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Improving Your Indoor Air Quality

We tend to think of air pollution as something outside -- smog, ozone, or haze hanging in the air, especially in summer. But the truth is, the air inside homes, offices, and other buildings can be more polluted than the air outside. The air inside your home may be polluted by lead (in house dust), formaldehyde, fire-retardants, radon, even volatile chemicals from fragrances used in conventional cleaners. Some pollutants are tracked into the home. Some arrive via a new mattress or furniture, carpet cleaners, or a coat of paint on the walls.

In that mix, you'll also find microscopic dust mites -- a major allergen --plus mold and heaps of pet dander, even if you don't have pets! It's become what we call a community allergen. Pet owners carry it around on their clothes and shed it throughout the day.

Children, people with asthma, and the elderly may be especially sensitive to indoor pollutants, but other effects on health may appear years later, after repeated exposure.

Indoor allergens and irritants have become much more important in recent decades because we're spending more time indoors. And because modern homes are airtight, these irritants can't easily escape.

5 Simple Steps to Improve Indoor Air Quality

1. Keep your floors fresh.
• Suck it up. Chemicals and allergens can accumulate in household dust for decades. By using a vacuum with a HEPA filter you can reduce concentrations of lead in your home. You can also get rid of other toxins, like brominated fire-retardant chemicals (PBDEs) as well as allergens like pollen, pet dander, and dust mites. Using a vacuum cleaner that has strong suction, rotating brushes, and a HEPA filter ensures that dust and dirt won’t get blown back out in the exhaust. In high traffic areas, vacuum the same spot several times. Don't forget walls, carpet edges, and upholstered furniture, where dust accumulates. For best results, vacuum two or more times each week and wash out your filter regularly.
• Mop it up. Mopping picks up the dust that vacuuming leaves behind. You can skip the soaps and cleaners and just use plain water to capture any lingering dust or allergens. New microfiber mops (and dust cloths) reportedly capture more dust and dirt than traditional fibers and don’t require any cleaning solutions whatsoever.
• Keep it out. Put a large floor mat at every door.People track in all sorts of chemicals via the dirt on their shoes. A door mat reduces the amount of dirt, pesticides, and other pollutants from getting into your home. If the mat is big enough, even those who don't wipe their shoes will leave most pollutants on the mat -- not the floors in your home.

If you live in a home built before 1978, there's a good chance that lead paint still exists on your walls. But even in a newer home, you may face lead exposure -- from lead dust tracked in from outside. Lead dust can raise the risk of exposure for young children -- a serious problem that can damage the brain, central nervous system, and kidneys. Pesticides are also linked with brain damage in young children. Kids are vulnerable to higher exposures because they tend to get dust on their fingers and then put their fingers in their mouths.
To best protect your family, ask people to remove their shoes when entering your home. Keep house shoes, slippers, and socks near the door.

2. Keep a healthy level of humidity. Dust mites and mold love moisture. Keeping humidity around 30%-50% helps keep them and other allergens under control. A dehumidifier (and air conditioner during summer months) helps reduce moisture in indoor air and effectively controls allergens, Lang says. An air conditioner also reduces indoor pollen count -- another plus for allergy-sufferers.

More tips for dehumidifying your home:
• Use an exhaust fan or crack open a window when cooking, running the dishwasher, or bathing.
• Don't overwater houseplants.
• Vent the clothes dryer to the outside.
• Fix leaky plumbing to prevent moisture-loving mold.
• Empty drip pans in your window air conditioner and dehumidifier.

3. Make your home a no-smoking zone

Cigarette smoke contains more than 4,000 chemicals. Research shows that secondhand smoke increases a child's risk of developing ear and respiratory infections, asthma, cancer, and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). For the smoker, this addiction causes cancer, breathing problems, heart attacks, and stroke.

If you want to stop smoking, support groups, nicotine-replacement therapy, and other medications can help. Find a method that works for you, get some support (friends, family, fellow quitters, counseling), and think positive. Focus on your reasons for quitting -- not on your cravings.

4. Test for radon. Whether you have a new or old home, you could have a radon problem. This colorless, odorless gas significantly raises the risk of lung cancer. Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the U.S. today. If you smoke and your home has high radon levels, your risk of lung cancer is especially high.

Radon is a radioactive gas. It comes from the natural decay of uranium found in nearly all soils. It typically moves up through the ground and into your home through cracks and holes in the foundation. Drafty homes, airtight homes, homes with or without a basement -- any home can potentially have a radon problem.

Granite countertops have also been linked to radon. While experts agree that most granite countertops emit some radon, the question is whether they do so at levels that can cause cancer. Testing is easy, inexpensive, and takes only a few minutes. If you discover a radon problem, there are simple ways to reduce levels of the gas that are not too costly. Even high radon levels can be reduced to acceptable levels. The Environmental Protection Agency offers a "Consumer’s Guide to Radon Reduction."

5. Smell good naturally.

You may associate that lemony or piney scent with a clean kitchen or clean clothes.But synthetic fragrances in laundry products and air fresheners emit dozens of different chemicals into the air. You won’t find their names on the product labels. Conventional laundry detergents, fabric softeners, dryer sheets, and air fresheners in solid, spray, and oil form may all emit such gasses. In one study, a plug-in air freshener was found to emit 20 different volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including seven regulated as toxic or hazardous under U.S. federal laws. But these chemicals were not included on the label -- only the word "fragrance" is required to be listed. But the actual composition of the fragrance is considered a "trade secret."

Most fragrances are derived from petroleum products, and generally haven’t been tested to see if they have any significant adverse health effects in humans when they are inhaled. (Tests usually focus on whether a fragrance causes skin irritation.) Some that have been tested raise concern. Phthalates are a group of chemicals often used in fragrances and also used to soften plastics. Studies show that phthalates disrupt hormones in animals.What can you do?

• Look for fragrance-free or naturally-scented laundry products.
• Switch to mild cleaners that don't include artificial fragrances.
• Stop using aerosol sprays -- deodorants, hair sprays, carpet cleaners, furniture polish, and air fresheners.
• Let in fresh air. Open windows so toxic chemicals don't build up in your home. What if you or your child has pollen allergies? Then keep rooms ventilated with a filtered air- conditioning system.
• Use sliced lemons and baking soda to get a clean scent in the kitchen.
• Bring nature indoors. Any room is prettier with a fern, spider plant, or aloe vera. It’s also healthier. NASA research shows that indoor plants like these act as living air purifiers -- the foliage and roots work in tandem to absorb chemical pollutants released by synthetic materials. If you have kids or pets, make sure the plants aren’t poisonous if ingested.

Improving your indoor air quality is one of the first steps to ensuring your family's health is put in first place. What better way to show you care than to grab a kit of Green Cleaner's Products today?

http://www.greencleaners.asia/products.asp

Green Oddities

Hi, everyone! We love to embrace the unusual and here is an article found on www.oddee.com that covers the wierdest eco friendly products.

The green technology industry is booming: from recyclable earrings to a banana coffin, meet some of the weirdest eco friendly products.

Eco-friendly Burial

A Colorado company sells caskets made from banana sheaves, bamboo or pandanus that decomposes together with the body as a way of promoting ecologically-friendly burials. The so-called Ecoffin, short for eco-friendly coffins, of Ecoffins USA takes six months to two years to biodegrade. The company's marketing director, Joanna Passarelli, said the Ecoffins is better for the environment than cremating bodies. The lowest price for this eco friendly product is $800.

Eco-friendly Remote Control

Sony challenged Industrial Design students from China to design and eco-friendly device. One of the participants from Dong Hwa University came up with this unique creation called the Sony Conductor TV Remote. It's a wand shape kind of remote that needed to be swayed side to side to power it on and the green LED light fire up to indicate its power level. To start navigating, one can wave the conductor left and right to change your TV set's volume, up and down to change channels and in a circular motion to switch your TV set on or off. Sounds really tiring to me.

Eco-friendly Pet Furs

If you think making clothes out of human hair is weird how would you feel if I told you humans are making clothes from their pet's fur? It isn't much different from using sheep's wool or natural animal fibers from alpaca, angora, llama or camel, right? Danelle German doesn't think so. She is a professional cat groomer from South Carolina. She started a business called Catty Shack Creations as a means of reusing beautiful cat fur instead of throwing it away. Her inspiration came when a friend of Danelle's asked her to clip her pet's hair so that it could be spun into yarn. First the pet is thoroughly washed to make sure the fur is clean and tangle free. Then the pet is shaved. Many pet owners have their pets shaved to help their pets survive the hot summer and to help make it easier for the owner to keep their pets well groomed. The fur is then collected and cured for a few days. The hair fibers are then carded, spun into yarn and finally knitted into handbags.

Eco-friendly Moss Carpet

They say walking on fresh grass increases your blood circulation; I can't vouch for that! Anyways, it is a reason to get going to the nearest park, remove your expensive Jimmy Choo's and prance around. The Moss Carpet, created by Nguyen La Chanh, looks at getting the grass to your feet, and that too in your loo! Made from imputrescible foam called plastazote, the mat includes ball moss, island moss and forest moss. The humidity of the bathroom ensures that the mosses thrive. And that's why you need to place it there and not anywhere else. Little gnomes not included.

Eco-friendly Umbrella

Conventional umbrellas come with a fixed surface. Although it is changeable, you cannot replace it easily. This eco-friendly design is more flexible. It is actually only a collapsible umbrella skeleton without any surface, so you can put anything such as newspapers, plastic bags or whatever you want to serve as the protecting surface.

Eco-friendly Edible Shoe Cream

Probably the weirdest on the list, this product was designed by Greenfibes, eco goods and garments. It's organic edible (yes, edible!) shoe cream. Apparently, it can be used for other purposes such as spreading on toast or as a lip balm. I don't know about you, but eating something that is advertised to be spread on a shoe does not interest me in the least.

Eco-friendly Clothing for Babies

Maybe you weren't the best to the environment, but darnit, your baby hasn't destroyed anything yet. Whether your child wants to be condescending with a onesie reading "Thanks For All the Global Warming," cutsie with a "Give A Hoot, Don't Pollute" shirt, or even disgusting in a onesie reading "Ask Me About My Compost Pile," strangers everywhere are sure to take a second look at your sassy starlet. And lest you worry about making your baby a hypocrite, all three tees are organic. Oh, and if your child is actually the K-9 variety, there are plenty of cute eco-friendly shirts for pups as well.

Pollution-Sensitive Dress

Don't be caught outside unaware of pollution levels in the air. The pollution-sensitive ‘EPA Dress' by Stephanie Sandstrom detects pollution in the air and wrinkles accordingly. That's right, this dress – which is actually quite pretty – looks like you pulled it from the bottom of the dirty laundry heap when the air is dirty. It might protect your health by advising you to stay indoors for the day, but it won't do you any favors if you're meeting with clients.

Eco-friendly Car Racer

Can you image a car racer is so eco-friendly that it is all made from plants. Just take a look at the picture, you gonna know that it's soooo natural. Eco One was designed by Dr Kerry Kirwan, a researcher at Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG), the university's academic department which provides solutions to industry, and built by student Ben Wood over two months at a cost of £20,000.

Eco-friendly Earrings

A wonderful and great green product from Kitten Lab is now available for purchase to those who wanted to accessorize themselves in a green way. The eco fashion accessories by Kitten Lab are made by the artistic hands and from a vintage IBM Selectric typewriter balls. The balls are made of plastic, that is why it is light enough to be on your ears. With this creation, there will be no need for us to spend too much to be fashionably trendy, and it will dramatically reduce landfills, which is great in reducing the harm that we have for the environment.

Consumers who choose green products to boost their status

Recently research was carried out on a group of 168 college students and what they found out is that some people who go out of their way to buy eco-friendly products do not do it for their concern of the planet but to make themselves appear superior.

Many green products are more expensive but lack some of the features of conventional products but such altruistic behavior may come from a desire to show off one's wealth and environmental consciousness.

One group of students read a story intended to make them aspire towards a high social status, while another group read a different story or no story. Each student was asked to choose between a series of green and conventional products. The products had the same price and brand, but the green option had lower performance and fewer luxury features. Students in the "status" group were more likely to choose the green products as compared to the students in the control group. And the result of another experiment is more interesting. It showed that the status hungry students were less likely to buy green if told they were shopping online rather in a store, that is if no one is watching! (Naughty naughty..) Students in the status-seeking group were also more attracted to green products when those products were more expensive.

Maybe these students have to take a course on climate change in order to take it more seriously and understand that their future wouldn't be as comfortable if no drastic action is taken. I was shocked to find out that there are people out there who are more interested in attaining a higher status in life than concern for the environment. We still have to share the same air no matter what status you are in!

Tip of the day: Throw you recyclables in the designated recycling bin in town instaed of the regular bin :)