Uncover These 5 Hidden Dangers in Your Home

 

Your home is your place of security and comfort, but it can also be a source of potential health dangers as well. In fact, what you touch and breathe could literally make you ill. Therefore, it’s crucial to learn about the top five home health hazards to protect both you and your family.

There are hidden dangers lurking in your home that can affect your health, some of which may include carpet fumes, odorless gases, and even the household cleaners stored in the cabinet can all potentially harm your family. Here’s what you need to be aware of.

 

1. Carbon Monoxide

This odorless gas provides zero warning before it makes everyone sick and can sometimes even cause death. Every year, around 500 people actually die from this silent but deadly killer. Usually, contamination occurs if an organic fuel is inappropriately burned without adequate ventilation. Typical sources of carbon monoxide include gas and kerosene space heaters, fireplaces, tobacco smoke, wood stoves, gas water heaters, and vehicle exhaust.

 

2. Pesticides

Roach baits and sprays, flea and tick shampoos, weed killers, and insect repellants are just some of the harmful pesticides found in the average home. But, if they’re improperly stored or used in the wrong manner, pesticides can pose a danger to your heath, which may cause breathing problems, nerve damage, and more. If you have a suspected bug problem, it’s best to use a professional pest control company like Arab Termite and Pest Control or a provider in your area to safely and thoroughly eliminate them from your home.

 

3. E. Coli and Salmonella

E. coli infection can happen if you unintentionally eat a contaminated food that wasn’t cleaned or cooked properly. People are most generally infected with dangerous salmonella after handling or eating contaminated raw foods, including vegetables, eggs, fruits, and beef. Contamination from salmonella can often happen during food preparation or the butchering or harvesting process.

 

4. Mold

Mold is basically a kind of microscopic, tiny living organism that grows in places where organic matter, oxygen, and moisture exist. Exposure to mold can ultimately cause eye irritation, chronic cough, sinus and nasal congestion, and could also cause lung infections or trigger asthma attacks in people with chronic respiratory issues. Be sure to identify any water damage and associated mold early, and have professionals remove the dangerous mold colonies.

 

5. Lead

Exposure to lead has been linked to severe health problems that can range from nerve disorders to key changes in mental development and/or behavior along with other disorders. Although it’s been officially eliminated since 1978 in consumer-based products, it still exists in the homes that have never been upgraded. Older homes with lead-based paints, drinking water (think lead pipes), contaminated soil, and general household dust are all substantial sources of toxic lead exposure.

Addressing these harmful toxins is a logical start to making your family and home much safer and healthier. Good health is priceless.

 

Categories: carbon monoxide, e coli, hidden home dangers, lead, mold, Pesticides, Salmonella

Make Your Home Safe from Allergens and Mold with These Tips

Sometimes we don’t realize that the biggest cause of our allergies and illnesses can be our home. Our home is where we feel safe, so it’s natural to overlook its potential to cause allergies, asthma irritation, and other respiratory illnesses. No matter the age of your house, it’s a good idea to give your house a once over to ensure you aren’t dealing with any kind of mold or excess allergens that could be making your family ill.

 

 

Deal with Dust Mites

You might think that just because your surfaces are dust free that you’ve eliminated a majority of household allergens, but think again. Dust mites are a common trigger for allergies and asthma and are found in bedding and rugs. If you have a family member with asthma, ensure that bedding, curtains, and carpets are cleaned regularly. Using special covers for your mattresses and box springs will help curb the dust mite population, too.

Preventing Mold

Once mold has established itself, it’s hard to get rid of without tearing out and replacing everything it has invaded. Instead, it’s best to prevent mold before it happens. Mold requires moisture to grow, so eliminating and/or reducing the moisture in your house is key, especially if you live in a hot climate or an already humid region. You probably know to do things like fix leaks, use dehumidifiers, and wipe down wet areas, but there are a few other things you can do to stop moisture. Keep the house warm in cool weather, as cooler air allows moisture to condense on surfaces. You should also have an HVAC technician out twice a year to ensure all of your heating and cooling systems’ parts are operating to properly remove moisture from the air.

Control Pet Dander

Your furry family members can be a major source of allergens. Keep pets out of sleeping areas, and if you have a particularly sensitive family member, clean upholstered furniture and heavily used carpets once or twice a week. Experts recommend using vacuums with HEPA filters or double bags to get the most dander and dust out of carpets and upholstery.

Let the Professionals Deal with Mold

While you can certainly handle the preventative measures in your home, if you do find your house has a mold problem, it’s best to let the professionals from companies like Bios Environments in Augusta, ME, clean it up. Most household cleaners will wipe away mold, but they won’t kill mold spores. This means you’re not stopping or preventing it from spreading. To keep it from coming back, professionals have the equipment to properly rid your house of mold.

With regular home maintenance and cleaning, you can be successful in eliminating and controlling common household allergens and molds. Follow your doctor’s recommendations for controlling the safety of your home if you have family members with asthma or more severe allergies.

Categories: allergens, Dust Mites, family health, mold, Pet Dander

Health Benefits of Keeping Your Air Ducts Cleaned

Dirty air ducts in the home can lead to numerous health problems for you and the members of your family. Furnace and air-conditioning ducts should not be left to just collect debris, dust and hazardous material. When you get your ducts professionally cleaned, you will see a great improvement in the overall air quality of your home or office.

 

Dust

Dust around your home or business is not just unsightly, it can lead to some serious allergies. House dust is the number one allergen causing reactions in those who suffer from indoor and winter allergies. Professional furnace and duct cleaning by professional companies like Knight Plumbing is one way to get a handle on any potential dust problems in your home or office. Clean air ducts help your furnace and your furnace filter to work better and filter out much of the dust that would otherwise be released into the living environment.

 

Mold

If there is a great degree of debris that is allowed to build up in your furnace and air-conditioning ducts, moisture can become a problem in these areas. Moisture anywhere in the home can become a breeding ground for mold. Mold spores are responsible for a number of health problems including allergies and asthma. Some people can also experience skin reactions from too many mold spores in the environment. Also, mold has a smell all of its own, and if mold is building up in your home’s furnace and air-conditioning ducts, it won’t be long before your home is plagued by a very unpleasant odor.

 

Duct cleaning can eliminate debris and moisture build up. This will keep your home smelling great and you and your family breathing clean and healthy air.

 

Germs

Dirty duct work is a breeding ground for all types of germs. Bacteria, virus, and fungus can grow in a dirty duct work environment. Some of the fungus that builds up in duct work can cause very serious lung infections that may require a long course of treatment. Duct cleaning will eliminate the environment that fosters the growth of elements that might harm your family.

It is a good idea to clean your ducts on a regular basis. Keeping your furnace and air-conditioning ducts free from debris will keep your furnace and air-conditioner working better, and your family will have healthier air to breathe that is free of dust, allergens, mold spores and a host of germs.

Categories: air ducts, clean air, dust, Environmental Wellness, mold

Household Hazard: 5 Ways To Prevent Toxic House Mold

Between the walls of many homes hides a toxic hazard. Stacybotrys, or Black Mold is often found in poorly ventilated buildings, or places where there has been water damage. It gained national attention in the 1990′s, when at least 10 infants died in Ohio from exposure to the toxic house mold. Symptoms can range from chronic fatigue, fever and headaches, to nausea, vomiting and bleeding in the lungs.

 

If you do have black mold growing in your home you might not even realize it, as it could be hiding in your sheet rock, or ceiling tiles. With a black, shiny appearance,when wet, this toxic house mold typically spreads very easily and is quite difficult to eradicate.  The easiest way to deal with mold is to simply prevent it. Here are a few simple tips to help prevent an issue in your home and protect your family.

 

 

Use Mold Resistant Materials

When building a home a great way to combat mold from the start is to use mold resistant materials. There is mold resistant drywall, mold resistant sheet rock and mold inhibitors used in paint on the market today.Any of these materials could help prevent hazardous mold in your home, and protect your family.

 

 

Dry Any Wet Area Immediately

Moisture is required for mold to grow, so it is important to dry any wet areas immediately. Mold is notorious for growing in basements after a heavy rain and in carpet after a spilled drink. Mold can even grow in wet clothing if it is left in the washing machine too long and on the floor and walls around a shower. No matter why an area of the home is wet, it should be completely dried within 48 hours to fight against growing mold.

 

 

Provide Proper Insulation

Conditions in the home give mold an environment to grow. Insulation helps keep unwanted moisture out of the home. For example, insulating a home with spray foam insulation in Roanoke VA prevents the humidity that is common in that area from entering the walls, and allows imperfections in the building structure such as cracks or holes to be filled in to prevent moisture flow through the home.

 

 

Improve Airflow Through The Home

Excess moisture in the air is commonly found on windows and floors in a home. Proper airflow helps keep the air moving to prevent the moisture from visibly sticking to areas in the home. Airflow can be improved by keeping furniture away from walls, keeping doors open between rooms, and keeping doors to closets that get extremely cold open. Fresh air reduces moisture in the air and keeps mold growth to a minimal.

 

 

Keep Water Away From The Home

Proper drainage outside the home is important to keep moisture outside. If the ground around the home is not properly equipped with drainage, moisture can get into crawlspaces and the basement. Installing proper drainage to keep water moving away from the foundation of the home will help keep the crawlspace and basement dry to keep away mold.

 

Toxic house mold is an issue no homeowner wants to face. Once mold starts growing, it is near impossible to get rid of. If you take some of these precautions now, you could protect yourself and your family from this hidden hazard.

Categories: black mold, health hazard, home proper, house mold, keeping doors, lung disease, mold, mold nbsp, mold resistant, nbsp nbsp, resistant materials, sheet rock, Stachybotrys