Creating A Healthy Home For You And Your Family

One of the most frustrating things about maintaining a healthy home is that your job is never done. You’ll clean one room of the house, and the kids will have messed it up five minutes later. It seems you can never win. Still, ensuring that you and your family live in a healthy household is less about forever wiping down surfaces with antibacterial wipes and more about addressing deeper problems that might be affecting your property or the habits you and your family have developed at home.

Everything from the water you drink to the bed on which you sleep should be considered carefully if you want to maintain a healthy household. Sometimes the solution isn’t to smother everything in fancy cleaning products but to simply carry out healthy practices around your household. Here are some ways in which you could create a healthier home for you and your family.

Manufactured cleaning products.

You should be cautious about the cleaning products you use. Opt for green solutions; not only will you be taking the more environmentally conscious route to clean your home, but you’ll be looking after the health of you and your family. Many cleaning products contain all sorts of chemicals that may well kill bacteria but can also prove harmful to your health if consumed by accident. Clean kitchen surfaces with products that seem to contain as few harmful products as possible and ensure that you and your family members always wash your hands after using such products to prevent ingestion of anything harmful to your health.

Dust.

Everybody hates dust, but it always comes back. That’s the most frustrating thing about it, and it can become all too easy to just give up and say that you won’t bother dusting in those difficult-to-reach corners of the house again. However, spending time dusting your house from top to bottom isn’t a waste of time. House dust can make allergies of all kinds far worse, and this might cause respiratory problems in younger children around the house.

There’s also far more to dust than human skin; it can contain lead, fire retardants, pesticides, and a whole range of other chemicals that are very harmful when consumed by humans. You might brush it off as harmless, but letting too much dust build up in your home can be a health problem for everyone. Replacing carpeting with wooden or tiled flooring can help, as it’s harder for dust to collect on such surfaces. Vacuuming frequently is a good idea, of course.

Mold.

Mold is one of the biggest causes of health problems in the average household. Your house may be damp or have more ventilation problems than you currently realize. Whatever the case, you should thoroughly check exterior walls, your heating system, and anything that you think might be able to leak. Mold isn’t always visible, but its effects on your health will be. Not only can exposure to such a harmful substance cause skin conditions but it can also cause breathing problems (especially in young children).

If you want to protect yourself and your family in your household then you should certainly prioritize removing mold from walls or anywhere that it may be lurking (even in the smallest of amounts). You might want to look into professional help if you think you’re struggling, as some of the more stubborn mold that can grow in homes is tough or near-impossible to remove with basic supermarket-brand cleaning products.

Bedtime.

When it comes to the health of you and your family, sleep is a big factor in terms of how well your mind functions but also how well your body functions. You might think that simply ensuring your kids get 8 hours of rest per night is all you should be thinking about at bedtime, but there’s more to think about in terms of maintaining good health when it comes to bedtime.

Mattresses should be changed every several years if you want to look into ways to improve not only the amount of sleep but the quality of sleep you and your family are getting. The positions in which you and your family sleep at bedtime are also important; awkward positions can lead to back problems, and lying flat is one of the most supportive ways to sleep in terms of looking after your joints.

Buy some plants.

Nature saves the day once again. Getting some plants for your household will not only improve its appearance and add some color to rooms around your house but also improve the quality of the air around your home. Plants remove toxic chemicals from the air, which means that you’ll reduce the risk of health problems stemming from indoor pollution such as carbon monoxide and even formaldehyde. If you were looking to get stuck in with a little interior design around the house, going for the green and natural route might be a good idea. You’ll be protecting everyone on a practical level, and you can make the house look a little prettier.

Take off shoes, coats, and all other outdoor gear at the door.

You probably already tell the family to take off their shoes the second they’re on the mat at the front door, but you probably only do so to keep the house clean. Beyond maintaining an aesthetically pleasing appearance around your house, taking off shoes at the door prevents not only dirt but bacteria, toxins, lead and many other harmful things from the outdoor world being spread around your household. That’s why it’s a good idea to have a cupboard, shelving, or some sort of storage area in the front hallway to ensure that coats, hats, gloves, and other outdoor gear can all be put away as soon as people get home. This should stop things more harmful than dirt from being spread around the house and making people unwell.