Cole: Home for Christmas — but is it a healthy home?

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While that song “I’ll be home for Christmas” conjures up comforting images of a fireplace and family, it may come as a surprise that our home can have a huge impact on our health. For example, living near a busy intersection can increase our risk of many chronic diseases. Likewise, emissions from local industrial sites can have a major impact. Even burning wood in that fireplace can produce dangerous levels of air pollution both inside and in the local neighbourhood.

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What about your home?

Mould

If your house has a mouldy smell, you have a problem. Some moulds can cause respiratory issues and act as neurotoxins. If people (or pets) in the home tend to be sick a lot, especially with respiratory issues, there is a high likelihood of a significant mould growth. Basements are the typical “ground zero” for such seasonal mould smells, and a good dehumidifier, operating through a hot, humid summer, can help reduce the negative impact of mould.

However, if the whole house has the smell, I’d recommend getting the house tested by an expert to determine whether the type of mould growing in your home is dangerous. I’d never want a home that has an obvious mould or mildew smell.

Plastics

Plastics are ubiquitous and rapidly becoming a major environmental and health concern. While oceans are becoming polluted with discarded plastics, they are also clogging us up too. Some studies indicate that the average person ingests a credit card equivalent amount of plastic each week and that some of it stays in us, building up and up. Unfortunately, plastics have become a big part of our everyday lives, in our clothes, our furniture, our water, our food and more.

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Probably the number one way we ingest plastics is through use of those single-use, disposable water bottles. Do yourself and our environment a big favour: avoid those as much as possible. Another major way that we ingest plastic is through house dust. Our homes contain many plastics, from synthetic bedding, memory foam in mattresses and sofas to synthetic carpeting. These release plastic dust that we breathe in. They get absorbed into our bloodstream and clog arteries, trigger autoimmune disease and can cause certain types of cancer. Reduce your exposure by simply dusting your home thoroughly and often. Damp cotton cloths (not microfibre, as they are made of plastic) can do an excellent job for most surfaces.

Cleaning

We often unknowingly use dangerous contaminants in products to clean our bodies, our clothes, our equipment and our houses. Unless you are an expert in reading labels and avoiding such contaminants, you are likely doing this daily. Even baby products can carry unsafe ingredients. In general, the more ingredients you see on the label, especially the unintelligible ones, the more dangerous the product will be for your health.

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Radon

This is not typically a problem for everyone but here in the Kanata area, due to our particular geology, we may have unsafe levels of radon in our homes. My recommendation is to get your house tested and if there is a problem, deal with it right away. Radon is the principal cause of lung cancer in non-smokers. In outdoor air, radon is diluted and is not a health concern, but as it leaks into houses, the gas accumulates and becomes a health hazard. Use a radon home lab test kit, checking the basement where radon can become trapped and concentrated.

Electronics, Wifi, etc.

All those “devices” in your home emit measurable electromagnetic fields (EMFs). While authorities appear to downplay the effect that these can have on our health, some sources, such as Canada’s preventcancernow.ca and ehtrust.org in the United States, say otherwise. I have a monitor that measures the strength of EMFs, and the higher readings near our modem, a cellphone and other electronics in our home are quite evident, and to me, worrisome. It seems that EMFs can affect all living things. The only question is what level is safe. With an EMF meter, you can see that EMFs are typically higher right around the device that emits them. When you move back just a few feet from the television, for example, EMF levels drop off to a much lower level of exposure. Most adults sit far enough away from televisions and screens, but children tend to sit right in front of them. It’s best to move the kids and you, well back.

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Indoor air pollution

Contrary to what you might think, indoor air is often more polluted than outdoor air as we produce air pollution inside with our cooking, products outgassing, painting, vacuuming (except for a central vac with an exterior vent), pets, etc. Let in some outdoor air when you can. Consider a heat recovery ventilator.

There is much to be concerned about given the effect our homes can have on our health. Yet we hear little about the connection. One good book on the subject is Home Detox: Make Your Home a Healthier Place for Everyone Who Lives There (Storey, 2023), by Daniella Chace, MSc, CN. With just a few proper steps, you can help create yourself a healthy home, and not just for Christmas.

Jake Cole is a former Environment Director for the Canadian Coast Guard; former national manager, Canada’s R-2000 Home Program; former co-chair, Prevent Cancer Now; and former project leader, Air Pollution in Ottawa, for Sierra Club Canada. Contact him at [email protected]

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