Learning to control your home environment is essential to preventing ill health due to environmental illness.
House Dust–Bedroom
• Remove all carpets and rugs because they hold dust and mold and give off chemical fumes.
• Avoid heavy draperies, use aluminum or plastic blinds.
• Avoid wall pennants and other dust catchers.
• Remove stuffed toys, pets, flowers and plants from the room.
• Removed stuffed furniture and those pieces made of plastic. (Simple wooden chairs and pieces of furniture are safest.)
• Carefully clean the room at regular intervals, using non-toxic natural cleaning materials.
• Get a 100% cotton mattress. A cotton barrier cloth cover can be used. Don’t use plastic covers, since many allergic individuals are bothered by chemical odours.
• Use a 100% cotton filled pillow.
• If you or your child are chemically sensitive, you might be bothered by pillow cases, sheets and pajamas if they are synthetic. Buy cotton!
• Change your furnace filters frequently.
• Clean and vacuum your house while your child is away, or if you are sensitive have it done while you are out of the area and if necessary wear a carbon filter mask.
• Get an air purifier for the room.

Moulds
Moulds thrive in cool, damp and poorly ventilated areas, including refrigerators, rubbish bins, and areas under the sinks, as well as basements and damp bathrooms.
• Clean mould-prone areas frequently with domestic borax.
• Keep air conditioners, humidifiers, dehumidifiers and vaporizers scrupulously free of mould. Follow the manufacturer’s recommendations, using non-toxic cleaning agents.
• Check behind wallpaper and paneling, and under carpets and carpet pads for moulds. Carpets of all kinds encourage mould growth. Use cotton or wool throw rugs and clean them often.
• Moulds love every nook and cranny of your bathroom, growing in your drains, on washcloths, damp towels, and in all crevices. Keep the bathroom dry. Use an exhaust fan to circulate air. Scrub grout / tiles with vinegar or domestic borax. Don’t leave damp clothes, towels, etc. in a washing basket.
• If your basement (especially one with a dirt floor) is damp, dry it out! Seal cracks in the walls or floors. Use a dehumidifier. Good ventilation and lighting discourage mould growth.
• Houseplants provide a haven for moulds. Crushed rock on top of the soil around each plant will reduce the number of mould spores entering the air. If problems continue, you may need to give the plants away. In summer, keep them outdoors.
• Mattresses and other bedding sometimes become mould-infested. You can usually discourage mould growth by frequently washing the bed clothes.
• Throw away old magazines and newspapers.
• Houses in shaded areas and those near rivers or streams grow more mould. You may need to remove shrubs or prune plants close to your house.
• Limit outdoor activities: raking and romping in leaves; mowing grass; playing in hay in barns.
• An allergy mask can help!
• Use an air purifier for the room.

Pollens
• Avoid pollen exposure, especially at the height of the season.
• Staying inside and using an air purifier helps a great deal.
• Roll up car windows and use the air conditioner or wear a mask.
• Of course, escaping to the seashore can help.

Animal Danders & Hair
• If you don’t own a pet—don’t get one.
• Keep the pet outside, or at least out of the bedroom.
• Avoid real fur on toys or stuffed animals.
• Don’t use a feather pillow.
• Clean areas that the pet uses very frequently.

Chemicals
Chemicals are all around us, and the human organism hasn’t done very well in adapting to them. Get rid of chemical pollutants in your 'world'. Chemicals can cause coughing, sneezing, irritated eyes and much more: sore membranes, muscle aches, irritability, and hyperactivity.

The foreign chemicals that you need to pay attention to—and remove—are:

Also to be Avoided:
• synthetic textiles: dacron, orlon, poylester, rayon
• paints, varnishes, shellac
• insecticides: moth balls, insect repellants, chlordane, parathun, etc.
• pine: cedar-scented furniture polish, odors from knotty pine, and pine-scented deodorants
• fragrances: cologne, perfume, hair spray, deodorants.

Foods may be chemically contaminated in a number of ways. Chemical colorings and preservatives are added. Fruits and vegetables are sprayed with insecticide. Buying organic food or scrubbing these items can help to some degree.

Whether a person develops symptoms from these chemicals depends on a number of variables: his or her inherited tendency, the total load of chemical exposure, the load of other allergic exposure (foods, pollens, molds), his or her nutritional state, and how well the immune system is functioning.

How You Can Avoid Chemicals
Our planet is being polluted by chemicals. These include auto exhausts, industrial wastes, insecticides, weed killers, bathroom chemicals and many others. So unless you live in a bubble, you can’t avoid many of the chemicals that bother us. Yet by learning about chemicals and standing clear of them, you can increase your chances of remaining well.

Molecules make up all matter, including chemicals, and these molecules leave the chemical material by “outgassing.” This term refers to the tendency to discharge molecules into the air. Hard materials outgas less than soft ones. Plastics are a very good example of this. The more they “outgas,” the worse for your body, since these molecules enter your body and can cause damage. Ceramic tile is the least outgassing of all man-made materials.

Suggestions For Cleaning Up Your Home Environment
• Don’t allow tobacco smoke.
• Look under your sink—replace all of these chemical janitorial supplies with natural materials.
• Check your bathroom, closets, drawers for strong offensive odors and remove their sources.
• Avoid perfumes, colognes and scented soaps and cosmetics. If you can’t do without these, then at least make sure everyone in the house can handle the odour.
• Ordinary baking soda helps get rid of chemical odors.
• Don’t use scented fabric softeners.
• Avoid soft plastics.
• Use ceramic, glass or wood for bowls and storage.
• Use cellophane bags instead of plastic.
• Avoid room deodorants.
• Avoid insecticides.

By following these guidelines, you will help minimise the long-term chronic damage from chemical molecules on the human cell and prevent the acute symptoms from damage to the immune system.

top