air fresheners have synthetic (read: chemical) fragrances. The National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) found that 12 of the 14 air fresheners it tested—even ones claiming to be “all natural”—contained phthalates; they have been linked to hormone disruption, birth defects and reproductive problems. And a European study found they also contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and chemicals like benzene, which the EPA has classified as a carcinogen. For good ventilation, open windows or use fans.
Still want to scent? Try candles made with essential oils instead of synthetic fragrances, like Big Dipper aromatherapy candles (bigdipperwaxworks.com).
Food and cooking
Organic foods can cost more, but fruits and vegetables grown on conventional farms are often coated with residue from pesticides (80 percent of which are potential carcinogens).
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