New Years Resolution: Detox Your Home in Five Easy Steps with TOXIC FREE

Start 2012 off on the right foot by making your home cleaner, safer, and less toxic for you and your family. Debra Lynn Dadd, author of TOXIC FREE: How to Protect Your Health and Home from the Chemicals That Are Making You Sick offers quick, easy alternatives to the surprising sources of toxins lurking in your home. Five of her best tips are below:

1. Get an air filter – The EPA has called indoor air pollution the nation’s number one environmental health problem. Health effects from indoor air pollutants can be immediate or long term and include: eye, nose, and throat irritation; headaches; dizziness; fatigue; and asthma. Long term exposure can be much more damaging. The most effective air filter contains a carbon filter and a HEPA filter, to remove gases and particulates, respectively.

2. Nix the plastic- Well, don’t nix all the plastic-just some if it. Replacing all the plastic in your home is virtually impossible (for example: your DVD player, television, and telephone are all made largely of plastic). But, there are many plastic items that have alternatives, like straw baskets, cotton shower curtains, glass jars, and paper bags. Another helpful tip: look at the recycling symbol on the bottom of food containers. The safest ones are: 1 PETE, 2 HDPE, 4 LDPE, and 5 PP. Forget the rest.

3. Change your sheets – Trouble falling asleep? The problem may be your bed sheets. All polyester/cotton and permanent-press cotton bed sheets are coated with a resin that releases formaldehyde vapors, and formaldehyde causes insomnia. Go shopping and buy a new set of sheets labeled as “non-treated” or “formaldehyde free.” Organic sheets are now widely available, too.

4. Your cleaning is not-so-clean – Oven cleaners, glass cleaners, and mold and mildew cleaners are all toxic and contain things like ammonia, lye, and kerosene. Additionally, all have non-toxic alternatives. Mixing vinegar and water in a spray bottle can clean both mildew and glass; also, borax inhibits mold growth, so you can sprinkle it on after cleaning. See below for a non-toxic oven cleaning solution.

5. Organic food or bust! – Here’s an excerpt from a warning label on mathalion, a common pesticide used on food crops: “Harmful if swallowed…Avoid contamination of feed and foodstuffs.” Avoid contamination of foodstuffs? Isn’t this the stuff that our food is coated in? in addition to pesticide residues, fresh produce may be fumigated, irradiated, waxed, dyed with colors made from coal tar, and wrapped in papers containing fungicide. When food processing enters the equation, you can add sulfites, nitrates, artificial colors, and “refined” (i.e. toxic) sugar and salt to that list. The solution here is simple: read labels; choose brands with no artificial colors and flavors, or preservatives; cook at home; and buy locally grown food. When you start eating organic, studies show that toxic chemicals can leave your body within 8 to 36 hours.

If there’s no organic grocery near you, visit www.localharvest.org/csa to join a program where you can buy food directly from a farmer online, or visit www.toxicfreekitchen.com for more info.

If you like the advice above, find more in TOXIC FREE, available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Indiebound.

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Debra Lynn Dadd brings more than thirty years of research and real-life experience to her work as a health-oriented consumer advocate. The author of HOME SAFE HOME, she was the first to alert consumers to the toxic chemicals present in everyday household products and reveal both the short- and long-term health effects, as well as safe alternatives. Her books on toxic-free living have been continuously in print since 1984. Today, Debra is still the leader in her field with her Toxic-Free Zone website, an online guide to toxins in consumer products, their health effects, safe alternatives, and detoxing. She is a consultant to individuals and businesses, the Green Living Consultant for Green Body & Mind in Malibu, and a professional public speaker. She lives in Clearwater, Florida. Visit her website at www.debralynndadd.com.