Unlike other cities, in Houston, we spend most of our time (estimated at 90%) indoors. Because of the heat and because of air quality problems – like ozone levels – we usually believe that buildings are healthier. However, although indoor environments may feel safer, it’s important to remember that indoor air quality too can effect our health.
The EPA ranks indoor air quality among the five largest environmental dangers to the public. They also have found that air indoors can be anywhere from about 2 to 5 times as polluted as outdoor air. For a city like Houston, that’s rated the 3rd most toxic city in the nation where outdoor air quality is concerned, these numbers are troubling.
The Texas Department of State Health Services finds that “building materials and furnishings; biologicals; products for household cleaning, personal care, or hobbies; central heating and cooling systems and humidification devices; pesticides; oil, gas, kerosene, or wood combustion sources” are the primary sources of indoor air quality problems. They also report that poor indoor air quality can lead to “irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat, headaches, dizziness, fatigue, and allergy-type symptoms.” And more seriously, “asthma, hypersensitivity pneumonitis, and humidifier fever can also affect some individuals after exposure to certain indoor air pollutants.” This list of health problems that can emerge from our homes and spend so much time in is startling.
However, rather than living in fear of both the heat outdoors and the pollution indoors we can make smart decisions to make our indoor environments healthier. Start by reading about various pollutants in everyday products in your home online from reliable sources. Also, try to follow these three rules when shopping for things for your home:
Look for products that don’t contain any Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC)
Buy organic – buying organic usually means products haven’t been treated chemically
Look for corporate transparency – corporations and stores that tell you what’s in there product usually have healthier products.
Although indoor air quality in Houston is a problem, one needn’t live in fear. Instead, being conscious of what is in your home and around you is the best way to protect your family and your health.
Although many of the words on that list may be hard to pronounce, they’re all volatile organic compounds – chemicals – that can be found in your memory foam mattress. These 61 chemicals are emitted in your home as you sleep, dramatically decreasing the quality of your indoor air environment. These chemicals found in conventional memory foam mattresses have been linked to skin irritations, eye irritations, various forms of cancer, developmental problems in children, and respiratory problems. This is because unsafe mattresses emit these toxic chemicals into your bedroom and body – possibly making you sick.
Although manufacturers of memory foam commonly put these chemicals into their mattresses, there is no reason to. While manufacturers put VOCs into your mattress as a flame retardant, there are several coil spring and memory foam mattress companies that do not because there are natural flame-retardants that can be used. Certain mattresses, particularly those that are organic and are made of natural materials, do not have or emit VOCs yet they still meet fire safety requirements.
What’s most infuriating is that there has been research linking certain flame-retardants to cancer since the 1970s in credible peer-reviewed scientific journals, yet both our government and industry refuse to do the right thing and look out for our health. Although some chemicals have been banned over the past few decades – many flame retardants reports Environmental Health Perspectives – there are still many in our mattresses that we either know or suspect have links to a variety of illnesses.
While one can wait for change, as a consumer we have to act now to get these products – which are continually emitting harmful toxins into our homes and bodies – out of our homes and replaced with safer ones. There are numerous safe products (like non-toxic organic or natural memory foam mattresses) on the market currently that offer us protection from these chemicals and peaceful nights of sleep. We deserve to know that we’re safe and that these 61 chemicals are not making their way into our bodies.
*This list is taken from Bader’s Toxic Bedrooms: Your Guide to a Safe Night’s Sleep. He had a popular memory foam mattress tested by an independent laboratory.
Celebrate freedom from toxic chemicals and petroleum in your bedroom.
Did you know the mattress industry is not required by law to disclose the chemicals that are in your mattress? Yet we spend almost a 1/3 or more of our lives on our mattresses and usually we are half naked. Human skin is absorbent so the toxins from flame retardants and formaldehyde in the adhesives are absorbed through your skin and inhaled into your lungs. Your mattress may be the cause of restless nights or health problems.
DECLARE YOURSELF free from the lack of transparency and demand to know what is in your mattress. If you’re ready to toss or better yet RECYCLE your old one, you can purchase a non-toxic mattress that is free from dangerous flame retardants and has third-party certifications such as Greenguard that verify their safety. Additionally, you can check the validity of manufacturer’s claims based on certifications for certain raw materials such as Certified Organic Cotton.
A few weeks ago, I was in a national chain store that sells products for people’s backs and I asked the sales staff exactly what was in the Tempur-pedic mattress because of my asthma. They told me it was “proprietary” but that I could be “assured it was safe”. How comforting and NO THANK YOU!
Your mattress can emit dangerous VOC’s (Volatile Organic Compounds) into the air in your bedroom and your home for weeks and even years after you purchase it. Some of the short term symptoms have been associated with some mattresses are: rashes, headaches, breathing difficulties and blurred vision. Other people have reported side effects such as fatigue, nausea, and difficulty concentrating.
In 2006, a study was performed on memory foam mattresses in which chemical emissions were collected over a 96-hour period. In total, memory foam mattresses emitted 61 VOC chemicals and traditional innerspring mattresses emitted 39 different chemicals. In addition to known chemicals such as formaldehyde and toluene, some of these chemicals are solvents. They are found in the adhesives used to bond together mattress layers and wood frames. A few that were identified are: styrene, isopropylbenzene, limonene, trimethylbenzene, nitrobenzene, ethylbenzene and dichlorobenzene. Many of these chemicals are listed as Class C carcinogens or are classified as harmful by the EPA, the California Health and Welfare Agency, and the International Agency of Research of Cancer (IARC). Yet, we take these mattresses to our bedrooms unaware that our health may be jeopardized because we have never been made aware of the potential risks.
I had a very nice innerspring mattress before I knew anything about the chemicals in mattresses and I used to wake up every morning with a little rattle in my chest and I never knew why. That rattle disappeared when I switched to an all natural latex mattress.
Over 70,000 chemicals are on the market today that have never been tested for safety and they are showing up in our bedrooms and our bodies. Fortunately, there is currently proposed legislation to require testing for safety before a chemical is released into the market. One way you can help is by supporting the Safe Chemicals Act of 2010 through the Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families organization.
If you want to know more about mattresses, we invite you to attend our next workshop called, “What is a healthy mattress and how to shop for a mattress” this Saturday, July 10th at 9:30 am at New Living at 6111 Kirby Drive, RSVP to jennifer@newliving.net 713-521-1921.
Americans spend about 90% of their time indoors. Over the coming months, as red ozone days are sure to come, and the heat index in Houston gets to 100+ degrees, we are warned to stay inside. However, even without going outside, poor air quality can still be a problem. Indoor air quality is effected by many of the everyday products you use in your home such as cleaning supplies, paint, furniture, mattresses, and building materials. There are many healthier alternatives to these items that parents can use such as bleach-free dishwashing soap, no-voc paint, and organic mattresses. Improving indoor air quality can have a positive effect on children and adults suffering from asthma and allergies. New Living and the American Lung Association are teaming up for a short session on improving indoor air quality in your family’s home. There will be helpful hints as well as new green home products that are accessible and affordable for the everyday consumer.
Additionally, childcare and refreshments will be provided.
All attendees will be entered in to win free NOVOC non-toxic paint for one room in any color and a kit of non-toxic home cleaning supplies.
Even though New Living isn’t officially open, we are happy to help customers that cant wait a few more weeks to start making their home a healthier place. Today people were at our doors bright and early buying their kitchen composters. It’s so exciting to gear up for spring. And now is the time to start planning your organic garden and preparing the soil. Composting your kitchen scraps and yard waste is a great, affordable, way to make compost to add to flower beds and organic vegetable gardens. In fact, Tracey, a HISD elementary school teacher and her son, came in to buy herself a Nature Mill Composter as a birthday present to herself and to mother earth. Happy Birthday Tracey!!
News about the Economic Stimulus is everywhere, but the big question on everyone’s mind is “What does it mean for me?” At the 2009 Houston Home Show, March 20-22 at the George R Brown Convention Center, homeowners can learn how a few changes to their home can mean big credits on April 15, 2010.
Instead of searching through the thousands of pages of the stimulus bill, visitors to the Houston Home Show can browse the aisles, talk to local companies, and in most cases, see the products in action. At the end of the day, consumers can walk away with knowledge about the product, exact costs and how it will benefit their tax bill.
Energy efficiency is the key when it comes to the new tax credits. Items that comply with the requirements stated in the stimulus can be written off under a single tax credit—for 30% off each items cost, up to $1,500. Tax credits you earn on all the energy efficient home improvement items are cumulative, and are capped at a maximum $1,500 for all the energy efficient improvements combined.
Click “read more” to see more details and a few of the items included on the stimulus that can be found at the Houston Home Show: Read the rest of this entry »
The Daily Green is a great resource for anyone wanting to start greening their life. This week they published some great tips by the American Lung Association with ways to improve indoor air quality. Click here for the 25 tips.
The air in your home is the most important thing to monitor and usually the first place to try to make some changes. Some of my favorite tips are:
1.Use low-VOC Paints – Paints contain volatile organic compounds (VOC’s) that include highly toxic chemicals such as formaldehyde and acetaldehyde. Eco-friendly paint options such as Yolo, Mythic and AFM Safecoat offer low and no VOC lines.
2. Test for Radon – Radon is an odorless, invisible gas that occurs naturally in soil and rock and can only be detected through testing. Radon is the leading cause of lung cancer in nonsmokers.
3. Use eco-friendly flooring and wood that does not contain formaldehyde.
4. Keeping the humidity level below 50% will help eliminate asthma triggers and other related air problems.
Hopefully this list will help you get educated on different options to improve your air quality at home.
Jeff and I recently inducted our new green intern, Meg, to the Las Vegas Furniture market last week and it’s taken us all a week to recover. We went to learn about organic and natural mattresses and boy did we. We probably laid on 50 mattresses each in a period of 2 days. This is a highly competitive and growing market and every mattress company in America seems to be jumping on the organic bandwagon. But we went looking for the real deal, the companies who are truly committed to healthy, green living and who are totally transparent. This is a daunting task but that’s the kind of environment we’re creating at New Living. Check out this informational page from OMI that give you a bit more information about organic mattresses. We are doing all of the research upfront so we can be the most informed green retailers in town. We are sooooo excited to get these babies into the store so our customers can finally have a place to actually lay on, touch, feel, and smell a healthy mattress before they buy one. We have been researching mattresses for months and going to this market was a great learning opportunity. And maybe then I can take a much needed nap!
The Daily Green 
Jeff and I recently inducted our new green intern, Meg, to the Las Vegas Furniture market last week and it’s taken us all a week to recover. We went to learn about organic and natural mattresses and boy did we. We probably laid on 50 mattresses each in a period of 2 days. This is a highly competitive and growing market and every mattress company in America seems to be jumping on the organic bandwagon. But we went looking for the real deal, the companies who are truly committed to healthy, green living and who are totally transparent. This is a daunting task but that’s the kind of environment we’re creating at New Living. Check out this