20 Ways to Detoxify Your Home

There are many ways to detoxify your home. Below are 20 tips to get you off to a good start.

Use these 20 tips to detoxify your home. The average house may contain as many as 400 chemicals and most of them are toxic. Our family has spent several years slowly clearing away the toxins in our home.

You don’t have to tackle this in a day, or even do everything listed here. These are tips, not musts. We just do what we can and know that it is enough.

Some of these home detoxification tips are simple ideas that you are probably well aware of and already doing. While others you may feel not want to do at all. Detoxify your home in whatever way you can. Every little bit helps both your family and the environment.

20 Ways to Detoxify Your Home

1.  Leave your shoes at the door

• When you take off your shoes you eliminate a lot of toxins that get tracked into your house.
• This is a must for homes with little ones crawling about.
  • 6 Reasons to Remove Your Shoes Inside

2.  Dust Often

• Dust is filled with toxins — Get rid of it as often as possible using natural ingredients.
• Make your own natural cleaning products.
• For more information
  • Your Dust Bunnies are Likely Toxic
  • Toxic Household Dust

3.  Clean Mold the Second You See it

• Mold is a dangerous toxin — get rid of it or it will multiply and take over!
  • Mold Exposure: Get Facts About Symptoms and Treatment
  • Health Problems from Black Mold, Exposure Symptoms, Remediation, and Mold Understanding

4.  Replace Toxic Cleaning Products with Non-toxic Cleaning Products

• We use natural products including vinegar, witch hazel, and essential oils to clean our home. They get the job done without harsh chemicals!
  • How to Make Natural Cleaning Products
  • Best Alternative to Dryer Sheets

5.  Replace Toxic Cosmetics, Shampoo & Skin Care Products with Natural Ones

• Use mineral-based natural cosmetics. Many natural foods stores carry a great selection.
• Use lotions and creams with ingredients you can pronounce or make your own!
• Use paraben & sulfate-free shampoos, and soaps and replace them with products made from natural ingredients.
• Use natural deodorants without Aluminum.
• Use fluoride-free toothpaste.
  • What’s So Bad About Fluoride?

6.  Avoid Toxic Pest Control & Replace Harmful Pet Care Products

• Use natural remedies in your home whenever possible.

7.  Keep Air Fresh & Clean

• Open windows or keep as many cracked as possible.
• Add Houseplants
• Clean ducts when necessary.
• Get an air purifier or diffuser.

8.  Use Low VOC Latex Water Based Paints

• For more information
  • The Dangers of Paint Fumes

9.  Keep Plastics out of Your Home [And Help Save Our Oceans]

• Plastics contain toxins such as BPAs that leech into the air and into anything that touches them. It’s best to keep them out of the house.
• Plastic shower curtains can be especially harmful.
• Stay away from children’s toys marked with a “3″ or “PVC.”
• Purchase quality wooden toys as opposed to plastic ones.
  •  Best Natural Baby Toys
  • 20 Great Eco-Friendly Toys for Toddlers.
• Avoid plastic food packaging (when you can).
• Don’t wrap food in plastic.
• Choose baby bottles made from glass or BPA-free plastic.
• Avoid vinyl teethers for your baby.
• Don’t purchase bottled water. Plastic water bottles are bad for your home and the environment.
• For more information:
  • Plastics: Danger Where We Least Expect it
  • 22 Facts About Plastic Pollution (And 10 Things We Can Do About It)

10.  Filter your Tap Water or Order Spring Water

• More than 700 chemicals have been identified in tap water. Drinking bottled water in plastic bottles is not a good alternative for our environment. See #9 above.
  • Use a Berkey Filter and add fluoride filters if your city fluoridates your tap water. Fluoride is EXTREMELY toxic to the body.
  • Order Mountain spring water in 5-gallon glass jugs from a local water delivery service you trust.
  • Have a water filtration system installed in your home using a service such as Culligan.

11.  Get Rid of Your Microwave

• I know this one is not going to go over too well with many of you. My husband was reluctant to get rid of his when we met but now he is one of the biggest advocates of trashing microwaves that I know.
• Microwaves make your food totally toxic. They jiggle the atoms in food to heat it and this strips all nutrients while leaving only toxic waste behind. I had an argument with a physicist about this once. He apologized and got rid of his microwave after he researched the matter. You can too. You will be better off without it — trust me. I grew up without one. My mother has never owned one in her entire life!
• For more information:
  • Why You Should Never Microwave Your Food

12.  Beware of EMF’s & other Micro-waves

• Wireless technology is bad for our bodies in so many ways — We are literally microwaved by it.
• Wire in as opposed to going wireless in your home if possible. This can be inconvenient at times but we think it’s worth it.
• EMFs and other microwaves are especially harmful to the developing brains of our children.
• For more information:
  • NEW Barrie Trower WiFi Report – Humanity At The Brink
  • The Little-Known Dangers of EMFs and How To Protect You and Your Family 
  • Is Dirty Electricity Making You Sick?

13.  Opt-out of the Smart Meter Program

• Smart Meters let off extremely damaging EMFs.
• Opt-Out of Smart Meter Program.
  • Opting out can be done with a few quick clicks online.
  • A technician will come and replace it with an old-school meter that works just as well without all the extra EMFs you and your family don’t need.

14.  Get Rid of Non-stick Pans & Bakeware

• Teflon is toxic no matter what advertisers tell you. It contains PFCs that have been linked to cancer and other developmental problems.
• There are lots of quality pots and pans out there without non-stick surfaces.
• Our family is a big fan of cast iron and stainless steel cookware.
• For more information:
  • The Dangers of Non-Stick Cookware

15.  Avoid Stain Guard Carpets & Clothing Items

• Use natural fiber wool & cotton rugs and clothing.
• If possible, replace your wall-to-wall carpeting with hardwood floors, all-natural linoleum, or ceramic tiles. Use non-toxic glues, adhesives, stains, or sealers for installation.
• For more information:
  • What are the Dangers of Scotchguard?
  • PFCs — The Stain-Resistant Teflon Chemicals

16.  Avoid & Replace Particle Board

• Particleboard often contains formaldehyde, which can emit irritating and unhealthy fumes for decades.
• Avoid plywood, fiberglass, fiberboard, and paneling if at all possible.
• For more information:
  • What are the Dangers of particle Board?
  • 7 Easy Ways to Reduce Your Exposure to Formaldehyde

17.  Avoid & Replace Toxic Lawn & Garden Products

• Avoiding chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, etc. is an important way to keep your family safe and detoxify your home.

18.  Purchase & Grow Organic Foods

• There is nothing better for your family, home, and planet earth than growing your own organic food.
• If you can’t grow it yourself purchasing from farmer’s markets and local natural food stores before supermarket chains is best.
• I often post about organic gardening and will be adding lots more soon. Check under the Gardening tab above and sign up for my newsletter so you don’t miss anything.
• For more information:
• Top 10 Reasons to Grow Your Own Organic Food

19.  Use a Vacuum Cleaner with a HEPA Filter

• HEPA-filter vacuums capture the widest range of particles and get rid of allergens.

20.  Keep Your Home Happy!

• Avoid the dangers of emotional toxicity by keeping your home happy and drama free as much as possible.
• Diffuse essential oils as needed!