Learn why the simple act of decorating your home can be deadly
One things' for sure it's not because of the obvious reasons one my think of like mold, bacteria or mildew.
It's because of reasons that are quite simple and in your face everyday, all day but most of us never see or think twice about them. The EPA has warned us by stating the inside air quality of our home is up to 5 times more toxic and polluted than outside air? Approximately 2 million Americans suffer from allergies, asthma and upper respiratory infections each year. Meanwhile, fatigue, inflammation related illnesses, muscle and joint ailments and depression is rising and the growth of tumors and cancer is also increasing, especially in children.
In 2020 Americans spent 62% of our time at home and of that 90% was inside. According to WHO, CIA World Factbook and The World Lung Association the US is the 10th sickest nation in the world, that's out of 195 nations, we're in the top ten. Our lifestyle, the products we buy and our lack of overall concern in regards to having knowledge of what those products are really made of is to blame.
So how is all this related to your home? The answer is so simple that you can't see it and there lies the problem of why we are enabling and allowing it to be. The way we decorate our homes and the products we're willingly purchasing are contaminating the air we breathe and our bodies. They are literally making us sick. We decorate our homes with furniture, textiles, rugs, carpet, bedding, paint, wallpaper, drapes and accessories. All of these things are loaded with toxic, hazardous and dangerous chemicals. These chemicals are known to cause cancer and lung disease, accelerate behavioral issues, promote tumor growth, affect reproduction, create skin issues and most of the illnesses our society is suffering from today.
Furniture is no longer real wood. Scratch that, it is real wood that's been grounded into chips and bonded (glued) with a concoction of adhesives so toxic that they are regulated by EPA and overseen by OSHA as producing hazard waste in the act of generating, transporting, storing, treating and disposal. Exposure consist of inhaling, skin contact and VOC off gassing. The industry is so big that RCRA Resource Conservations and Recovery Act federal law was created to deal with the problem. Think about this, if a federal law had to be created to deal with the waste, are those not the same materials making up your furniture that's sitting in your home?
Let's talk textiles.
Almost all of the fabrics used today for retail Interior Design and home decorating is synthetic polyester, acrylic, acetate, nylon, rayon, etc. Microfiber is cheap and a favorite, it's used everywhere. It is toxic and dangerous! It's made from thousands of petrochemicals and the fibers fly into your lungs as you inhale it and you digest it through your mouth. It contains phthalates, formaldehyde, hexabromocyclododecanes and polybrominated diphenyl ethers to name a few bad things.
We sleep on them, wrap ourselves in them and allow our children to chew on them ingesting all the poison they have to offer.
What About Carpet? There's so much to learn about what you can do to protect yourself. At sntHOME Interior Design we have the resources and solutions for creating "Pure Conscious Design." Home decorating that's good for people and good for the planet.
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