Is your home poisoning you?

‘You spend ⅓ of your life sleeping, so get a good mattress’ is solid advice, but how about we apply that logic to our homes at-large, from the contents of our closets and cabinets, down to the nuts and bolts and even location? 

A comfy mattress is a great place to start optimizing your health, but have you ever considered while you might not be sleeping as soundly as you think because you're inhaling microdoses of toxic flame retardant forever chemicals all night?

Our homes should heal us, not harm us but home health is often overlooked while we focus on some of the more obvious attack vectors on our health.

Sadly and shockingly, virtually all homes harbor innocuous and seemingly harmless products and materials that are rife with toxic chemicals that silently and passively poison us, contributing to who-knows-how-much diseases, suffering, and the wasting of our most valuable assets: $$$, time, and the ability to use it well (vitality).

Alongside toxins from food, water, and pharmaceuticals—as well as an inverted light environment that destroys our body’s innate circadian signaling and repair processes among other ills—the health of our home is a main contributor to the Chronic Disease Epidemic. 

To go through all of what may be poisoning us in our homes would require an article of epic proportions that frankly would be too overwhelming and blackpilling for me to write and for you to read. I encourage you to do more research and consider the specifics of your own situation, but for both of our sanities I’ll outline the major offenders below, as well as what you can replace them with to ensure your home is a haven for healing, not a den of disease.

Quick Note: Don’t Jump in Too Fast

If you’re on the health side of any social media it may feel like you learn about some new toxic product in your home on a weekly basis. From paint, to plastics, and petroleum-based perfumes puffing poison directly onto your skin and into your lungs, your home is likely littered with things that directly harm your health.

So, when we take the redpill on home health and set out on the quest to alleviate our abodes of all ailments, we may feel like we’re facing a herculean, hydra-esque task where taking care of one source opens the door to finding 2 more.

As someone who’s done it successfully—and created an online marketplace of healthy products to help you do the same—I highly recommend against enacting an aggressive,  “No Impact Man” style purge (Colin Beaven was ahead of his time). Rather, you should employ a method of gradual change where you make small, conscious swaps for healthier alternatives. Trust me, it’s easier on your wallet and your mental well-being.

No Impact, Man

On that note, “No Impact Man” is a documentary released in 2009 where a family embarks on a 1 year experiment to live a zero environmental impact life—I often recall a particularly flooring scene where the mother throws away all of her makeup, bathroom, and beauty products. 

What really stayed with me isn’t that she voluntarily parted ways with her precious products, rather it's the sheer amount she had in her small NYC apartment…extrapolate that out to the average American family in an average-american-family-sized home and what do you get. 10x? 1000x over a lifetime? 

Unfathomable amounts of money spent on unfathomable amounts of toxic junk. 

The family also eliminated electronics, electricity and other modern conveniences which allowed them to reconnect and be present in the moment. Another scene that often comes to mind is them laughing while playing a board game by candlelight in the evening, something you don’t see much anymore thanks to iPhone/iPad—invasive species that must be controlled by digital detox and a return to nature, family, and real life. 

My point is you don’t have to do a hard detox from all of the modern things that permeate our day to day life as, most likely, you wouldn’t be able to sustain it. 

Like an extreme diet, pleasure and ‘normalcy’ must be maintained, so a gradual approach is the way to go. But be aware: you spend an average of 90% of your time indoors, and a major way these home-borne toxins get in your system is via release into the air, then your lungs, bloodstream, and cells and mitochondria where they do the real damage. 

So while you shouldn’t go ham immediately, don’t overlook anything we go over below; when you begin to understand the extent of the potential damage, you’ll be able to spot these things more easily and replacing them will not feel like a burden, but instead a no-brainer necessity.

Open your windows

Before we get into the actual sources, and as air quality is the main concern, I want to emphasize the main way we can improve our home health besides product removal/replacements (hence the title of this article): open your windows as much as possible and let your home breathe.  Simply put, by improving ventilation and air exchange, air pollutants are reduced and health outcomes increase. But the benefits don’t stop there.

A study published in 2020 on Indoor CO₂ Concentrations and Cognitive Function looked at 37 experimental studies to conclude that elevated indoor CO₂ can impair high-level decision-making while lower ventilation (and thus higher CO₂ along with other pollutants) reduced cognitive speed, especially on complex tasks. 

Want to feel sharper and your child to have better testing outcomes?  Open the windows.

Sleep

As mentioned, where you rest your head at night is very important.  We sleep an average of 2,700 hours a year, or 114 days out of 365.  

Pillows, mattresses, sheets and furniture are very unfortunately filled with flame retardants and plastics and have a huge impact on our health.  And like the name brazenly suggests, flame retardants (known carcinogens) reduce IQ and cause developmental delays, metabolic problems like obesity and insulin resistance, and are endocrine disruptors which cause thyroid problems, infertility, hormone dysregulation, and hormone related cancers. Nasty stuff.

Kids are even more prone to ingesting these retardants as they commonly put their hands on everything and everything in their mouths.  The retardants are even put directly into some children’s clothing for safety reasons!

One retardant ingredient is formaldehyde.  You know…embalming fluid.  Many many people and kids are literally sleeping on a deathbed.

CNN

So what can we do!?  Know your brand and buy lasting quality, which may be more expensive upfront but not when you calculate in future medical bills and the bodies’ ability to properly function.  For pillows and comforters, find goose down or wool.  One excellent option for pillows is the wonderful US company The Woolshire.   An option for clean mattresses is Avocado.  There are many wonderful options out there for 100% cotton and linen bed sheets too, from name brands to Target.

Candles & Air Fresheners

While marketed as "natural," many soy candles contain synthetic fragrance oils and chemical additives that release harmful pollutants when burned. A now hard to find study by the South Carolina State University is summarized in the IBTimes.  The article cites the 2014 EPA-supported study finding that scented candles emit formaldehyde, benzene, and other carcinogens, with risks to lung and nasal cancers, respiratory harm, and cognitive decline.

The aforementioned chemicals are known as Volatile Organic Compounds or VOCs, not because they are organic in the farmer’s market sense, but because of their specific chemical properties. “Volatile” refers to their ability to turn into gas as room temperature; “organic” refers to their carbon bases, and “compounds” means they’re highly complex—all to mean these things are absolutely not fit for human consumption or contact, and if they are in your home they can “off-gas” into your air without being heated or physically disturbed.

In addition, the European Commission’s Scientific Committee confirms that fragrance ingredients are among the leading causes of allergic contact dermatitis (allergies, eczema, rashes) in Europe.  Another study confirms that regular indoor scented candle burning “can expose us to dangerous levels of organic pollutants” and ultrafine particles 

All those soy candles with synthetic fragrance must go.  

These harmful VOCs are not inherent in the unburned wax but formed as byproducts of incomplete combustion when the candle is burned… the additives, wicks (sometimes made of lead!) and added fragrances and dyes increase the levels of VOCs. Synthetic scents can also trigger asthma, allergic reactions and breathing problems.

100% unadulterated beeswax candle with a cotton or paper wick and no added dyes or fragrance is the cleanest candle possible.  Not 100% free of VOCs but they have significantly lower emissions.  Using beeswax candles is also full circle—like an unprocessed food, it comes straight from the hives of bees.  Along with the lovely natural scent, beeswax candles may also produce negative ions that help settle positively charged particles like dust, pollen, mold spores, and some airborne toxins.  

‘Why can’t I just get some air fresheners from Walmart?’  Don’t bother. They emit a cocktail of carcinogenic VOCs and phthalates (endocrine disrupting semi-VOCs). If you have these in your home or in the car, this is step one. Get rid of them pronto.

Once you stop using them you’ll start noticing how foul and unnatural they actually smell. And sorry, this goes for your personal perfumes and colognes too, which—though both are bad—are arguably more important to replace as they are absorbed directly into your skin along with your lungs.  When you are ready to make the swap here are some cleaner, nature-based options to consider.  

Healthy light 

From infrared to visible to ultraviolet light, the entirety of the sunlight spectrum we receive is needed for optimal health as we see benefits from each.  However, problems arise when we isolate parts of this spectrum, specifically with blue and UV light.

Our indoor spaces are blue-light biased.  Computers, phones, ipads, and artificial light blasts an unnatural amount of blue light at us non-stop.   One way to mitigate this constant onslaught of excessive blue light is by wearing yellow tinted blue light blocking glasses while at the computer.

You can also change your lightbulbs to more closely resemble full spectrum sunlight.  I did this first in my bedroom, the light is warm and amber like candlelight and I highly recommend it. 

There are emerging tech options as well.  The Daylight Computer can be used outside without glare issues and eliminates the blue light problem by harnessing ambient light or using red light for a backlight. It has a similar look to E-Ink displays, but responds much faster.

If you want to learn a whole lot more about blue light, you can read my 3 part blog about the effects of blue light on your body. 

Cleaning products and fertility

Do you use Mr. Clean, 409, Lysol spray? We actually need little for a clean home sans the chemical carcinogen bombs as many things can be made with the most simple ingredients. Ditch these (as they contain quats, synthetic fragrances, preservatives and ethanolamines) and make your own all-purpose cleaner with vinegar, water, essential oils and a glass spray bottle.  

Dish soap, dishwasher cleaner, laundry detergent, fabric softener, glass and window cleaner, toilet bowl cleaner…these are all toxic and continue to turn the trapped air in your house into a toxic stew.

There are ways to create simple cleaning solutions that can do all these jobs without the health dangers.  White vinegar, baking soda, hydrogen peroxide, isopropyl alcohol, lemon juice and essential oils can be used in different configurations to tackle all the messes.  

It is important to know that these commercial everyday household products contain endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) that can impair fertility in both sexes.  The phthalates found in many synthetic fragrances have been strongly linked to reduced sperm quality, lower testosterone, and altered ovarian function.

Bisphenol A (BPA) a common ingredient in plastic products and thermal receipts has been connected to reduced egg quality, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), and implantation failure.

The PFAS, or "forever chemicals," in stain‑resistant fabrics, non‑stick cookware, and some cosmetics are associated with longer time to pregnancy and lower fertility rate.

Household flame retardants present in furniture and electronics were discovered in detectable levels in follicular fluid in failed embryo implantation.  They also decreased IVF success and led to poorer sperm motility.

Pesticides, particularly organophosphates and glyphosate, have been associated with reduced fertility, hormone disruption, and increased miscarriage risk.  Which leads us to a discussion about our plants, yards, gardens and parks.

Grass and plants

According to NASA’s famous Clean Air Study, certain houseplants do more than just look good - they can help filter common indoor air pollutants often released by furniture, cleaning products, and household materials.  

Technically true, a small number of plants may not have a significant impact on filtering the air in your home.  The plants do absorb toxins but it would take a huge number of plants to make a difference in a home.  

Ventilation is a more effective method but plants do bring in the sense of cohabitation that, I think, promotes a healthy living environment.  

On the other hand the soil you use inside and outside is SUPER important.  Conventional soils are filled with synthetic pesticides like herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides as well as synthetic fertilizers that affect soil biology (they just kill everything good and living in the earth).  These toxic mixtures also introduce heavy metals (arsenic, lead, cadmium) into your gardens and eventually into your body.

Kids play outside, roll in the grass, jump into the fallen leaf piles.  This soup of pesticides gets on their skin and is inhaled.  This leads to a slew of horrid medical conditions and our children and pets are at heightened risks for blue baby syndrome, colorectal cancer, birth defects and sexual deformaties, neurodevelopmental harm in children, and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

A Harvard medical study determined a 26% increased risk of leukemia in children exposed to herbicide.  Indoor insecticide exposure showed a 47% higher risk of leukemia & 43% more likely to have lymphoma in children!  And exposure starts in preconception.  

CNN

A specific pesticide that I’d never read about till writing this, called 2,4-D, is a tested and known dangerous pesticide but it’s use is still allowed by the EPA.  I don’t get more pissed off at the world like when I discover new chemicals that are literally causing the death and illness of children and animals and are allowed to permeate out earth and air by the vary system meant to "protect" us ….. Yet CO2 is the problem & too much SUN is the enemy.

We know that dogs exposed to 2,4-D-treated lawns face a significantly higher risk of malignant lymphoma, decreased fertility and birth defects but it’s sprayed on our food sources too.

NRDC

Prioritize buying pesticide free organic and regenerative soils for your indoor and outdoor plants and focus on buying local, organic, regenerative food and meats.  What animals eat and consume, we consume. We are either a cycle of life and vitality or death.  

A Good Start

The above is just a glimpse into what can be done to clean and refresh our homes.  In short, many invisible chemicals in our homes - from plastics to perfumes to pesticides - may be sabotaging reproductive health, causing cancers, allergies, and skin and lung irritation and infertility.  Reducing exposure with available alternatives can massively support overall health.

Slowly and surely you can transform your home and health for the better.