When I learned about all of the toxins in my home, I felt like I was going to pass out! At the time, my daughter was very sick and it was crucial for me to detox her environment as much as possible because her immune system was completely overwhelmed. But I went overboard, as I tend to do, and drove myself completely crazy trying to be perfect. My goal was to get rid of every last toxin in our lives. I am here to spare you from that agony because it’s just not possible! You simply need to focus on the biggest impact ways to detox your home.
Where are the Toxins In Our Homes?
We have completely corrupted our world with toxins. They are EVERYWHERE. They’re in the:
- Water we drink and bathe in
- Air we breathe
- Soil that provides nutrients to our food
- Foods we eat (not grown in soil)
- Clothes we wear
- Furniture we sit on and mattresses we sleep on
- Cars we drive
- Pots, pans, dishes, and packaging that touches our food
- Personal and cleaning products we use
I could go on and on. Have I made you want to cry? Well don’t! Because I am going to give you some easy steps to detox your home. I will tell you changes you can make that will have the biggest bang for your buck and your effort to detox your home.
We can’t live our life in a bubble. It’s impossible to get rid of every last toxin we’re exposed to. What we really need is a healthy immune system that is able to do what it was designed to do which is to get rid of those toxins from our bodies. But we can help our immune systems out by getting rid of some of the biggest toxins in our homes.
How Detoxing Your Home Helps With Anti Aging
You may be asking what does this have to do with anti aging. Some people think that aging is a genetic crapshoot. That the genes inherited from your parents determine how you will look and feel as you get older and there’s not much you can do about it. But that’s not true.
As Roxy Dillon, MSc said in her book Bio Young, “If you think about aging in its simplest form, it can be viewed as a slowing down, of sorts – a lack of cellular energy, and a lack of energy in hormone producing glands.” Build up of toxins is one of the biggest reasons your cells and glands stop functioning properly and “slow down.”
If you detox your home it will help your cells to detox and improve their ability to function. And if you can improve cellular function, you will reverse or at least slow the aging process!
Top 6 Ways to Detox Your Home
If you only do these 6 things, you will have done a lot to improve your cellular function and slow down the rate at which you age. I suggest that you don’t try to do them cold turkey, all at once. Consider picking one area to focus on per month.
One – Detox the Water You Drink
According to Eating Well, “A 2009 analysis by the Environmental Working Group found a whopping 315 pollutants in U.S. tap water, including arsenic (a heavy metal) and pesticides. More than half of the compounds are not regulated by the EPA, which means they can legally be present in tap water in any amount.” Bottom line – please get some sort of system to purify the drinking water at your house! I have a reverse osmosis filtration system with carbon.
Pros:
- I love the way the water tastes.
- I have peace of mind because it removes up to 99 percent of contaminants such as arsenic, lead, ammonia and chlorine, as well as toxic fluoride, sodium, nitrates and heavy metals. It even removes some parasites, pesticides, and chemicals like ibuprofen.
- It hooks up to the water and ice cubes in my fridge so they are filtered too.
- The plastic (boo!) that touches the water is BPA free
- It makes lots of water very quickly so I always have enough filtered water to cook with and to clean fruits and veggies.
Cons:
- Reverse Osmosis systems strip the good stuff from your water as well as the bad stuff. So, it takes away the minerals like calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, iron, and zinc. But we get our minerals from our food and supplements so I am not concerned about that.
- It does not filter the water we shower/bathe in (we had to get a water softener system too).
- Costly – mine was about $1200 installed and this was many years ago so the price may have gone up.
If you don’t want a reverse osmosis system, you can consider a distillation unit or ion exchange unit. I can’t personally speak to their effectiveness but here is an article from the CDC that walks you through the differences between the various water filtration options.
Even if you just get a non plastic counter top unit or a water filter pitcher that’s good! It’s certainly healthier than drinking tap water or bottled water (due to the plastic it’s contained in). My mom has this zero water glass pitcher. Zero water claims to remove “virtually all (99.6%) detectable dissolved solids while leading brands remove up to 50%.” I can attest that the water tastes good and the best thing about it is that it’s glass and not plastic. And it’s not too ugly to leave it sitting out on your counter top.
Two – Detox the Air You Breathe
According to the National Association of Clean Air Agencies, toxic air pollutants include, formaldehyde; acrolein; benzene; naphthalene; arsenic and metals, such as cadmium, mercury, chromium and lead. Sources of hazardous air pollutants include power plants, factories, dry cleaners, and hospitals, as well as cars, buses, and construction equipment.
You can’t control what you breathe in when you leave your house. But if you are breathing purified air during the 12 hours a day people typically spend in their homes, that makes a real difference to health and longevity! I use this hospital grade air filter by Austin Air to purify my home.
Pros:
- It can filter chemicals and gasses (VOCs), virus, bacteria, dust, and pollen.
- One filter covers 1500 square feet and it has wheels so you can easily move it from room to room.
- Easy set up – take it out of the box and plug it in.
- Don’t need to replace the filters for 5 years.
- Very reliable. I’ve had mine for 9 years and have left them on 24/7 and have never had a maintenance problem.
- Really helps with allergies and breathing issues.
- If anyone gets the flu in our family, I quarantine them in a room as far away from the kitchen/family room as possible, turn on the air filter, and shut the door. It really helps to keep the whole family from getting infected!
Cons:
- It is pretty big and not very attractive looking, but I try to hide it in the corner and I got the sandstone color that blends in with my walls.
- It’s Costly ($715) but they do make cheaper models. You could probably be fine with the regular Healthmate for $595 (I got the Healthmate Plus because my daughter was so sick).
One of my friends has a Molekule Air Filter which is not not nearly as bulky as mine and looks much cooler! And she is someone who really does her homework. She says it works great. So you can read about it and see what you think. For other air filter options, check out this article.
Three – Detox the Food You Eat
I’m not going to lie. If you decide to take this on, it’s going to significantly increase the amount of money you spend on food each week. And it can be overwhelming to try to eat clean. There is so much to learn and look for in order to minimize the toxins in your food.
If I could pick only one dietary change for you to make that leads to the biggest improvement in your health it’s this… BUY ONLY ORGANIC FOODS. This will help you avoid the hormones and antibiotics that are added to non organic meat, the pesticides sprayed on non organic fruits and veggies, and GMO ingredients added to so many of our foods.
I could have a whole blog dedicated to clean eating. So, for this post I am purposely keeping it simple. Remember, my goal is to help you to stay sane! After going organic, if you’re ready to take it to the next level, try to:
- Buy only wild caught fish
- Avoid plastic packing
- Only buy BPA free canned goods
- Minimize the amount of processed food you buy (if there’s a long list of ingredients, you can’t pronounce them, and you have no idea what they are you probably shouldn’t buy it)
- Get foods with no added sugars
- Avoid artificial colors, sweeteners, additives (like MSG and transfats) and preservatives (like Sulfites, Sodium Benzoate, Nitrites, and BHA/BHT)
- Eat less meat, gluten, and dairy
- Reduce your caffeine and alcohol intake
Four – Detox Your Sleeping Environment
If you think about it, other than your where you work, the place that you spend the most time is your bed. Therefore, if you can make your bedroom a more purified environment, you will really be helping your health. Here are the bedroom changes I recommend:
- Don’t wear traditional pajamas – even most organic pajamas are coated in flame retardants which disrupt the endocrine (hormone) system. Instead, consider wearing an old t shirt as pajamas.
- Get organic bedding – like pajamas, most sheets are coated in toxic flame retardants. In addition, nylon/polyester sheets contain petroleum and cotton sheets contain lots of pesticides/insecticides.
- Buy organic mattress – this is really tricky and expensive. People selling organic mattresses try to confuse you with labeling to make it seem like what they’re selling is organic when it’s not. As of 2020, what you want to look for is labels that say GOTS, GOLS, or Oeko-Tex Standard 100. If an organic mattress is not in the budget, Healthy child has some great alternatives and suggestions.
- Purchase organic pillow without flame retardant.
- Be sure to wash your organic bedding in non toxic laundry detergent. Instead of fabric softener, I use 2 drops of lavender essential oil on each of these wool dryer balls. I put them in the dryer with my clothes and it makes them smell really good without the toxins.
- Have an air filter in your room.
Five – Detox Your Kitchen
- Stop using plastic dishes and food storage containers. According to Harvard Health Publishing, “Studies have found that certain chemicals in plastic can leach out of the plastic and into the food and beverages we eat. Some of these chemicals have been linked to health problems such as metabolic disorders (including obesity) and reduced fertility.” I have invested in clear glass dishes and lots of Pyrex food storage containers. I tried the Walmart/Amazon imitation of Pyrex and was disappointed because the lids cracked when I cleaned them in the dishwasher a few times. The reason I chose clear glass dishes is because glass with color and/or decorations can contain lead or cadium. For other dishware suggestions check out this article by Go New Mommy.
- Wash your dishes in non toxic dishwasher detergent.
- Invest in Non Toxic Cookware. Gimme the Good Stuff has a great post on safe non toxic cookware. Don’t feel like you have to switch out your pots and pans all at once. They are expensive! I ask for a new one each Christmas and have built up my set of stainless steel pots and pans over time.
- Make your own cleaning products with vinegar and essential oils. The Prairie Homestead has some good, easy to follow recipes.
- Wash your hands with organic castile soap.
Six – Detox Your Bathroom
- Check out my post on non toxic skincare suggestions.
- Read my post on non toxic makeup suggestions.
- Consider cleaning your face with oil instead of soap.
- Try liquid castile soap in the shower or if you prefer bar soap, here’s the bar soap I use.
- Use non toxic deodorant. This is especially important since deodorants containing aluminum may be linked to breast cancer. I can’t even tell you how many non toxic deodorant fails I had before I found one that kept me from stinking in the hot Florida heat! The one I use is a paste which took some getting used to but for me, it really works.
- Buy non toxic shampoo and conditioner.
- Get healthy toothpaste. According to Doctors Sabo and Ramezani (founders of Dr. Brite), toxic ingredients to avoid in toothpaste are: fluoride, Titanium Dioxide, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Carrageenan, triclosan, propylene glycol, artificial colors, flavors and sweeteners. The toothpaste I use is cinnamon flavor but it comes in other flavors if cinnamon is not your thing.
- Make your own perfume with essential oils. I used to love the citrus scent of Clinique Happy perfume. I make a similar scent by combining 10 drops of wild orange essential oil with 15 drops of vanilla essential oil in a 10 ml roller bottle and adding fractionated coconut oil to fill the rest of the bottle. For more recipes, check out this post by Hello Glow.
Note: For compliance reasons, I am not able to tell you on this blog which essential oil products I use or link you to them so that you can read about them for yourself. But if you want more information, please comment on this post and I am happy to tell you more about the oils I use and why.
No information on this site should be used to diagnose, treat, prevent or cure any disease or condition. Please consult a qualified health care professional for medical advice.