Ten Steps to A Toxin-Free Home

Ten Steps to a Toxin-Free Home
By Linda Mason Hunter

1. Give your house a health audit, a careful, point-by-point check for possible health hazards.
2. Find out what's in your water. If you have a well, have the water tested. If it's a municipal water system, call your water company and ask to see a list of contaminants that are routinely found in the water. You can also test the water yourself.
3. Don't allow smoking in your home.
4. Test for radon and remedy any problems you find.
5. Check for asbestos. If you find deteriorated asbestos, have it professionally removed. If you have asbestos but it is in tact, encapsulate it so fibers can't escape.
6. Mix your own cleaning solutions using natural low-toxin ingredients.
7. Analyze your house for technical and structural problems, like a leaky roof. Remedy any problems, using sustainable building materials.
8. Install an exhaust fan directly vented to the outside in your kitchen and all bathrooms.
9. Install fire extinguishers and photoelectric smoke detectors on each floor of your home.
10. Be an energy-conscious homeowner. Buy only efficient appliances. Tighten the house for air leaks and use energy-saving techniques.

Get the book that started it all, "The Healthy Home," written by Green Home's Editor-in-Chief Linda Mason Hunter.
The Healthy Home: An Attic-To-Basement Guide To Toxin-Free Living ©2000, Linda Mason Hunter.