Healthy Home

Is Your Home Making You Sick?

Common housing problems or failures that occur in our homes include: musty odors and mold growth, window condensation, structural rot, peeling paint, backdrafting appliances, damp basements, and high utility costs.

RESPIRABLE PARTICLES

Sources: Fireplaces, wood stoves, kerosene heaters, and environmental tobacco smoke.

Health Effects: Eye, nose, and throat irritation; respiratory infections and bronchitis; lung cancer. (Effects attributable to environmental tobacco smoke are listed elsewhere.)

Steps to Reduce Exposure:

• Keep gas appliances properly adjusted.

• Consider purchasing vented gas space heaters and furnaces.

• Use proper fuel in kerosene space heaters.

• Install and use exhaust fan vented to outdoors over gas stoves.

• Open flues when gas fireplaces are in use.

• Choose properly sized wood stoves that are certified to meet EPA emission standards.

• Make certain that doors on all wood stoves fit tightly.

• Do not idle car inside garage.

ORGANIC POLLUTANTS

Sources: Household products including paints, paint strippers and other solvents; wood preservatives; aerosol sprays; cleansers and disinfectants; moth repellents and air fresheners; stored fuels and automotive products; hobby supplies and dry cleaned clothing.

Health Effects: Eye, nose, and throat irritation; headaches, loss of coordination, nausea; damage to liver, kidneys, and central nervous system. Some organics can cause cancer in animals; some are suspected or known to cause cancer in humans.

Steps to Reduce Exposure:

• Use household products according to manufacturer’s directions.

• Use outdoors or in well-ventilated places.

• Throw away unused or little-used containers safely; buy in quantities that you will use soon.

• Use nontoxic alternatives.

FORMALDEHYDE

Sources: Pressed wood products (hardwood plywood wall paneling, particleboard, fiberboard) and furniture made with these pressed wood products, urea-formaldehyde foam insulation (UFFI), combustion sources and environmental tobacco smoke, durable press drapes, other textiles, and glues.

Health Effects: Eye, nose, and throat irritation; wheezing and coughing; fatigue, skin rash and severe allergic reactions. May cause cancer. May also cause other effects listed under "organic gases."

Steps to Reduce Exposure:

• Use "exterior grade" pressed wood products (lower-emitting because they contain phenol resins, not urea resins).

• Use air conditioning and dehumidifiers to maintain moderate temperature and reduce humidity levels.

• Increase ventilation, particularly after bringing new sources of formaldehyde into the home.

• Insist on a carpet or carpet pad with little or no formaldehyde content.

PESTICIDES

Sources: Products used to kill household pests (insecticides and termiticides). Also, products used on lawns and gardens that drift or are tracked inside the house.

Health Effects: Irritation to eye, nose, and throat; damage to central nervous system and kidneys; cancer.

Steps to Reduce Exposure:

• Use strictly according to manufacturer’s directions.

• Mix or dilute outdoors.

• Apply only in recommended quantities.

• Take plants or pets outside, where possible. Increase ventilation when using indoors.

• Use non-chemical methods of pest control where possible.

• If you use a pest control company, select it carefully.

• Do not store unneeded pesticides inside home; dispose of unvented containers safely.

• Store clothes with moth repellents in separately ventilated areas, if possible.

• Keep indoor spaces clean and well-ventilated in order to eliminate or minimize use of air fresheners.

LEAD

Sources: Automobile exhaust, sanding or open-flame burning of lead-based paint, and any activities using lead solder.

Health Effects: Impaired mental and physical development in both fetuses and young children. Decreased coordination and mental abilities; damage to kidneys, nervous system, and red blood cells. May increase high blood pressure.

Steps to Reduce Exposure:

• If you suspect the paint you are removing may contain lead, have it tested.

• Leave lead-based paint undisturbed. Don't sand or burn off.

• Cover lead-based paint with wallpaper or other building material. Replace moldings and other woodwork or have them removed and chemically treated off-site.

• Use well-ventilated areas for hobbies and house maintenance involving lead. Consider using "no-lead" solder.

• If lead exposure is suspected, consult your health department about appropriate removal and clean-up procedures and have your blood lead levels tested.

• Have your drinking water tested for lead.

ASBESTOS

Sources: Deteriorating of damaged insulation, fire-proofing, or acoustical materials.

Health Effects: No immediate symptoms. Chest and abdominal cancers and lung diseases. Smokers are at higher risk of developing asbestos-induced lung cancer.

Steps to Reduce Exposure:

• Use trained and qualified contractors for control measures that may disturb asbestos and for clean up.

• Follow proper procedures in replacing wood stove door gaskets that may contain asbestos.

BIOLOGICAL POLLUTANTS

Sources: Wet or moist walls, ceilings, carpets, and furniture; poorly maintained humidifiers, dehumidifiers, and air conditioners; bedding; household pets.

Health Effects: A host of illnesses and diseases may occur from biologicals; upper respiratory irritations.

Steps to Reduce Exposure:

• Install and use fans vented to outdoors in kitchens and bathrooms.

• Vent clothes dryer to outdoors.

• Clean cool mist and ultrasonic humidifiers daily and use only distilled water in them.

• Empty water trays in air conditioners, dehumidifiers, and refrigerators frequently.

• Clean and dry, or remove, water damaged carpets.

• Use basements as living areas only if they are leak-proof and have adequate ventilation. Use dehumidifiers, if necessary, to maintain humidity at 30-50 percent.

NITROGEN DIOXIDE

Sources: Kerosene heaters, unvented gas stoves and heaters. Environmental tobacco smoke.

Health Effects: Eye, nose, and throat irritation; may cause impaired lung function and increased respiratory infection in young children.

Steps to Reduce Exposure: See steps under carbon monoxide.

CARBON MONOXIDE

Sources: Unvented kerosene and gas heaters; leaking chimneys and furnaces; down-drafting from wood stoves and fireplaces; gas stoves. Automobile exhaust from attached garages. Environmental tobacco smoke.

Health Effects: Persistent headaches, nausea, fatigue, blurred vision, rapid heart beat, loss of muscle control, flu-like symptoms that clear up upon leaving the house.

Steps to Reduce Exposure:

• Keep gas appliances properly adjusted.

• Consider purchasing vented gas space heaters and furnaces.

• Use proper fuel in kerosene space heaters.

• Install and use exhaust fan vented to outdoors over gas stoves.

• Open flues when gas fireplaces are in use.

• Choose properly sized wood stoves that are certified to meet EPA emission standards.

• Make certain that doors on all wood stoves fit tightly.

• Do not idle car inside garage

RADON

Sources: Earth, uranium and rock beneath home; well water; building materials.

Health Effects: No immediate symptoms. Estimated to cause about 10% of lung cancer deaths. Smokers are at higher risk of developing radon-induced lung cancer.

Steps to Reduce Exposure:

• Test your home for radon.

• Get professional advice before planning and carrying out radon reduction measures.

• Seal cracks and other openings in basement floor.

• Ventilate crawl space.

• Install sub-slab ventilation or a heat recovery ventilator (air-to-air heat exchanger).

• Treat radon-contaminated well water by aerating or filtering through granulate-activated charcoal.

ENVIRONMENTAL TOBACCO SMOKE

Sources: Cigarette, pipe, and cigar smoking.

Health Effects: Eye, nose, and throat irritation; headaches; bronchitis; pneumonia. Increased risk of respiratory and ear infections in children. Can cause lung cancer and may contribute to heart disease.

Steps to Reduce Exposure:

• Stop smoking and discourage others from smoking.

• Don't allow smoking in your home.

Powered by American Lung Association Health House® Program