HEALTHY AT HOME – The What, The why and the how
Simple steps to keeping your home, and everyone in it, healthy and safe.
Healthy Homes
Healthy Homes
BE AWARE OF DANGEROUS HOUSEHOLD CHEMICALS
What: Harmful cleaning products, such as drain cleaners, floor-care products, oven cleaners, window sprays, disinfecting wipes, furniture and metal polishes, pesticides and laundry products.
Why: These chemicals can irritate the eyes, skin and lungs, and worsen conditions such as asthma.
How: Use products that are third-party certified to be safer for health and the environment or make your own cleaning products. Get started with our Living Green Guide or watch our video on making a non-toxic, all-purpose cleaner. Carefully follow any instructions for use and storage provided on product labels.
Steps: Choose products that have a third-party certification like EPA’s SaferChoice, Green Seal or ECOLOGO and store them safely. Check the labels of household products for words such as “caution,” “warning,” “danger,” or “poison.” Do not flush these products down the toilet, or pour them into sinks, drains, storm drains or onto the ground. Check with your solid waste district for information on how to properly dispose of household hazardous waste.
SECURE YOUR HOME AGAINST POTENTIALLY HARMFUL SUBSTANCES
What: Alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs – including prescription medications and cannabis.
Why: To prevent substances from being swallowed accidentally.
How: Keep potentially harmful substances out of sight and out of reach for children and pets.
Steps: Place harmful substances on high shelves, behind closed doors, install child-proof latches, lock medicine cabinet. Learn more about safe disposal
CLEAN UP LEAD DUST IN YOUR HOME
What: Lead is found in paint and older items in your home that crumbles over time into invisible dust.
Why: Anyone can swallow or be exposed to lead dust and become poisoned, but young children, pregnant women, and pets are especially at risk.
How: Use lead-safe cleaning and lead-safe work practices to keep your home free of lead dust.
Steps: When cleaning, use a vacuum with a HEPA filter, a three-bucket mopping system, and disposable towels to wet-clean windowsills and other hard surfaces. Repair chipping or peeling paint using lead-safe work practices (like wet-sanding and wet-scraping).
KEEP YOUR DRINKING WATER SAFE
What: Naturally occurring contaminants found in soils and bedrock, like arsenic and uranium, can find their way in your drinking water. Water can also be contaminated by human activity, like manure from farm fields, leachate from septic systems, or runoff from road salt.
Why: You can’t see, taste or smell most harmful contaminants in drinking water.
How: Know what’s in your water by testing it and installing treatment if necessary.
Steps: If you have a private well, have it tested every year for coliform bacteria and every 5 years for inorganic chemicals and gross alpha radiation. You can order test kits from a certified drinking water lab. Learn more about testing
CHECK YOUR HOME’S INDOOR AIR QUALITY
What: Your indoor air may be polluted by things like radon, carbon monoxide (CO), secondhand smoke, and asthma triggers like mold and other harmful air particles.
Why: Breathing air pollutants can lead to allergic and asthmatic reactions, infections, and other health problems related to the lungs, nose and throat. Other indoor air pollutants, such as carbon monoxide (CO), can cause headaches, nausea, vomiting, and even brain damage and death. Breathing air with radon increases the risk of getting lung cancer.
How: Take the necessary precautions to minimize the risks of indoor air pollutants in your home.
Steps: Order a free home testing kit to check your home for radon. Install CO alarms to alert you to dangerous levels of carbon monoxide (CO). Be on the lookout for mold in areas of your home with water or moisture intrusion, such as leaks in roofs, windows, or pipes—or where there has been flooding. Musty or moldy smells in these areas can be signs of mold growth. Make sure you hire a licensed contractor to handle mold problem areas that are larger than 100 square feet.
Download and print the Healthy at Home checklist
More steps to staying Healthy at Home
The condition of your home and any hazards within it can affect your health and safety. A healthy home helps prevent disease and injury. Here is an expanded list of steps you can take to keep your home healthy.
KEEP YOUR HOME WELL VENTILATED
Improve air quality and reduce pollutants by bringing fresh air into your home and keeping air flowing. Open windows and doors when the weather is good, run bathroom fans while showering, and use kitchen fans while cooking.
KEEP YOUR HOME DRY
Moisture in your home can cause mold to grow and attract pests. Check regularly for water leaks and fix them right away – and clean up any water spills quickly.
KEEP YOUR HOME CLEAN
Be sure to clean up dust and dirt, which can trigger asthma and even hide invisible lead dust. Pick up clutter, which is a tripping hazard and a hiding place for pests. Use a vacuum with a High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filter and wet-mop regularly.
KEEP YOUR HOME SAFE
Always make sure poisons are properly labeled and out of children’s reach. Assess your home for surfaces or objects that could cause injuries, especially to children. Make sure smoke alarms are working properly and that your drinking water is free of contaminants.
KEEP YOUR HOME WELL MAINTAINED
Regularly inspect your home to make sure it is physically and structurally sound. Keep up with minor repairs to stop small problems from becoming big ones—such as shaky handrails, holes and cracks, and water leaks. Follow Vermont laws on lead and asbestos when renovating your home.
KEEP YOUR HOME ENVIRONMENTALLY SOUND
To help the environment – and save money – make your home energy efficient, choose non-toxic cleaning products, and use non-toxic building materials. These products and materials also help make your home safer.
KEEP YOUR HOME PEST FREE
Pests can cause disease and trigger asthma. Keep these unwanted guests away by keeping your home clean, storing food properly, closing trash containers, and sealing holes and cracks. But be sure to avoid using dangerous chemicals and pesticides to remove pests.
KEEP YOUR HOME FREE OF TOXINS
Follow practices to keep your home safe from lead and asbestos. Minimize the use of toxic household cleaners, pesticides and other chemicals.
KEEP YOUR HOME SAFE FROM DANGEROUS GASES
Test your home for radon, a naturally occurring radioactive gas that enters homes through soil, crawlspaces, and foundation cracks. Keep your home free of tobacco smoke. Use efficient wood burning stoves, and make sure carbon monoxide (CO) alarms work properly.
More Resources
- Vermont Weatherization Program (Vermont Department for Children and Families)
- Energy Efficiency (Vermont Public Service Department)
- Vermont NeighborWorks Alliance
- Vermont Housing Conservation Board
- Burlington Lead Program
- Healthy Homes Maintenance Checklist (National Center for Healthy Housing)
- Everyone Deserves a Safe and Healthy Home (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development)
- Healthy Homes Do It Yourself Assessment Tool (City of Fort Collins, CO)
- Healthy Homes Program (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development)
Contact Information
Healthy Homes Lead Poisoning Prevention Program
Phone: 802-863-7220 or
800-439-8550 (toll-free in Vermont)
Fax: 802-863-7483
In This Section
Lead poisoning can be prevented when you know what danger signs and hazards to look for in your home and in other places.
Thinking about renovating your home? If you are a do-it-yourselfer or hiring a professional, there are some health precautions you should know about before you begin a renovation project.
National studies have shown that air pollution in our homes can be more of a health concern than air pollution outside.
Carbon monoxide (CO) is a poisonous gas you cannot see or smell. It is produced when liquid, solid or gas fuel is burned—such as natural gas, propane, oil, charcoal, wood and wood pellets.
Pests in and around our homes can be a nuisance. Pests include insects (e.g. cockroaches, bed bugs, wasps, and garden bugs), rodents (e.g. mice and rats), and weeds.
Injuries, accidents and poisonings are common in homes. Taking precautions can help prevent them from happening in your home and help to keep yourself and your family safe.