"Your Natural Choice" for duct cleaning, carpet cleaning and window cleaning solutions
With concerns about Coronavirus/COVID-19, schools closing, and people staying cooped up inside, we’d like to spend the next few weeks focusing on actions, big and small, that we can take to improve the air quality in our homes.
Today we’ll talk plants. Back in 1989 NASA conducted a Clean Air Study. The purpose was to determine the effects of houseplants on indoor air quality and which ones were most effective at filtering pollutants from the air.
Which poses the question: What are we breathing?
Other pollutants that we might have in our air include the following:
-Dust, insecticides, herbicides or pesticides.
-Chorine by-products.
-Household cleaning chemicals, paints, solvents.
Synthetic fragrances, perfumes, deodorants.
Dry cleaning.
Tobacco smoke.
Pet dander.
Mold, bacteria, pollen, viruses, dust and dust mites.
Wax candle fumes.
Radon.
Some of the above chemicals are well-known to many of us, and some of them are very common. We understand they are bad for us. But just what exactly are the effects they have on our bodies?
Breathing in dust, dust-mites, pollen, dander, or mold is hard on the respiratory system. Change your furnace filter every 1-3 months depending on the type you have, and if you haven’t cleaned your air ducts, consider having it done.
Insecticides, pesticides and herbicides can disrupt the endocrine system and lead to cancerous growth. Try not to use them.
Inhaling chlorine by products can irritate and cause damages to the respiratory system.
Headaches, skin and throat irritation when people are exposed to household cleaning chemicals on a regular basis. Try using plant-based cleaners such as Young Living Thieves Cleaner.
Synthetic fragrances and such products can cause skin irritation, allergic reaction, cancer, birth defects, central nervous system disorders, and reproductive disorders. Try using essential oils instead of perfume
Dry cleaning contains trichloroethylene and perchloroethylene, which are highly toxic substances that are known to cause cancer. Consider using a steamer instead of dry cleaning.
Tobacco smoke contains 200 known poisons and 43 carcinogens.
Candles made of paraffin wax release toxic chemicals such as toluene and benzene that can quickly build up to unhealthy level. Consider using a diffuser instead of candles to scent your home.
Radon gas emitted from kitchen counter tops, attics and basements are the second leading cause of lung cancer in America according to the US National Cancer Institute. In you live in the St. Cloud area and are concerned about radon, we recommend Scott Anderson of Statewide Property Inspections for radon testing. Call Scott at 320-761-2100.
What can we do about the chemicals in our air that aren’t as easy to control by making better choices? NASA learned that we can clean them from out air by utilizing houseplants. Certain houseplants do a great job at removing specific chemicals. The graph below provides an explanation.
So, the next time you head out to the grocery store to stock up on soup and toilet paper, pick up a houseplant as well!
Happy Spring! We are scheduling spring/summer window cleaning now! Let us know if you would like to get on our route!
Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has found it’s way to Minnesota. In the St. Cloud area it seems that every store has sold out of hand sanitizer. If you are one of the many people who are concerned about this don’t worry – it’s easy to make your own.
Hand sanitizer consists of just two ingredients, alcohol and aloe vera gel. There are two types of alcohol. The one you need for hand sanitizer is isopropyl, not ethanol. The CDC recommends looking for one with a label that reads 70% or above. For the aloe vera gel, we substituted aloe vera after-sun gel and it worked just fine. The tools you need are a whisk, or a fork, spoon, and two bowls.
Start out by pouring your aloe vera into one of the bowls. It’s sticky. Get as much as you can. When this is done, spoon out half a cup, or 4 oz, of it and place into the second bowl. To the second bowl measure out one cup of isopropyl alcohol. Whisk the mixture together. Then, using a funnel, pour the mixture back into your aloe bottle, or if you desire, you can also distribute into several small clean containers. You’re done!
Use your hand sanitizer before touching the door handle to enter your home. Keep one in your vehicle to clean your hands when eating on the run or after shopping. Drop one into your childs backpack. Carry one on your purse.
Of course nothing beats good old hand-washing. Wash those hands like they showed you in kindergarten – recite your ABC’s and don’t stop until your done. Use soap. Washing your hands without it just gets the germs wet! And use lots of it. Lather your hands up and wash them like you’ve got to put contact lenses into your eyes after chopping up a bag of jalepenos!
Soap up and sanitize, but don’t fear – this too shall pass.
Sometimes there is more than just lint clogging your dryer vent. Clogged dryer vents cause almost 20,000 fires in our country every year. It is important to clean them once a year.If your dryer is taking longer than usual to dry a single load, your clothes feel hot but are not all the way dry, your fabric softener smells extra strong, or it’s been over a year since you’ve cleaned your dryer vent it could be clogged. We know that dryer vent cleaning is an easy thing to forget about, but a good way to remember it is by adding it to the list of items you do at daylight savings time. Clean it when set your clock ahead or backwards and change your smoke alarm batteries. Or, you can simply leave it to us and get on our annual schedule. Pack Rat’s nest starts dryer fire
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