Inner Strength, Inc

Winter is the time of year that we all spend more time nestled in our homes. As a result, we are spending increasingly more time in a heavily polluted environment! This has nothing to do with your cleaning skills, and everything to do with the materials your home is made of, the items in your home, and the cleaning products that you use. There are many who wonder if our increased illness in the winter is not caused more by immune system stress from the chemical pollution in our homes than increased contact with viruses and germs.

EPA studies have show that our homes are up to 200 percent more polluted than the outdoors environment. In newer homes (or newly remodeled homes) this is in part from the offgassing of building materials like plywood, chemical paints and varnishes, plastic piping, and even the fibers and dyes used in your carpets, upholstery and window treatments. Keeping the windows closed and the indoor air re-circulating is trapping all this pollution in your home. In dealing with these chemicals stresses, your immune system is so busy it doesn’t have the energy or ability to fight off the cold or flu.

Another major pollutant to our homes is the chemicals we use to clean our floors, bathrooms, dishes and clothes. Most of what comprises those chemical cleaners is not good for your health, yet we use them constantly and fill our immediate surrounding with these items.

A few simple changes can be made that can make an instant impact, especially if someone in your home suffers from allergies or other skin irritations. Dust mites are the terrible little creatures that eat dust (most dust particles are flakes of our own skin!), and these mites LOVE to live in your bed. While this is good for the mites as they get an ample amount of food there, their excrement causes allergies and skin irritations. Pretty disgusting stuff. Normal detergents may add chemicals to your sheets and bed clothes, and may not necessarily kill the mites. Using a cup of Borax ( 20 mule team!) in each wash load will kill any mites in the bedding, and will discourage their living in this fabric. Try using a more natural washing powder also like Arm and Hammer, to reduce further irritations. Using 100 percent cotton bedding with natural dyes will reduce chemical stress further.