10 Ways to Eliminate Home Toxins Naturally 

April 28, 2020

Commercial products have chemicals in them that aren't strictly regulated in the U.S., and because of this, you must be smart about what you're bringing into your home. A lot of products and items you use and buy contain carcinogenic ingredients. Eliminating toxins should start in your home. Below are 10 ways you can naturally eliminate home toxins.

1. Go Plastic-Free or Zero-Waste

While it may be a little challenging to go completely waste-free, or depending on where you live, impossible, you could at least cut back on your plastic use. Single-use plastics are a horrible waste of resources that usually wind up in waterways and oceans where they don't biodegrade, but still release toxic chemicals used during their production. Instead of using plastics, try using reusable:

• Coffee mugs
• Water bottles
• Grocery totes
• Cutlery
• Plates

2. Take Off Your Shoes

No matter how much you wipe off your shoes at the door, you still could be tracking in toxins. For instance, shoes can bring herbicides and pesticides into your home. Shoes are also the culprit of most of the lead dust you find in houses. Just leave your shoes at the front door or in the garage.

3. Manage the Dust in Your Home

Dust in the house can aggravate allergies. Dust also contains more chemicals than you may think, which includes:

• Pesticides
• Fire retardants
• Lead
• Other chemicals

And you shouldn't take this lightly. Even if these types of chemicals were used in your home decades ago, they could still build up in your home dust today.

One thing you could do is replace your wall-to-wall carpeting, which collects allergens and dust, with things like:

• Non-vinyl linoleum
• Cork
• Wood
• Tile

If this is too costly for you to do, however, you can simply vacuum more often, and be sure to get into corners, moving furniture to get the dust bunnies and along the floorboards. Ensure your vacuum has a HEPA filter, and a strong suction, so dirt and dust go into the bag. Vacuum twice weekly, and each time clean the filter and vacuum bag, so dust doesn't get into the air.

4. Toss Out Pesticides

Pesticides kill ants, roaches, lawn pests, and mice. However, chronic small exposures and overexposure might put your kids at risk of an array of health issues, including:

• Learning disabilities
• Asthma
• Issues with brain development

Individuals don't see the damage chemicals do to their children and themselves. It's silent, but is real damage. Instead, promote health and save money by focusing on prevention instead. There are simple steps you can take to keep roaches away, such as:

• Carefully washing dishes
• Closing containers tightly
• Cleaning up all food residue
• Sealing point of entry cracks into your home

5. Open Your Windows

When you don't open your windows, you're actually sealing yourself up with the chemicals being released from within your home, especially if your home is new, and hasn't had enough time to off-gas. Open your windows to allow the fresh air in, and to flush out the chemicals.

6. Keep an Eye Out for Mold

Beware of certain areas in your house that might have too much air moisture, and get it under control. You can use a dehumidifier for areas you can't maintain a relative humidity below 60%.

7. Add More Plants in Your Home

Plants are the ideal way of naturally purifying the indoor air. They can help remove harsh toxins (xylene, formaldehyde, toluene, and benzene) that enter different areas of your home through things like synthetic materials and household cleaners. Some good house plants are:

• English Ivy
• Mother-in-Law's Tongue
• Dracaena
• Spider plants

8. Filter Your Water

The best way of reducing toxic exposure in your house is by filtering your water. From cooking quinoa, washing kale to basic hydration, you need water. With the lead contamination crisis in certain communities, along with the relaxation of regulations on industrial toxins and pesticides that get into the water supplies, you can expect a certain level of toxic chemicals in your water. There are a variety of water filter systems you can use to filter your water.

9. Use Natural Cleaning Products

Just like with personal care products, toxins are also introduced into your space through cleaning products. Natural cleaning products can clean your house without compromising the safety and health of your loved ones.

10. Sleep on a Natural Latex Mattress

Quality sleep is important. There's no need to put your sleep at risk by sleeping on a synthetic mattress that offers little support, comfort, and health benefits. Natural latex mattresses, like from Eco Terra, are toxic chemical-free, polyurethane-free, and crafted with organic cotton and certified organic wool. The organic wool and cotton used in Eco Terra's mattresses have passed stringent testing through the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS), and meet the industry's high environmental criteria.

Take a look at the multitude of awards Eco Terra mattresses have been honored with.

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Also in Eco Terra's Healthy Sleep Blog