Is Your Home Making You Or Your Family Sick ?

• Question : What do carpets, paint, household cleaners and building materials have in common ?
• Answer   : All can contain toxic compounds that could be making you and your family sick. According to recent CSIRO research, we faces a significant air quality challenge, but it is largely a result of indoor rather than outdoor pollutants. The CSIRO estimates that occupants of new homes in particular may be exposed to many times the maximum allowable limits of some indoor air pollutants.

"For many of us, our main exposure to air pollutants will be when we are indoors, such as at home, in the workplace or in entertainment venues," says Dr Pearman, Chief of CSIRO Atmospheric Research.

Parents today are very concerned with their family’s health, conscious of making the best choices wherever possible. However, what many of them overlook is the indoor environment they create when renovating or building a new home, and how that could affect their own and their children’s health.

With recent studies showing that in Australia the incidence of asthma and allergies, especially in children, is on the rise, many leading authorities believe there is a definite connection between the environments in which we live and work and the state of our health, in particular the growing cases of respiratory problems.

Typical health effects of poor indoor air quality include headache, fatigue, coughing, sneezing, eye, nose and throat irritations and dizziness. Pollutants in your home interior can include:

• VOC’s (Volatile Organic Compounds) which are chemicals released into the air from products and materials such as paints and varnishes, home furnishings and carpets.
• Formaldehyde which is a known carcinogen and is released into the air from board products such as MDF boards and particle boards used to manufacture kitchen cabinets and furniture.
• Carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide given off from unflued gas heaters.

The majority of these chemicals have not been thoroughly tested and their long-term, cumulative impact on human health is unknown.
After occupying a newly built or renovated home many people are exposed to high levels of indoor pollutants. Statistically the time that people spend indoors can range from 60% of the time for 15-24 year olds to nearly 90% for those over 65. So it is vital that when people are indoors they are not exposing themselves to an unhealthy environment.

This is where green interiors come in. Creating a green interior is easier than you think. It is about making smarter choices with the products and materials you use when you build or renovate. By choosing products and materials from manufacturers that have reduced or eliminated harmful substances from the production processes, you can substantially improve the quality of the indoor air in your home.

It is time for a radical rethink about the way we create the interiors of our homes. Interior design must incorporate healthy green principles and create spaces that are healthy for you to live in, as well as being good for the environment.

Top 5 Tips when renovating or building your home :

• Use low or zero VOC paints and floor finishes. 
• Insist upon low formaldehyde emission materials for your kitchen cabinets. 
• When installing new carpet, insist on natural jute underlay, natural fibres and have the carpet aired prior to installation. 
• Avoid the use of furnishing and upholstery fabrics containing fire retardants and fabric protectants. 
• When designing your home, ensure that it can be adequately ventilated to improve your indoor air quality.