A Green Home is a Happy Home

I was walking through a store over the weekend and I saw a small child in the basket of a shopping cart. He was trying to pull himself up and in the meantime was sucking on the side of the shopping cart. Aside from the abundance of germs on that thing, what about all those chemicals?

It got me thinking about what's really in things around our homes and then I saw this in my in-box this morning from Rodale.com:

Caution: Floor May Be Toxic: The largest report of its kind finds that more than half of the flooring samples tested contained one or more hazardous chemical additives.

The largest-ever study on toxic chemicals on the home improvement products was released by Healthy Stuff on Oct. 19. The group tested for lead, bromine (brominated flame retardants), chlorine (PVC), cadmium, arsenic, tin (organotins), pththalates and mercury in commonly-used flooring and wallpaper.

PVC building materials, namely, vinyl flooring and coated wallpaper, were seven times more likely to contain hazardous additives when compared to nonplastic flooring options. Wallpaper was particularly toxic because 96 percent of samples tested contained a PVC coating.


"Children and pets are particularly vulnerable to these chemicals, since they are frequently close to the floor and therefore have high levels of exposure. In fact, many of these substances have already been restricted or banned in children's products.," the report noted.

Researchers have found heavy metals like cadmium and lead in vinyl flooring and wallpaper, along with flame retardants. These substances are linked to asthma, fertility problems, learning disability, hormone-related diseases, and cancer. Non-vinyl flooring products are half as likely to contain hazardous chemical additives. Linoleum, cork, bamboo and hardwood all tested free of lead, cadmium, mercury, and other hazardous metals.

Just something to think about when you are walking around barefoot in your home or are thinking of remodeling.

It is more than just what we are eating that is impacting our lives today. We need to think about all environmental factors - at the very least, the ones we can change in our homes.

Be Happy & Green!
xoxo