Nowadays, there’s a certain kind of anti-intellectualism that’s becoming very popular. It’s the mindset of calling people with real concerns ‘hypochondriacs’. The simple truth is, however, that a lot of the illnesses we come up against in life are preventable. It’s also true that some of us, or our families, are more at risk than the average person. To people who are truly health-conscious, your home can be a major risk factor. In this article, we’ll be tackling those risks and how you get around them.
Food
The kitchen should be a place full of smiles and good, warm food. So when it turns out it’s the reason you’re sick, it can be quite a shock to the system. Most food-related illnesses come down to poor preparation. Not many people are aware of all the rules. So make sure you’re keeping all utensils and surfaces as clean as possible. Don’t let dirty dishes linger. Keep raw food away from ready-to-eat food. Wash fruit and veg, even if you’re peeling them. Then pay attention to news about food as well. A food-related illness can be caused just as often by contamination that is in no part your fault. If you believe some of the food you have is contaminated, then don’t take any risks. Throw it out.
Artificial light
When people think of homes and how they might make us sick, they think of environmental control. They think of water, the air, damp, and the other things we’ve mentioned. They think about food and how to keep eating in the home safe. But not many think of their own habits. Yet, headaches, poor sleep, and all kinds of problems can be caused by what you do in your home. Particularly when it comes to artificial light. A lot of us spend too much time face-to-face with computer screens and computer TVs. Without more light to contrast them, these can serious effects on mood, sleep, and headaches. Try to go an hour without artificial light before you go to bed for a proper night’s sleep.
Stress
One of the things that artificial light has a habit of doing is making you more stressed. Stress isn’t an intangible concept as some people might think. It’s a chemical state that has real physical effects. Migraines, back pain, and muscle tightness, for instance. How you take care of your home can have a huge effect on how much you suffer the effects of stress. One of the more stressful elements of the home is clutter. If you live in a messy home, it can induce claustrophobic and disorganized feelings. As they say, a cluttered home is a cluttered mind. And that leads to more stress.
The bedroom
The same rules go for the fabrics that most of us look to seek comfort in. You can’t leave any of the fabrics in your home unwashed. The buildup of dust, sweat, dead skin cells, and oils can prove very dangerous. So you need to make sure you have a schedule of deeply washing all your bedding. For your bedsheets, you need to wash them at least every other week. Same as your pillowcases. For the pillows themselves, they should be washed at least twice a year. If they’ve gone unwashed for more than a year, you should throw them out instead. Pillows can be a home to mold, yeast, and all kinds of bacteria. Puts you at risk of asthma, bronchitis, and more.
The bathroom
By now, you’ve certainly heard the old tale about how bacteria riddled your showerhead can be. That’s no mistake, nor is it a concern you should just be shrugging off. Bacteria, mold and too much moisture is easy to build in the bathroom, as you might imagine. Wiping down surfaces with more household chemicals isn’t doing to fix things. Instead, you should take the time to replace shrinking caulk and broken tiles. Make sure your bathroom is fitted with a ceiling vent and run it for twenty minutes even after you step out of the shower. Wipe down faucets with a hydrogen peroxide solution. Swap out vinyl curtains for nylon ones. Don’t give bacteria and mold a home anywhere in your bathroom.
