Things in Your Home That Are Making You Sick

Depending on what you do for a living, you may well find yourself spending an awful lot of time at home. If you’re fortunate enough to work from home - a method of employment that is becoming increasingly popular - you will find the four walls you call your office become more familiar by the hour and sometimes this isn’t a good thing. You’re more likely to notice the foibles of the home while you’re searching for your next piece of inspiration, while you will probably end up noticing the little things about your house that you wish you hadn’t seen: untidiness and cleanliness among others. But even if you don’t work from home, there are still a bunch of things that could be increasing your chance of being ill by the day and you don’t even really realize. It’s probably time we thought about these things and took a closer look at how we are treating our homes and how our homes are treating us.

The level of waste that you keep around your home probably never increases past a certain amount. As long as you take out the trash regularly and keep the house tidy, you’re likely not to have too much to worry about on the rubbish scale. Germs, however, operate differently. No matter how many, or how few bins you have around your property, you could still have loads of germs festering away in the most unlikely, and unsavory of places that you would never have previously thought of. Germs are the silent illnesses, and the sooner you figure out a way to keep your home germ-reduced, the better.

How Do I Become Ill from My Home?

The human eye can not see germs, viruses or bacteria, so it’s really tough to nail down places or reasons how people become ill, but the communal environment within the home suggests that the more people around equals the more chance of more nasty bugs being passed on from person to person. The most regularly used places are often the hotbed for making you unwell, and all you can do to reduce the risk is to make sure you’re cleaning all areas of the home, especially ones that are used by many people, the young and the old. Keeping bacterial wipes and fresh hand washes around the home will encourage people to keep their hands clean and free from germs.

READ Homemade Household Cleaners: Are They Better Than the Chemical Cleaners?

Knowing exactly what areas of the home are most susceptible to making you unwell is half of the battle. A lot of people aren’t educated about these sort of things, and end up jumping from one illness to another when risk prevention would have made sure that they could have been fighting fit much sooner if they had simply taken better care of their surroundings. Below are some of the areas of your living space that you should be looking out for when you’re doing your next spring clean.

Things in the Home to Keep an Eye On

Air Vents

Air vents are arguably some of the worst, most unhealthy places in the home. I class air conditioning units within this, too. Recycled air is the cause of so many minor illnesses and bugs and if you’re not regularly cleaning them, they will only get more disgusting and filthier. On the other hand, it’s also important to make sure you’re not relying on the same air being pumped around your home to keep you cool, or heat you up. Make sure you have windows open when you can to let clear, fresh air into your home and replace the old, stale air brought through by unclean air vents.

Dripping Water

Dripping water might not seem like much of a problem, but it’s when it is dripping in the wrong places that it becomes an issue. Dark, damp areas will always produce mold, and if you have a small leak coming from a pipe that isn’t often seen, you could end up with mold growing and producing unhealthy bacteria that, when breathed in, can cause a whole array of breathing problems. Be sure you’re making yourself aware of all pipes in dark corners and that they are services to a high standard when needs be.

Dust

The most obvious of all. Dust is visible to the naked eye, meaning there really is no excuse for having it around the house. Make especially sure that you’re keeping sleeping areas clean, meaning bedside tables and cabinets in your bedroom. You spend around 8 hours a day sleeping and breathing in your bed, the last thing you need is breathing is dust and grime. Dust can also cause skin problems, whereby it acts as an irritant to conditions such as eczema.

READ Natural Treatment For Eczema - 10 Simple and Quick Steps

Fridge

When it comes to potential illness in the home, the fridge is the mother load. You don’t need to be a chef to realize that keeping your fridge fresh and clean is a sure-fire way to a much easier life. This tip is two-fold - firstly, be sure to be on top of what is in the fridge, food wise. Are you throwing away food that is a few days old? Are you sure that chicken is still fresh and good to use? Make sure you’re 100% confident that what is in your fridge is edible and good to consume. One the second point, you also need to keep your fridge shelves and compartments sparkly and clean to prevent bacteria from fresh meat and produce sticking around for a second helping at affecting your lunch in the future. Food hygiene should be one of the most important parts of our life because it is arguably one of the things that can make us sick quickly, for the longest.

Remember that there are so many places in your home that can be breeding grounds for illnesses. If you’re handy around the house, then you will most likely be alright. Keep a close eye on the darker, unseen areas of where you live, too, because these could no doubt spring a nasty surprise on you. Taking the above advice, you should be just fine.