There are many measures that can be taken to reduce health risks in the home. Properly implemented, these could reduce the incidence of allergies and illnesses, writes Sylvia Thompson
Many of us consider our homes as the places we retreat to after busy working days. And while we aim to keep them clean, there is increasing concern that our home environments may be contributing to a number of chronic conditions, particularly allergies, asthma and other respiratory illnesses.
Several books have recently raised awareness of the potential health risks of the chemicals in household cleaning products, the electro-magnetic radiation from electrical equipment left on standby (especially in bedrooms) and other so-called everyday toxins in foods.
However, when you speak to the experts about the most important factor in creating a healthy home, they all point to air quality - and particularly good ventilation.
Duncan Stewart, architect and producer/presenter of architectural and environmental programmes, About the House and Eco Eye, says indoor air is twice as unhealthy as outdoor air.
Newer homes can have particularly poor air quality due to the residual air-borne chemicals from housebuilding materials, new soft-furnishings and poor ventilation, combined with overly heated rooms. Some studies have even found that women who work in the home have a higher death rate from cancer than those who work outside the home.
Stewart raises several issues relating to heating systems that can have a negative impact on our health. "Once we seal our homes with good insulation, we have to recognise that we need fresh air coming into them too. In Ireland, we ventilate our homes very badly and high humidity levels create allergic conditions for house dust mites and other allergens to thrive in," he says.
Other potentially serious health hazards come from leakages in gas appliances or the build-up of carbon monoxide, an invisible odourless gas that escapes into the atmosphere when there is incomplete combustion of fossil fuels (oil, gas and solid fuels used in open fires).
"You have to always make sure that there is permanent ventilation in rooms where there are heating and cooking appliances and that the oxygen for such appliances comes from outside the house," says Stewart.
"Carbon monoxide poisoning is what most people die from in house fires."
The naturally occurring radioactive gas, radon, is another potential health hazard in the home. The Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland (RPII) estimates that up to 10 per cent of Irish homes have higher levels of radon than guidelines recommend.
Anyone concerned about the radon levels in their home can buy radon detectors from the RPII (free-phone 1800-300-600 or e-mail radon@rpii.ie). These are placed in the home for three months and then returned to the RPII for testing.
Long-term exposure to excessive amounts of radon increases the risk of developing lung cancer.
Stewart suggests that people who suffer from allergic conditions should look at systems which deal with air ventilation effectively in their homes. More specifically, he suggests heat recovery ventilation systems which extract "exhausted" air from the rooms and pre-heat fresh air as it comes in.
"Such systems are common in modern, well-designed houses in Europe and some ecologically-designed homes in Ireland have them installed," he says.
Dr Thomas Quigley, director of food science at Safefood, the food safety promotion agency, says that keeping moisture levels down in kitchens is the key to preventing bacteria and moulds from growing.
He says it is essential that all surfaces in the kitchen can be easily cleaned with soap and water and suggests that laminated plastic or marble surfaces are better than wood, and vinyl or tiled floors are preferable to wooden floors.
"It is helpful if the sink is the centre of the kitchen to encourage frequent hand-washing and that the hot and cold water are mixed to reduce wastage of hot water," he says.
Other important areas of food hygiene in the kitchen, according to Quigley, include ensuring your fridge is set at a maximum of five degrees and, if possible, to use fridges with drawers or solid shelves rather than those with metal/plastic grille shelves. "Raw meats should always be kept low down in the fridge, just above the vegetable containers, so that there is no risk of liquids dripping on to prepared or cooked foods," he says.
In terms of cooking and preparing foods hygienically, Quigley says different chopping boards should be used for raw and cooked foods. He also says that disposable biodegradable towels or sponges, which are rinsed every time after use and left to dry, are preferable to other dish cloths which harbour bacteria.
However, he does not condone the use of anti-bacterial cleaners. "Simple detergents that create soapy water are best. From a microbiological point of view, we don't want to kill off all the regular bugs as this might give rise to super bugs in the home."
Jonathan Hourihane, professor of paediatrics and child health at Cork University Hospital, says he prefers to talk about healthy families rather than healthy homes. "Cigarette smoking is the biggest factor associated with allergies in the home," he says. "And don't fool yourself that smoking outside takes away the respiratory risk to your children. There is passive smoke off your clothes as soon as you come in again."
He adds that it is important to eat as a family at the table as often as possible to encourage optimal interaction and socialisation. And he suggests removing televisions and computers from children's bedrooms would lead to healthier homes and families.
In terms of reducing allergic conditions in the home, Hourihane says people shouldn't change their home environments unless there are family members who already have allergies.
"There are measures that can be taken for children with eczema who have been shown to be sensitive to the house dust mite although we can't say for definite if these measures will improve their condition.
"It's not an exact science but we recommended that children [with diagnosed allergies to the house dust mite] should have new bedding with allergen exclusive covers completely encasing the mattress, duvet and pillows," Hourihane says.
"The house should be regularly damp dusted and that includes the areas around the bed, window sills and skirting boards where house dust mites live. The bed linen should be washed regularly at 60 degrees and the number of teddies limited."
He adds that children's teddy bears should be placed in a plastic bag in the freezer and then washed to kill the dust mites.