Carbon monoxide or other toxins in the home

houses 

Image by dospaz

The average person probably spends at least 8-9 hours in their home every day.  Please note, this average just factors in sleep time, it doesn’t include eating at home, working at home, spending time with the family at home, etc.  However, 8-9 hours a day is a lot of time….especially if your home had hidden toxins in it such as carbon monoxide, radon, lead, mold, etc.

If you have harmful toxins lingering around, the question becomes, how do you test for and get rid of the harmful toxins without getting ripped off?

Just like you would only give your vehicle a TESTED and PROVEN fuel additive to reduce harmful emissions, improve performance and enhance fuel economy – you need to ensure you are using a TESTED and PROVEN method to detect and remove harmful toxins from your home.  It’s vital as that is where you and your family live.

And according to an article from Money magazine, “Now that homes are tightly sealed to prevent airflow from outside, chemicals can become more concentrated in your indoor space.  That risk goes up in the winter, when your doors and windows generally remain shut.”

So, let me run through a few of the more dangerous and common toxins and some of the recommended ways to test for or handle them:

– Radon: an odorless, colorless gas that comes from the soil and can leak into homes.  To test for radon, you can buy a decent test kit at most hardware stores for $10-20.

– Arsenic: anyone who has a wooden deck, porch, fence or outdoor play furniture built before 2005 probably has arsenic in it.  Believe it or not, up until about four years ago, wood was treated with arsenic to preserve it and prevent it from rotting.  Of course getting new wooden furniture that isn’t treated with arsenic is always the best option – but unfortunately not always a feasible one.  So apparently just treating the wood yearly with an oil-based stain so that when you touch the wood you are just touching the sealant, is one of the least expensive ways to handle it.

– Lead: Most homes that were built earlier than the 70’s have some form of lead in them, such as in the paint on walls or windowsills.  Getting a home test kit is not recommended as it isn’t as reliable as a test from a private lab recommended by your state housing department.  The private lab test usually costs about $20-30.  If it comes back positive, some recommend covering the walls with a coat of encapsulant (about $40/gallon).

– Carbon Monoxide: a colorless and odorless compound produced by incomplete combustion.  To avoid exposure, one step is to get your furnace inspected and cleaned regularly.  Other potential sources of CO can be open flames, space heaters, water heaters or running a car inside a garage.  A simple, yet effective way to detect carbon monoxide is to buy proven carbon monoxide detectors and place them around your home where levels can tend to be highest.  Placing one in your bedroom to sound an alarm if you were sleeping is also highly recommended.

So in this new year, please take the time to help ensure you and your family have a safe and healthy year by testing for carbon monoxide and other potential toxins in your home.  The tests don’t take long, but results could last a lifetime.

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