Living/Dining Room

A place where you hang out watching the NFL with friends, movie night with the kids or catch up on your favourite episodes. The Living Room could be harbouring a blend of toxic chemicals that you’re not even aware of.

“The following products are just a few that are so toxic that they should be disposed of in a toxic waste dump: Floor care products, Furniture polish, Window cleaners and Bug spray”(Source: Water Pollution Control Federation)

The House Detox – Living/Dining Room Checklist

Air fresheners, candles and furniture polish are just some of the things that can affect your indoor air quality.

Toss it out

Air Fresheners /Scented candles

Sofa with TB 117 label – which you can find on the base or under the cushions.

Why Toss It Out?

Air Freshers contain a concoction of Formaldehyde, Petroleum distillates, 1,4 Dichlorobenzene and aerosol propellants as well as fragrance, preservatives and Glycol Ethers. What that means to you and I is that these chemicals have been linked to Asthma, Hormone disruptors and cancer.

Regular scented candles are usually made from Paraffin a by-product of Petroleum, which then undergoes a process of bleaching, colouring and adding a chemical fragrance to make it appealing to the consumer. Which results in a toxic product that you breathe and poisons the air.

Sofas with the TB 117 label will most definitely have flame retardants (PBDE) used in the manufacturing process. What’s bad about it? Scientists have found that exposure to toxic fire-retardant chemicals at critical points of development can damage the reproductive system, cause a change in motor skills, learning, memory and behaviour.

The House Detox: Living/Dining Room Tips

Vacuum your sofa daily to get rid of dust.

Use Bees Wax candles (which supposedly cleans the air as they burn) or 100% organic soy candles.

Use a vaporizer and burn essential oils instead of using toxic air fresheners (Or check out my air freshener category for safer types)