Springtime means spring cleaning! Not only can you boost the healthiness of your house by servicing your air conditioner and cleaning your air ducts, but you can also better the air quality in a variety of other ways. Many of these things can sound costly, but great minds have come up with DIY solutions for your spring cleaning woes. Check out Healthy Home Heating & Cooling LLC’s favorite tricks for spring cleaning your air.
House Plants
Houseplants are one of the easiest things that homeowners can purchase to improve indoor air quality. According to some studies by NASA, some houseplants can remove air pollutants such as benzene, formaldehyde, trichloroethylene, xylene, toluene, and ammonia. The graphic to the left shows the most effective houseplants for removing those air pollutants. Click on the photo to the left to see the whole infographic from The Healthy Home Heating & Cooling LLC Economist.
DIY All-Purpose Cleaner
Making your own all-purpose cleaner can eliminate a lot of the unhealthy things about store-bought cleaners such as a variety of chemicals, fragrances, and preservatives. The Organic Consumers Association published an article analyzing the toxicity of normal household cleaning supplies and reported that in 2000, cleaning products were responsible for nearly 10% of all toxic exposures reported to Poison Control. That’s 206,636 calls!
The Pure Living Space blog released a list of safe and non-toxic DIYs to help you clean your kitchen. Included was an all-purpose cleaner consisting of three ingredients: white vinegar, water, & tea tree oil. The only thing it harms is marble or travertine, so stay away from those.
DIY Eco-Friendly, Chemical Free, Wool Dryer Balls
Dryer sheets and dryer balls are very popular among, well, anyone who does laundry. The unfortunate truth about those though, is that they’re terrible for your health! They contain chemicals that have been linked to pancreatic cancer! Lucky for us, there’s an eco-friendly, chemical-free version of your favorite dryer balls! These DIY Wool Dryer Balls from HomeTalk will solve your love for dryer balls and your hate for harmful chemicals. Plus, you get to customize with your favorite essential oil which can be used in a variety of places around your home. Including the next DIY.
DIY Ant Spray
Bugs are the biggest (and maybe only) turn-off of the air getting warmer. Instead of whipping out even more toxic sprays, make your own ant spray. I don’t think I need to reiterate the toxicity of these store-bought products, so just trust us when we say ixnay to the apcray. My DoTerra rep, Rebecca Smith, released her DIY of a great ant spray. This only has two ingredients: Dawn dishwashing liquid and peppermint essential oil!
DIY Light Bulb Terrarium
These light bulb terrariums aren’t the easiest DIY we’ve ever seen, but having plants in your home is a huge benefit to not only your family’s physical health but mental as well! We found two tutorials that we love: Check out the Etsy version below and The Hipster Home’s version here!
There are many more ways than just calling us to do air conditioning checks and duct cleanings to spring clean your home. By eliminating toxic products and adding a little life to your humble abode, you’ll be ready for a happy, healthy, and comfortable season!
