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Article 3 simple ways to reduce the nasty chemicals in your home

By Sharon Hall
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29 Comment

We’ve all heard the rumour that our homes can be toxic but it’s confusing to know where to start. The enormity of the task can be pretty darn overwhelming can’t it?

So rather than bombard you with lots of big and urgent jobs, that you needed to have done yesterday, I have 3 little suggestions to get you on the road to a safer home today.

I’m a big believer in small steps combining to make a big difference, so I’d love you to start with these three:

1) Stop using plastic wrap to cover your food in the microwave.

This is because toxic chemicals leach out of the plastic wrap as it heats up collecting in the condensation on the under surface. This then drips down into your food to be eaten by you and your family. Instead you can cover your meals with a paper towel or even an upturned ceramic bowl or plate.

2) Take off all shoes at the front door.

This is to stop all the nasties that collect in road dust, such as burnt off fuel, car fume residue and bitumen, from being trodden throughout your home. And, worse still, picked up by little ones who love to crawl and play on the floor.

3) Wash all new clothes before wearing them.

Most garments are covered with toxic dyes, bleach, special treatments and even formaldehyde to stop them gathering mould during transportation and storage. These easily wear off with use, transferring to the skin to be absorbed into the body. Ideally wash and dry new items at least twice before wearing them, three times if they are made from synthetic material. Adding a spoonful of baking soda to the wash helps the process.

There you go, hopefully no brain overload just yet! Stay tuned for my next 3 suggestions coming your way soon.

Do you have a simple way to remove the nasty chemicals at your place? Please share in the comments below.

Image courtesy of Shutterstock.com

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Comments

  • My shoes always come off at the front door and the slippers go on.

    Reply

  • Grow your own food! You know exactly where its been then.

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  • I didn’t really consider the shoes one, thanks for that.

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  • Thank you so much for the tips!
    We have a strict no shoes policy & always wash new clothing but my partner always covers food with plastic wrap so I will be showing him this article!
    No more plastic wrap in this house!

    Reply

  • Tick tick tick.. I do all these already. I can’t stand it when people leave their dirty shoes on!!

    Reply

  • I’ve found a company called Ha Ra Clean Green. They have cleaning packs for all situations that are non toxic, clean and green. Fantastic products, reasonably priced and clean superbly

    • Thanks for your feedback.
      I’m a big fan of micro cloths for cleaning. When I looked at the Ha.Ra site I couldn’t see any specifics on ingredients for their other products so that always makes me wary. It’s so hard to find good products that really work that are truly chemical free, especially as there isn’t a certification for it.
      I’m glad you have found some products you like and I hope they are a chem-free as they imply.
      – Sharon

    Reply

  • Great tips. I am trying to implement a no shoe policy with little luck but I will keep pesrervering.

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  • Great article thank you : )

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  • Great to hear must tell my partner about the gladwrap/paper towel.

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  • Hate trampling germs through the house from shoes , if only I could get my family to be as strict as me with the no shoes in the house policy.

    • Good luck Cherz. I hope it’s a big success.
      – Sharon

    Reply

  • Ooh, I need to work on 2 and 3. I sometimes wash new clothes, but not always. In my mind, I’d hate to ruin some tops before I’ve worn them! And I hate to ask people to take their shoes off when they enter my home. Some do, some offer. If they have no socks on, hmmm. If they do, they might feel uncomfortable, so I’m happy for them to leave their shoes on.

    • Glad you’re doing so well with No 1 – you can always soak the items in cold water overnight with some wool wash and some bicarb. I usually do this as the first wash to be more sustainable and stop any possibility of colours running onto other clothing. I hope that helps!
      – Sharon

    Reply

  • Shoes out at the front door is nice but what happens next is that kids are to lazy to put shoes on when they go outside again….and living at the edge of a reserve you can imagine the effect of that in our house 🙁

    Reply

  • O.K. l always use glad when microwaving so that is going to be hard and l bought new clothes for a trip and normally would wash them but short of time so now l will wash!

    • Great to hear your going to washing them. Have a fabulous holiday.
      – Sharon

    Reply

  • Those 3 tips I already do – however my house is full of mould. What can I do for this?

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  • Three great tips. I try and wash new clothes at least twice, but once for good measure, always. I learnt so much from Alexx @ Low Tox Life – highly recommend her course, life changing!

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  • Washing my clothes before wearing was something my mum taught me and always do. You do not know what happened when it was tried on by other people.
    I have a sign outside my front door that shoes belong outside as I hate the cleaning up the mess they make.
    Cleaning all things be use if new is handy as you do not know what they have on them.

    Reply

  • I always wash new clothes/items before use, but I didn’t know I had to wash them more than once to remove chemicals. Thanks for the info.

    • You’re welcome, glad to be of help. And glad to hear you’ve already been washing them before use – well done you! Sharon

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  • I always wash new clothes before first use.

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  • Our shoes go in a series of containers inside. Too much risk of spiders or ants in the area we live in. In the cold weather, it is shoes off slippers on. Floors are cold concrete slabs, not timber like they used to be. We don’t have carpet in the whole house. It is far easier to keep treated timber(stained, veneered, floating or whatever you prefer) or vinyl surfaces clean and dust free than it is carpet. If I had my way I wouldn’t have carpet at all.

    Reply

  • we dont wear shoes inside because we all like walking bare foot, but reading your article it is also good for the home, I had not thought of bringing germs in before!

    Reply
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