Lifestyle, food and drink, and our family life and travel adventures.
Over the last year, we have all spent so much more time in our homes due to COVID and the three lockdowns, and at the same time, we have all had to think about our health and our cleanliness much more than we ever have had to before.
We all know about air pollution outside in the atmosphere and how it can affect us and our planet – smog, transport, agriculture and industry are all polluting our atmosphere and worsening our health. Air pollution is the largest environmental risk to public health in the UK and long-term exposure to air pollution can lead to cardiovascular and respiratory diseases as well as lung cancer.
When I think about air pollution I think about all of these contributing factors outside. But indoor air pollution is probably something that most of us don’t give much thought to even though we actually have a lot of air pollution in our homes – is it something you’ve thought much about?
Now more than ever I want our home to be a happy, fun, clean and healthy environment where we can enjoy being together as much as possible and be somewhere we are safe. So I’ve been looking at ways to make our home more healthy, safe and comfortable for us all to spend time and looking at how I can reduce the number of chemicals we use throughout.
For the last year or so I’ve both bought and acquired (thanks Dad and sister!) quite a lot of plants and I am finally now enough of a grown-up to manage to keep them alive (mostly).
I love having lots of plants around my home and I love the life they bring to a room. Especially right now when we are mostly stuck indoors at home, it’s lovely to have that greenery around us. They also, of course, release oxygen and adding some plants to your home is a simple way to make your home a bit healthier.
If you choose an Aloe Vera plant you also get the benefits of being able to use the gel in the leaves as a brilliant natural treatment for cuts or burns as well as for skincare!
All of these chemicals we keep talking about, as well as all of the dirt, dust, pet dander and bacteria found in our homes, contribute to the air pollution that causes poor health and wellbeing.
An air purifier isn’t something I particularly knew existed before researching for this post (nor the extent of air pollution in our homes and how detrimental to our health it is), but now it is definitely something that I want to invest in to make our home cleaner and healthier.
The ActivePure® Air and Surface Purifiers are so clever, being proven to inactivate up to 99.9% of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID!) in the air as well as on surfaces. I think right now, in particular, that would provide a huge reassurance for us all in protecting our families whilst at home or even when coming and going, especially if you’re a key worker.
It also protects your home from other viruses including SARS and Norovirus as well as removing indoor air polluters like mould, odours, pet dander and other allergens such as pollen and dust mites that can affect our health.
Removing all of these contaminants is especially beneficial for those suffering from asthma and other respiratory issues, as well as reducing the spread of viruses amongst vulnerable people. It has also been shown that sleep is much improved with an air purifier in the room, which I could really do with right now!
The ActivePure Pure and Clean air and surface purifier is perfect for our homes as it is really compact and easy to move around. It also looks really modern and snazzy too, so you won’t mind having it out on a shelf or unit. Another brilliant thing about it is that it is safe to use around humans and pets (which many Air and Surface Purifiers aren’t!) so you can have it on all the time and keep safe. It uses less than a standard lightbulb of electricity which I think is amazing and I would have expected it to take more than that to keep it running.
The ActivePure Technology used in the range is a patented NASA-inspired technology to remove viruses, bacteria, allergens and pollutants from indoor air and surfaces. As well as purifying it also sanitises the air and surfaces outside of the system, by releasing special molecules that seek out and tackle pathogens and contaminants that we want to get rid of. That means that you get an extra layer of protection and cleaner air for your family to breathe.
People are not the only cause for bringing viruses and bacteria into the home, pets can also be a source. When you take the dog for a walk and the cat comes in from its daily adventures, bacteria and germs can be brought into the home that they may have walked in. This includes microscopic urine and faeces particles being spread throughout your home without you knowing, contaminating surfaces and furniture you touch. With young children touching, especially, crawling on the floor and sticking things in their mouths they will ingest these particles which can cause sickness and ill health. With ActivePure molecules constantly in your home, any bacteria brought in will be found and destroyed, limiting exposure to you and your family.
I think it’s such a brilliant piece of technology that will really improve the home environment and the health of your loved ones. It would make me feel so reassured to have an air purifier in my home and know that it is seriously minimising the risk of my family contracting or spreading viruses and reacting to allergens.
A Water Softener isn’t something I was aware of until recently, but actually, they have loads of great benefits to your household and your family. Water Softeners prevent your household appliances from a build-up of limescale which means they require less cleaning (always a huge bonus!), are more efficient and less detergent is required in your washing machine. Just these few points alone save you money on energy, products, time and as a result it’s better for the environment too.
Soft water is also kinder to our hair and skin as the deposits in hard water have been found to dry out our skin and make it more susceptible to eczema and other skin conditions! Not only that, but with soft water our soap and shampoo lather faster creating more suds so you need less which means more money saved and less water used!
Most cleaning products contain loads of harmful chemicals that we can breathe in around our homes and consequently contribute to respiratory problems, allergic reactions and headaches.
A few years ago I replaced a lot of our cleaning products with a mix of apple cider vinegar and water in a spray bottle. Apple cider vinegar is naturally antibacterial and works really well in the kitchen and bathroom – it can be used in place of an anti-bacterial spray and also makes taps really shiny too. It’s also great for using as a softener for clothes in the washing machine!
Annoyingly, I ended up going back to buying cleaning products again, but I do always now use eco-friendly ones that contain fewer harmful chemicals, and I do plan to start using vinegar again.
Baking soda, lemons and vinegar can also be used for lots of things around the home, such as cleaning the washing machine, the bathroom, and the windows. An Ecoegg is a great chemical-free way of washing your laundry, plus it’s more cost-effective and endorsed by Allergy UK too.
Using these household ingredients around the house is much better for the environment, as well as being much better for our own health in our homes than using products with loads of chemicals in. They will also save you lots of money too!
Obviously, I hoover regularly anyway, but with a dog and a cat and a messy child I probably should do it a lot more often and especially moving furniture around which I’ll admit doesn’t happen as much as it should!
Hoovering reduces the amount of dust in the air which makes allergies and breathing problems worse, and surprisingly dust in our homes contains lots of chemicals, so it’s so important to get rid of as much as possible.
Something which I also want to start doing is hoovering our beds regularly as it’s something I don’t think about very often (ever!) and especially with pets it is so important to do, as well as change the bedding more often.
It’s also really important to clean or change the filter in your hoover regularly so that the dust particles are being completely removed from your home, rather than lingering or coming back out.
Yes, it’s hard to make yourself do this, especially in the freezing cold winter, but it’s important to let fresh air into your house regularly as well as breathing the clean air in yourself. We’re getting much less fresh air and sunlight than we usually do so we need to get them where we can.
Exposure to natural daylight is incredibly important for both our physical and mental health. Therefore, not only do we need to try to get outside when we can but doing things in our home such as keeping windows clean and opening curtains or blinds wide every day helps us make the most of the daylight and improve our spirits. You could also look to get a red light therapy device to get the benefits of red light therapy in your own home.
We’ve all been lectured time and time again over the last year to keep washing our hands regularly and properly but it is so important to maintain even when we’re at home. I still have to keep encouraging my daughter to wash her hands, particularly when she’s been outside or before we eat but kids are gross so it’s so important, especially right now to limit our risk of getting and spreading COVID.
There are lots more simple things we can do to make our home healthier and happier, such as using a water filter instead of bottled water or the tap, and switching to natural candles that use soy or beeswax instead of petroleum-based paraffin wax that can potentially emit hazardous chemicals. It’s also really important to make sure you have smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors installed and test them regularly too.
Our homes are where we spend most of our time, especially at the moment, making it so important to look after them and make them safe and healthy places for us to be.
This is a paid partnership with ActivePure.
Welcome to Birds and Lilies! I'm Lou: mother, blogger and freelance writer. This is my lifestyle blog, where I talk about motherhood, infertility and IVF, beauty, my love for food and wine, as well as my thoughts about stuff, and our real-life and travel adventures.
Contact: [email protected]
