Air inside our homes in the winter is much more toxic than in the summer. Researchers from Columbia and Harvard teamed up in the TEACH (Toxic Exposure Assessment, Columbia and Harvard) study to monitor airborne toxic exposure. They found that indoor air has much higher concentrations than outdoor air of many volatile organic compounds (VOCs). We spend eight hours or so every night breathing that indoor air. The quality of our indoor air matters. Researchers are finding that poor indoor air is related to respiratory problems like allergies and asthma, particularly in children.
In the context of depression, any toxins we breathe we must process in our bodies. That processing actually requires nutrients. As we work to rebuild from depression, it is important to reduce our toxic exposure. Toxins rob us of our nutrients. Our indoor air is one key source. Those same air toxins may also aggravate our depression in their own right.
One of the best things you can do for your indoor air may actually be fairly easy: open a window. I described before how increasing airflow in our house is a key strategy at improving air inside our home. (Improving Indoor Air)
But not all homes lend themselves to being opened up. As we move into a colder season here, we will soon be shutting all of our windows trying to hold onto every bit of heat we can muster. Summer poses its own problems: excessive heat in itself causes high levels of fumes. The key for all of us is to reduce our indoor emissions every day in every season so that we will be healthier all year long.
Levels of dichlorobenzene, methylene chloride, and formaldehyde are much higher indoors than out. Those plastic spray foams for insulation contain 1,4- Dichlorobenzene as do common household pesticides and air fresheners. Household sources of methylene chloride include paint strippers, spray paint, and adhesive removers. Indoor sources of formaldehyde are building materials such as plywood and particle board and adhesives for flooring. New home construction is using pressed wood products increasingly, held together with urea-formaldehyde resins.
There are so many things in our homes that are culprits and some of them will take years to get rid of, usually in the context of a remodeling project. Some are fairly simple changes to make. That is the best and least expensive place to start - house cleaning.
House Cleaning
Adults with compromised immune systems or highly sensitive children are often sensitive to conventional household cleaning systems; some can even go into anaphylactic shock. And while we do not all have allergic reactions to these cleaners, our bodies still have to process their particles and that requires nutrients. Without nutrients to spare, I have turned to what grandma used to use to clean her home (when grandma moved from a tent in a farm camp to a house, that is). I have found the traditional cleaning systems to be cheaper and more effective.
There are environmentally-friendly products that can replace just about anything you use right now - oven cleaner, furniture wax, window cleaner. Good resources for a variety of cleaners are listed at the end of this section. But to get you started you can easily make the changes below. The added advantage is that your children can help you clean.
Use vinegar as an all-purpose cleaner
Keep a 50-50 mixture of water and white distilled vinegar in a spray bottle. Add a drop essential oil for fragrance. Tea tree oil will provide fragrance and is a natural antiseptic. Use for kitchen counters, heavy-use tables, and floors.
Use baking soda instead of those powder cleaners
Baking soda is a very good product to use for scrubbing sinks, tubs, and toilets. Just sprinkle the soda on a slightly wet surface and let it sit for a few minutes before scrubbing. Besides cutting your fumes, if there is baking soda residue in your bathtub after cleaning, you do not need to worry about the chemicals in your bath water if you take a bath. Baking soda actually cuts down my time cleaning the tub because I don't obsessively rinse the tub after I clean it. A few times a year I do scrub the tub with some of the regular stuff.
Use club soda to clean your windows
Use it just like a window cleaner, in its full strength. It works well. Frederick often helps my mom with the job and with club soda, we don't have to worry about which bottle he is using.
Use a natural dish soap
These products are increasingly available in regular grocery stores. You can also make your own, but they involve cooking as do traditional soap recipes. The resources below will direct you toward that adventure if you are interested.
Reduce your detergent usage
In your dishwasher, just fill the main detergent reservoir with detergent, not the additional slot. The extra is not necessary and this detergent is rather toxic. For laundry, find a natural detergent without phosphates and without the perfumes. Experiment with using less. A laundry booster like Borax will allow you to get away with even less. In the old days, grandma used soap chips to clean clothes. You can grate a bar of natural soap and add a tablespoon or two to your laundry, or keep a jar full of water to add your little soap skeletons to - the wedges that end up down the drain when the bar is almost finished. My great grandmother, Nana, kept a jar with soap skeletons for the laundry and for spot cleaning. I don't think she called them "soap skeletons."
