A Safe Haven
Rid your child’s room of toxins and allergens by choosing healthier products.
By Stephen
Collette
Children of all ages treasure their bedrooms – it’s their refuge, their castle,
their playroom and their safe haven. They spend as much time there as
they can but is this space actually healthy for them?
Kids’ rooms seem innocuous – a floor, four walls,
a bed, desk, bookshelves and a closet. What’s unhealthy about any of that? You’d be surprised
at the number of toxins and allergens that may be present and to which your child may unwittingly be exposed.
That exposure can lead to negative health effects sooner or later. Read on to find out where the hazards
are and how to avoid them.
Hardwood a Good Choice
Typically, the floor in kids’ rooms is covered in
carpet. While this may help to soften the bumps of roughhousing, it’s actually an unhealthy option
for your child’s bedroom. That’s because carpets are made from nylon, which is manufactured using
petrochemicals and formaldehyde glues. Carpet underlay is also bound together with formaldehyde glues. These
substances create a toxic chemical air quality issue.
The air quality problem is compounded when the formaldehyde
glue in the carpet lining begins to break down, as it does naturally in older carpets. As the glues age and
dry, the chemicals become airborne and are easily inhaled or ingested. The breakdown of formaldehyde in the
air has been linked to nose and throat irritation, nervous system damage and cancer.
The other concern about
carpets is that they attract dust. Studies have found that carpeted rooms have higher particulate counts
(dust levels) than rooms with solid flooring. The airborne contaminants and the dust from carpets can be
triggers for asthma.
If you are unable to get rid of the
carpet in your child’s room, then vacuum it well. That means using a sealed HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate
Air) filter vacuum cleaner.
So what type of flooring is best for a child’s room? Hardwood, bamboo
and cork floorings are all good choices because when they are sealed with natural sealers, (cork and bamboo
come presealed), or oiled, there is no chemical off gassing. If you
want to use throw rugs on any of the flooring, make sure they are made of cotton or jute and air them out
frequently.
Avoid VOC Paint
Walls are one of the biggest areas of concern in your child’s room because
both paint and wallpaper can present health hazards. Most paints contain VOCs (volatile organic compounds)
– toxic chemicals that enable the paint to stick to the wall and to be cleaned easily. VOCs are associated
with a wide range of health effects, from eye, nose and throat irritation, headache and nausea to liver damage
and cancer. Children should not be present if you are painting with VOC paint. In addition, the room should
be well-ventilated, using a fan to draw air out of the window.
VOC paint presents the greatest risk when it is wet but even when dry, it will emit toxins
for months to come.
Wallpaper, is not a healthy solution
to paint because the glues required to hang it are toxic and, like paint,
will off-gas for months even after the wallpaper has dried.
Luckily, there is an alternative. Instead of VOC paint, parents can opt for low or no VOC paints. Almost
every paint store now carries a version due to the demand. (editors note: visit treehugger.com for a list of
low to zero VOC paint manufacturers)
An even healthier option than low VOC paint is
to use natural plaster over the drywall in your child’s room. Natural plaster helps regulate indoor
humidity levels (controlling moisture helps control odours and potential mould growth) and offers a textural,
tactile surface. Because these beautiful troweled finishes are safe and non-toxic, kids can help apply them.
Desks, Dressers and Bookshelves
Furniture for kids’ rooms is often made from particleboard, which
is glued together using formaldehyde glues. These pressed wood products will off-gas within the room. To remedy
the health concerns, try moving to solid wood furniture. Solid wood is always the best option for health,
and ultimately will endure the daily workout dished out by kids. If you can’t afford new
furniture, look for antiques or unfinished wood that can be refinished to suit your child’s room.
Keep Dust Mites Away
Our children often sleep in hand-me-down single beds or old crib mattresses. But
these old beds, and old pillows too, have a big problem – dust mites and their faeces, which are serious
allergens. Dust mites prefer to live in dark, moist environments and feed upon their favourite food – dead
skin cells. Old mattresses and pillows fit the bill nicely. In fact, the older the mattress and pillow, the
larger the dust mite family.
The best solution is to buy a new mattress and box spring. Choose mattresses
made of natural materials that inhibit dust mites and don’t off-gas, such as cotton futons and natural
latex mattresses.
There are ways to rid your
child’s old bed and mattress of the dreaded dust mites. Instead of providing the dark and moist environment
that bed bugs like, provide a light, dry environment. Each day, get your child to pull back the covers during
the day to allow the mattress, pillow and bedding to dry out. (Your kids will love not having to make the
bed. And you will get over it in time.) When the bed dries out, the dust mites die off.
Periodically, you
should also take the bedding and the mattress outside in the sun. The sun is a natural bleach and will air
and dry out the mattress, sending the bed bugs scurrying. This simple remedy will reduce the allergy-inducing
dust mite population dramatically. (It also gives you a chance to clean out whatever may be under your kids’ beds.)
Tackling Closet Mayhem
Damp clothes provide an ideal place for
mould and bacteria to flourish and shoes harbour outdoor pollens and pesticides. Your child’s closet
can be a virtual haven for allergens, such as mould, mildew and bacteria but with some simple steps, you
can keep their closet and the health issues that come with it under control.
What to do? Kids don’t like to hang up their clothes, so try putting more shelves in
the closet for them to use. Put the laundry hamper outside of the closet so the moisture from sweaty clothes
can evaporate in the room instead and keep shoes out of the bedroom.
At the same time, you can improve the air flow
in your child’s closet by putting vents on the closet door or using bi-fold doors with louvres. The
drying effects of air movement will help remove trapped moisture from the closet.
A Healthy
Place to Be
Because of their rapid development and growing bodies, children absorb more toxins than we do
as adults. We need to ensure that their bedrooms really are a safe and healthy sanctuary for them. Following
some or all of the above suggestions will help you create one for them.
Stephen Collette is an indoor environmental inspector and building consultant living in Lakefield. He is
one of Canada’s expert’s in the new and vitally important field of environmental
building biology. In other words, Stephen helps Canadians live healthier lives by helping them create healthier
homes.
Contact Stephen at:
tel:
705
652 5159
web: www.yourhealthyhouse.ca
All Rights Reserved.
Not to be reproduced without written permission.
|
