Scented Reeds And Candles: My Opinion

by | air fresheners, air pollution, building biology, buildings and health, chemicals, indoor air quality, indoor environmental health, ingredients, perfumes, scents

What do I think of Scented Reeds and Candles?

Scented reeds and candles – peh! I have thought a lot about scented reeds and candles …and my opinion is very low.

Scented reeds and candles contain a cocktail of chemicals to make the “fragrance.” Many of these ingredients are known or suspected lung irritants (and remember, you are breathing these in) and some also contain suspected carcinogens (meaning that they may cause cancer).

Many candles are made from paraffin – a petrochemical.

Most of them contain wicks that contain lead.

Safer alternatives include:

  • opening windows to freshen the air instead
  • using unscented candles or even salt lamps for ambience
  • source candles that have lead-free wicks (remember, as a consumer, you have power, so ask your favourite companies… you will get the ball of change rolling)
  • if you tolerate essential oils (and many people don’t) then you can get scented candles that are fragranced with essential oils instead of chemicals
  • avoid incense
  • seek out non-GM soy candles – avoid palm oil (environment) and beeswax (for the bees)

For information about air fresheners (and scented reeds and candles do fall into this category, you may like to view this…

As well, there are a number of posts that explain fragrances in more detail:

And of course, if you would like assistance with reducing your exposure to chemicals and other hazards in your home or workplace, let me know.

You can book a call here >>

House Dust Mites are Everywhere

by | air pollution, building biology, buildings and health, dust mites, indoor air quality, indoor environmental health

House Dust Mites (HDM) are Everywhere!

House dust mites are tiny, opaque, feast on skin cells and love to live in mattresses, with their population being three times higher in a mattress as compared to a carpet. They are so small that around 50 HDM can fit onto the head of a pin.

HDM can trigger symptoms for people – interestingly, it is actually the protein in their faeces, not the mite themselves that cause problems.

According to Better Health Channel, HDM can trigger wheezing, coughing, breathlessness, a tight feeling in the chest, runny nose, itchy nose, itchy eyes, itchy skin, skin rashes.

Health

Even in people who aren’t allergic to HDM faeces, their existing asthma may be exacerbated and they can experience chronic bronchial hyper-reactivity.

For those affected, this can be a year-long problem (that is, it isn’t seasonal), symptoms are worse at night or upon waking, symptoms may be relieved when humidity is lower.

What They Need to Thrive

HDM are unable to drink – so they rely on a humid or moist environment to keep them hydrated. They need the relative humidity to be over 40%.

They need a warm environment and thrive when temperatures remain at or above 24oC.

Food in the form of animal and human skin cells, pollens, microbes.

They love mattresses for all of these reasons, they are warm, moist and full of skin cells (food).

10 tips for managing house dust mites (HDM):

  1. Keep your home clean – use damp microfibre cloths and water to collect dust, not just move it from surface to surface
  2. Pull back the covers on your bed each day and allow it to air and dry out
  3. Vacuum your mattress regularly to reduce the HDM population
  4. Mop your home using a microfibre mop to collect dust
  5. Consider silk bedding – HDM don’t like anything excreted by other insects
  6. Consider HDM-resistant bedding – fabric that is tightly woven, and thus the HDM can’t fit through them
  7. Wash bedding (sheets and pillow cases) as well as night clothes weekly
  8. Replace mattresses every 10 years
  9. Maintain relative humidity to between 40-60% – and a dehumidifier can be key in this process
  10. Use vacuum-storage bags to store clothes (ones that are vacuumed to keep compress them

If you want to learn more about creating a healthier home,
then join us in Detox Your Environment Inner Circle. >>

Home is the Most Important Place

by | air pollution, babies, building biology, buildings and health, chemicals, cleaning products, diet and lifestyle, drinking water, dust mites, electromagnetic radiation, EMF, family, indoor air quality, indoor environmental health, lead, mold, mould, perfumes, personal care products, radiofrequencies, smart meters, VOCs, water

Home is the most important place. It is our castle.

Home is our safety haven, our sacred space, our island in the midst of the world.

For many of us, the world can be a bit full-on. The onslaught of fragrances, noise, wi-fi, people, lights… it can be overwhelming at times.

Also, most of these things are out of our control.

The best thing to do is to have a healing, safe, and nourishing home to come back to.

A virtual Indoor Environmental Health Assessment Can Short-Cut Your Route to a Healthy Nurturing Space

By assessing your home with great care, and attention to detail, we can shortcut the agonising searching for information and hazards.

Whether it be:

  • electromagnetic fields
  • phone towers
  • neighbours wi-fi
  • the smart meter
  • air pollutants
  • indoor air quality
  • volatile organic compounds
  • lead and other heavy metals
  • drinking water contaminants
  • mould and water damage
  • personal care and cleaning products
  • and more!

By assessing your home, I can determine the hazards, the potential problems AND provide you with solutions.

Many of my clients experience not only peace of mind, but improved health after implementing the recommendations.

They know that they have made their home safe for their families.

Get in touch so we can arrange your assessment.