Is your house making you sick?

If you’re anything like me, the last year has made me take a long, hard look at your personal health. I’ve been making changes to take better care of my personal health and it got me thinking.

We know that our homes play a big role in the way we feel day to day. A healthy home helps promote good personal health, while a home full of mould and other toxins can exacerbate existing health issues — or cause issues all on their own.

So if this past year has got you rethinking your health, take a good, long look at your home, too.

Here are the major things to think about.

IMPROVE YOUR INDOOR AIR QUALITY

When the air quality in your home is poor, it can have a direct impact on your health. Harmful volatile organic compounds, mould and mildew, or especially radon can have lasting effects on your health.

Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) is when you feel coldor flu-like symptoms like a sore throat, headache, dizziness, runny nose and other effects due to the quality of the air in your dwelling. You can tell it’s a case of SBS if your symptoms disappear when you’ve left the building.

If this sounds familiar in your home, an indoor airquality test can help figure out where the problem is. It could be a source of hidden mould or other toxins. Don’t forget to do a separate test for radon gas. You won’t feel symptoms of SBS with radon — long-term exposure leads to increased rates of lung cancer. In Canada, it’s the leading cause of lung cancer, behind only smoking. Every home should be tested for radon.

To improve your air quality, one simple thing you should do is open your windows for a few minutes a day to bring in some fresh air. Increasing the fresh air supply in your home can do wonders for your respiratory health — and it’s something we can all do.

To go one step further, adding a standalone air cleaner with a HEPA can help filter out contaminants like dust and dander without requiring big changes to your HVAC system.

IMPROVE YOUR WATER QUALITY

Think of all the things we use water for: cooking, cleaning and drinking. You might not give the quality of your water that much thought, but considering how much of it we use every day, you probably should be. The water that flows into your home has been treated but usually just to minimum standards. And you know me, I like to go above minimum when I can to make sure our systems are as safe and healthy as possible.

Think about this: your municipal water is treated for consumption at the plant, but that doesn’t account for the distribution system. Your water delivery system could be creating problems on its way from the plant.

While you can sometimes taste or see issues with your water, a lot of contaminants aren’t detectable without proper testing. It’s why I recommend having your water quality tested whether you rely on well water or your municipality. The test can determine whether you need to take further action on your water supply.

That could be a new filtration system, or perhaps a water softener to help prevent scale buildup on your appliances. Scale is no joke — my water heater failed after just a few years because the well water on my property was really hard and the excessive scale caused the unit to break down quite quickly.

Remember, if your home’s water comes from a well, it’s also a potential source for radon entry. That means every time you turn on a tap, you’re releasing radon into your home. Have your well water tested separately for radon. Should the results come back high, you can install a device in your well which will aerate the water, stripping that harmful gas out before it gets into your home.