Household toxins can be very dangerous. In fact, the air quality inside your home might be worse than the air quality outside your home.

You may have heard that inside air is often more polluted than outside air. Air filtration companies love to cite this in their advertising. Creating a healthy environment at home is a critical step to creating vibrant health. Since helping you create vibrant health is what I’m all about at Balanced Being Acupuncture, I’m going to help you find ways to detoxify your house.

Here are just a few ideas to get you started.

• Dry cleaning- avoid purchasing dry-clean-only clothing. Hang recently dry-cleaned clothes out in a well-ventilated area immediately, or outside in the shade.
• Cleaning products- choose non-toxic products whenever possible. Hydrogen peroxide and vinegar are great cleaning products that are healthy for your home environment. A self-cleaning oven can help you avoid toxic oven cleaners, but presents problems of its own. During the self-clean cycle all sorts of volatile organic chemicals are created and released by the high temperatures that are used. Vent your house and stay outside when operating the self-clean cycle of any self-cleaning oven.
• New Carpets- Carpets are notorious for venting volatile organic chemicals in to your home. New carpets made of recycled fibers are now available. These present far less less off-gassing of these chemicals.
• Air Fresheners- These unnecessary products are adding a chemical soup to your home. Chuck them immediately! If you must add fragrance to your home, consider natural potpourri, or use an oil burner to gently heat essential oils.
• Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs- These are great for the environment, but they contain a small amount highly-toxic mercury. When the glass in these bulbs break in your home they are poisoning your home. This may be fine for out-of-the-way ceiling fixtures, but floor and table lamp bulbs are much more likely to get accidentally broken. This is especially true if you have pets and/or children. You may want to look into highly efficient LED lighting. While they are more expensive, LED lights do not contain mercury, are more energy efficient, and last longer than CFL light bulbs.

Have any more tips for reducing toxic chemicals in the home? I’d love to hear about them. Please share your thoughts in the comments below.