With cold a flu season upon us, it’s important to take a look at some of the culprits in your home that could be adding to your coughing and sneezing.
11 Things in Your Home That Are Making You Sick
If you are having headaches, breathing problems, or digestive upsets, take a look at these 11 things that may be causing your problems. Even if you are not sick right now, all of these problems should be addressed if you have small children or anyone living in your home with a compromised respiratory or immune system.
1. Mold and Mildew
Mold and mildew spores are found in nearly every climate around the world. But in warm, humid environments, like our bathrooms, laundry rooms, and basements, the spores can grow and multiply to create a colony that can be hazardous to your health. Most mold in homes is a surface mold like mildew, while others can be black or green mold that will penetrate the structure of your home making it unstable.
All types of mold are irritants to respiratory systems and can cause huge problems for those with compromised immune systems. That’s why it is so important to identify and remove mold from every surface of your home.
If you need your tile and grout cleaned professionally, make sure to contact us today at J and R’s Carpet Cleaning!
2. Air Conditioning and Heating
In our quest for comfort, most homes use a central heating and cooling system (HVAC). And, to keep the cost of using the system, we’ve made our homes more energy-efficient by sealing leaky doors and windows. While this is ideal for our wallets, it can be hazardous to our health especially for those with respiratory illnesses.
HVAC systems do not pull in the fresh air, it simply filters and recycles indoor air leaving any toxins inside. These can include cigarette smoke, radon gas, mold, cleaning chemicals, volatile organic compounds, and carbon monoxide. In many homes, indoor air can be more polluted than the air outdoors.
For homes that use room air conditioners, they are often sources of mold and mildew spores unless the filters and vents are cleaned frequently. Fireplaces and space heaters also emit particles that are irritants to respiratory systems.
3. Your Bathrooms
Bathrooms are small spaces that are filled with heat and humidity that promotes mold growth, human body soil and waste, and chemicals from personal care and cleaning products. Health hazards lurk on nearly every surface and in the air.
4. Your Living Room
The living room or family room gets lots of use by everyone in the house and guests. We snack there, play with pets there, put our feet up to rest there, and handle lots of remote controls to control entertainment systems. It’s a place to gather and share everything, including bacteria.
One of the biggest culprits in the living room are those remote controls. Does everyone have clean hands? Lots of illness-producing bacteria and viruses can cling to those surfaces. Take time to clean them with a disinfectant wipe approved for electronics.
The next biggest issues are outside contaminants and dust. Having everyone remove their shoes at the door will prevent outside problems from entering. Using a good vacuum with a HEPA filter regularly and dusting often will keep allergens under control.
5. Wall-to-Wall Carpet
Wall-to-wall carpet is comforting in a bedroom or living space but it is also a bacteria and dirt magnet. For those with allergies, the dust, dust mites, pet dander in the carpet can cause breathing issues and skin conditions. Hardwood floors with washable throw rugs produce many fewer irritants.
New carpets emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from preservatives like formaldehyde that can be toxic causing respiratory problems and nosebleeds.
Carpet should be vacuum regularly with a HEPA filter vacuum and professionally cleaned regularly.
Contact us today to schedule a professional carpet cleaning at your home or office.
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