Submitted by Sonya Rombough for Thurston County Public Health
They say home is where the heart is, but it’s easy to forget that home is also where we spend the majority of our time. Even if you’re out of the home for several hours a day, the chances are you spend at least eight hours a night relaxing or sleeping in your home, and that’s 1/3 or more of your life! So it is really important to make sure your home is a healthy one. But what does that mean?
There are many factors that could impact the health of your home, and it can be a real challenge to sort out what is most important for the health of your family. With this in mind, Thurston County has a program that can help. The Healthy Homes program is designed to help households in Thurston County assess and understand the unique needs of their homes and families by providing free, in-home education through Healthy Homes Visits.
No two households are exactly alike, so our visits take a customized, holistic approach, looking into the needs of the family members, the structure of the home itself, and the habits of the residents that may affect their health. The topics covered in each two hour visit range from who in the home has the highest risk for health impacts, to mold and moisture, toxics reduction, indoor air quality, and more.
While many homes may be in need of minor, or major, structural repair there are a number of health benefits that can come from just a few simple daily or weekly habits. For example, we highly encourage everyone to practice good ventilation habits. This includes using a bath fan or opening a window while showering and bathing (and for thirty to forty-five minutes afterwards), using the kitchen fan or opening a window while you cook, especially while boiling water, and opening windows daily. It may sound odd to open windows even in the depth of winter, but it is important for indoor air quality that fresh air be brought into the home. One of the best methods for achieving this is what we call a ‘Fresh Air Blast.’ Simply start in one location, moving from room to room opening all of the windows in your home. When you have returned to the first widow, go around again closing them all. This ensures a quick exchange of all your stale indoor air for fresh outdoor air, flushing out moisture and indoor air pollutants without losing much heat in the process.
If you would like to learn more about the health and safety of your home, please give us a call at (360) 867-2674. We are happy to answer your Healthy Homes questions, or get you set up for a Healthy Homes Visit. Visits are completely free and confidential. They begin with a questionnaire about your home and family, and include the option of a visual survey and walk-through of the home. Call and schedule your visit today.
