You have bought a new home or maybe you are relocating to a newly renovated rental apartment. It is now time to make the new space your own. One thing that you need to eliminate first is the new home smell. It doesn’t matter which materials the construction company used to renovate the space- a new home will always have an unpleasant, unhealthy smell that will ruin your indoor air quality if not detoxed beforehand. Here is a guide on how to detox your new home before moving in.
This is not as obvious as it sounds. Some smells can be eliminated simply by dusting the place thoroughly before moving in. Dust the new furniture and electronics before getting them in the room in order to reduce the impact of the PBDE chemicals found in furniture paint. It will help if you can buy an air filter for your household dusting purposes.
Replace the Furnace Filter
You cannot be too sure that the filter you found already installed in your new home is effective. If it is, lucky for you! But if it is a basic, cheap, and has a rating of less than MERV14, you can bet that it will not remove the allergens as effectively as advertised. Acquire a furnace filter that has extra pollutant removal features, particularly one of those modern electrostatic versions.
Replace old Décor and Paint
If you are moving into an older house, chances are that the paint still has some traces of lead. Most houses built before lead paint was banned in 1978 have some lead skeletons somewhere that have to be wiped out ASAP. Don’t assume that the last owners dealt with the problem holistically- go ahead and test for lead. After all, if they had removed all the toxicity in the home as they claim, where are the toxic smells coming from? Invest in a complete décor and paint overhaul not just to inject your personality into the space, but also to remove possible traces of dangerous paints. For many, it’s a great time to redecorate after a move.
Buy Quality Furniture
Buy chemical-free furniture instead of those made with synthetic fabrics. Most of these fabrics contain all manner of toxic chemicals. For your kitchen cabinets, try out these ready-to-assemble cabinets that are made with natural fiber. You can purchase second-hand furniture if you are tight on cash because they have at least gassed off all the chemicals at the previous owner’s home.
Use Air-Cleaning Plants
Air-cleaning plants will naturally detox your home by sucking out ammonia and formaldehyde, among other pollutants that emanate from household cleaning products and furniture. If you are moving into a 1000-square-foot house, 10 cleaning plants will do the job. Place them together like in a garden rather than scattering single plants around- they have a better air-cleaning effect that way. Some of the plants that you can try include spider plants, rubber plants, and philodendrons.
Smoke Them Out
Cranking the heat up for a week before moving in will smoke out pollutants such as formaldehyde and ozone. It has been scientifically proven that these chemicals are released from furniture, walls, and other solid surfaces faster when exposed to high temperatures. And because warm air moves are less dense than cold air, the warm, highly toxic air in the house is forced to rise and escape through the ventilation and the windows, with fresher air from outside coming in to replace it. Just remember to keep the doors and the windows open the entire time to give your house plenty of time to air out.
Use Non-Toxic Fumigation Technologies
Unless the house is newly-built, you may want to fumigate the house before moving in. To reduce the chemical load that precipitates from most fumigation products, ensure that you only use non-toxic fumigation technologies. To be completely safe from possible chemical residue, give the home a week or two to air out sufficiently before bringing in your household items.
Conclusion
A new home can have hundreds of different toxins trapped inside insulated walls. You bring more chemicals in with your new furniture. All those chemicals combined will easily make you and other occupants sick. Some of the diseases linked to environmental toxins include autoimmune diseases and reproductive disorders. If not for anything else, detox your new home before it makes you literally sick.
Finding Help with Moving Professionals
We hope you found this blog on How to Detox Your New Home Before Moving In useful. For more tips, check out this one blog on 10 Moving Tips That Will Make Your Transition Easier.
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