By now almost everyone must have heard of ‘sick building syndrome’. While most of us associate the term with offices or other such buildings, your very home could be sick. Worse yet, our homes can be affecting our health and that of our loved ones without us even knowing it.

Many illnesses such as asthma, sinusitis and allergies are caused by or made worse by airborne pollutants in the home. In fact, even some of the appliances meant to purify the air in our homes can make us sick if not cared for properly. For instance, purifiers should be cleaned before each use as they provide an ideal breeding ground for air-borne bacteria and mold.

Kitchen

One major source of bacteria that can wreak havoc on your health is your kitchen sponge or dishrags. Another area that contains or can contain harmful bacteria is the kitchen sink. Sinks are breeding grounds for bacteria resulting from meat and meat scrapings. Washing the sink with a germicide or even a solution of baking soda or bleach will kill any pesky bacteria that may want to linger.

Keep the kitchen safe and healthy by doing a number of things, some of which are quite simple:

• Do not keep sponges and dishrags longer than one month, and even less if you can afford it
• Wash sponges and dishrags with a nontoxic disinfectant after each use
• Most sponges and dishrags can be washed in the washing machine, but do include some bleach to help kill bacteria.

Bedroom

Dust mites are your worst enemy especially in the bedroom. They feed off dead skin cells and there is no shortage of these in the home. Take into consideration the fact that you can shed over 1.5 million dead skin cells per hour. We shed dead cells doing simple things like tossing in bed, bathing or just changing our clothes.

Dust mites are responsible for many respiratory ailments, but can be controlled by frequent vacuuming of carpets and floors. It is also important to wash bed linens at least once per week or more. Ideally pillows should be discarded and new ones obtained every two or so years.

Living Room

If you are a pet lover, your dog or cat could also be contributing to your ill health. In addition, dust mites from chairs can be impacting your health without you knowing. Drapes and cushions should be vacuumed weekly and curtains should be washed at least once every two weeks. This is especially important if there are children living in the house.

Bathroom

Although most articles you may read say that the bathroom may be cleaner than your kitchen, you still need to work to keep it that way. A little bleach and or baking soda goes a long way in killing harmful bacteria that hide in plain sight in your home. In addition baking soda leaves your bathroom smelling fresh and clean.

Getting rid of pollutants and other allergens in your home can help you live a healthy and longer life. It would be good if you can substitute natural cleansers for those which contain chemicals.