Creating a Less Toxic Home

In this episode, I lean into my background in Environmental Science and Health Coaching, bridging the two realms with tips for a living in a less toxic home.  Listen in to this a room by room approach with practical suggestions and areas to be aware of.  

For inspo to what is possible, take a look at this tour of my green-built home:

Link to my green-built home

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:02

Hey everybody, welcome to Centered the Podcast. I'm your host, Leslie Braverman, and I'm sharing holistic health content that reconnects you to your most centered self, that place within you that is energized, knowing, and uplifted despite the chaos and demands of life. It's that place within you where you can become a portal of possibility. Today I'm leaning into my background as having a bachelor and master of science and being an environmental scientist for over 10 years and just kind of merging the holistic health with that, also a health coach and an Ayurvedic herbalist. So there's a lot of overlap in what I'm going to share today. I was inspired by my last podcast guest, Dr. Erica Elliott, who is a doctor of environmental medicine. But I wanted to create a podcast today that brought some really practical tips on keeping the home non-toxic or as low toxic as possible. And one of the things that I've noticed is in friends who have been doing build like remodels or new builds, they'll often not consider the environmental aspect until late in the game. And I just want to say ahead of time, like it is a separate area of knowledge. So hiring people with leads certification is really critical. And finding people who know building products and materials, and I'll name some of them today to get you going. But it's kind of a separate realm. So, you know, you can't expect your contractor or builder just to know green solutions. And maybe one day the fields will merge, there'll be more knowledge about it, but they tend to be pretty separate. So let's just take a look room by room on some simple things you can do. Maybe you already know about these and they'll be affirmational. Maybe there'll be some new content for you. Either way, this is a nice way of sharing it. So if we look at the kitchen, one of the easiest things to do is just get rid of all your plastic. Most people know, at least in their water bottles. So, you know, switching to stainless steel is key. There's a kind of a surge, a resurgence right now in getting into other metals for water bottles, such as copper. It's incredible to put your water in copper. It's so many anti-inflammatory inflammatory healing opportunities in that. But there's a lot of crap on the market where if you actually cut open and take a cross-section of that copper water bottle, it's stainless steel inside, which or aluminum, which is worse. So we want to just be really clear on where you're getting your products. So a verified source, if you're looking into different metals like copper, copper pots, copper water bottles, a really good source is India because they've been using them for so long. So, or Ayurveda. You can look at Ayurvedic sites for that. Besides getting rid of all your plastic, what do you switch it to? Well, wood is fantastic, and there's so many ways to get wood into your kitchen, whether it's in cutting boards or kind of the new hybrid versions of pressed wood. It's a great way to get that into your life. And then also switching over to silicone. I'm a huge fan of silicone spatulas and spoons and different ways, like you can even get like the what am I trying to say? I don't, I'm not like a culinary expert, you guys. So it's what do you use to put like oil on your chicken? You know what I'm trying to say? The brushes. So you get silicone brushes, and they're so easy to clean, just throw them in the dishwasher. So that's huge. And then your pots. So whether it's copper or stainless steel, like tried and true companies, like all clad, and there's new ones where they're doing ceramic bases, which is fantastic. Ceramics are great too. And you can find cast iron, of course, is also a tried and true. So really just staying away from like the modern technology of like Teflon and that sort of thing is gonna really up-level your game. Another place you can kind of take a look at things is in your blender. Often blender pitchers are plastic. And there's a couple ways to go about this. So if you're a big fan of juicing and you love your blender, you love your Vitamix. I one day I feel like Vitamix will make a glass blender pitcher, but until they do, one of the ways you can use the benefits of your processor is to throw some ice in to what you're blending, because then it doesn't overheat and cause the toxicity that can happen with your plastic pitcher. So just let me know if that is something new that you haven't heard or if that doesn't make sense. But the idea is to keep the temperature lower when it's spinning, that centrifugal action, so that you're not also harming yourself through the leaching of the plastic. If you do still have plastic in your house or in your kitchen, make sure you're not dishwashing it. Speaking of ways to impact yourself negatively, use your soap at the sink and just wash it by hand because it's so important to keep the temperature low with plastic so you're not leaching. And then, as far as other stuff in the kitchen, seed oils are having a moment. If you haven't heard about this, you just you they create a lot of inflammation in the body. And the idea is to really have a low inflammatory marker as much as possible. And so switching over to some really basic oils for very specific things: extra virgin, organic, cold pressed, and if you can get the first press of the olive oil is amazing. And this is best for making dressings and marinades, that sort of thing. I'm a huge fan of coconut oil. I cook all my food in coconut oil, it has a high smoke point. You want to avoid getting to smoke point when you cook because that's when you're creating carcinogenic action. So there's a lot of ways to use coconut oil. You can use it on your skin, of course, which I love. Same with olive oil. But cooking in coconut oil is a great thing to do. Also, cooking in avocado oil is great because it also has a high smoke point. So those are just some basics. And then, of course, as my Ayurvedic background, Hyurveda loves ghee medicinally. You can also cook in it. But when I was recovering from concussion, I was eating like a teaspoon of ghee in the morning and at night. And that's also just like a nice little tip, which we'll we'll do this on another podcast. But this is a nice little tip to create low inflammation in the body if you can stomach the ghee a lot of people can, some people can't. I love it. And usually when your body loves something like that that's really healthy, it's because it needs it. And most of us in our culture need more good oils, not the ones that create problems. So check your pantry, check your salad dressing. Salad dressings are notorious for using seed oils. And there's a company called Primal Kitchen, which I love. You can pretty much buy anything they make, and you're gonna find really healthy oils in their products. Otherwise, make your own. It's usually less is more when it comes to marinades and dressings. Get really good, healthy, fresh spices and good quality Himalayan sea salt, and you're good to go. There's not that much more you need in dressing sauces and marinades. So that's a little bit about the kitchen. Let's take a look at the countertops, too. So, countertops have a really high environmental impact. Most countertops today are stone, and that's great. They're really good in the kitchen. There was a phase when people were using granite and were really worried about the high uranium content that some people are finding in their kitchen. Well, uranium is just part of granite. It is part of the chemical formula of creating granite. And so you're gonna have more. So when we kind of switched over to products like silestone and soapstones, and what else do we have? Marbles, of course, and variants of marbles. These are really healthy options for your countertop. For those people who are in spaces where they have laminate countertops because it's just either what they inherited or they don't want to invest the cost for the rock. What I would say is, and I looked into this for my house, one of the most like biggest things for your buck is using tile on your countertop. So tile is a totally green product. It's really small grout lines. If you haven't tiled in a while or see how had new tile, the grout lines are incredibly small right now. And it can make a really nice kitchen countertop that's functional, non-expensive, non-toxic, and is a nice second to using one of the rock countertops. And then there's a third, you can use there is a green laminate that's that's available now. You can find it, and it's like a sheet good, and it can be placed on your countertop. Usually you get a wood trim around the edges to make it a little bit nicer. And I have used that before. There's so many beautiful types of it. You can they have lines that look like concrete, it's really lovely. So you could do that as well. And it's it's probably just doesn't have as much room for wear and tear and long length of life, but it's better than the old countertops that were used before. Now, one of the things Dr. Erica talked about in the last podcast is how there's often particle board or plywood under that. And that's true. To have laminate, you have to have a basically it's like putting in a subfloor, but on your countertop. There has to be something that it's glued onto. And what's toxic about this kind of setup is that the glues that are used are typically outgassed for a long time. And the particle board or plywood itself also outgas. Now, what I've found, I've really looked into this. Most of most cabinets that exist, even the ones that are 100% wood with wood doors, wood drawers, beautiful dovetailing, the boxes, you guys, the boxes, the base foundation that these go into are going to be plywood no matter what. I've never met a cabinet maker that uses real wood boxes. So you will always have a little bit of plywood in your house. And one of the best things you could ask for if you're doing a new build or getting new cabinets is to say, I want marine grade plywood when they build those boxes. It's just a little higher quality, a little higher duration of its lifespan, and it outgasses less, according to some reports. And I don't have those on the top of my head here, but that's what I found when I was doing research from my house. And then everything else you can choose will be wood if you want it to be. And particle board off-gasses way more, it has a shorter lifespan, it can't handle water. So if there's any like, you know, seeping or issues with how the joints are put together, it's just a mess. So I don't recommend it at all for those multiple reasons. And then flooring. So flooring, wood is always wood, tile, concrete, which I don't actually recommend concrete for any homes because of the impact on the joints. You know, I'm also a movement specialist, and flooring matters. So the my favorite flooring is always going to be wood. And then the other flooring that I'm super into is called marmoleum, and it's the modern version and green version of linoleum. It's really beautiful. It patinas, it has a matte finish, not a gloss finish like the old vinyl or linoleum. And it comes in the most beautiful options. So you could get really vibrant with it, or you can, you know, get really like more like a concrete coloration of it. And I had it all over my greenhouse. So I'm gonna link my greenhouse so you can take a look at all these things from kitchen to you know flooring and then all the other rooms we're gonna talk about. So those are some great options. And again, marmolium is a brand name. And as far as I know, they're the only ones in the game who are really making a green product. And for that, you do need to have a specialist install it. That said, it can be used even on stairwells. I had it on a stairwell, in a mud room, I had it in the kitchen, in the bathrooms. And what I love about marmolium, also known as marmo in the business, if you want to do heated floors or something like that, it'll go over heated floors and it feels so nice. So that's the kitchen. And let me know if I missed anything, guys. So we're talking about the mud room for a second. Let's hop into the mud room. If you have a mud room, you are psyched because especially if you have, you know, animals, multiple people in the family, that kind of thing, mud rooms are key drop zones in the house. So I like I said, I did have a heated floor in my mud room with marmo on top. I found it a little soft for the space, for how hard we use the space. And so, tile, I think, is a fantastic idea in there. Of course, some people love concrete. Again, that could be a space to use concrete well because you're not going to be in there that much. And then again, if you set up cabinetry and stuff, just being aware of using wood cabinetry and and then, of course, across the whole house, you can use low VOC paint or no VOC paint. That's really easy to get to. Another thing people have a lot in their mud rooms is a washer and dryer. So regarding laundry soap, most people don't know this, but there's a lot of contaminants in laundry soap. So if you are using, you know, a green product, there's a lot of them out there from E cover to seventh generation. But there's also a product that's been around for a really long time. Well, two of them actually. One of them is Arm and Hammer. And Arm and Hammer makes both liquid and powder. Um, the natural laundry way of creating the actual product. There's less refining in a powder than there is in the liquid. So with Arm and Hammer, they make both. You can go either way. And buying Arm and Hammer is kind of heavier duty, like working. Like I wash all my kids' clothes in it, and I get this sensitive formula because it has no fragrances, nothing extra, and it's a really pure and clean formula. And that's what I use when I need a little extra. That said, there is another product that's been around forever. It's called Borax. Most people don't know about it, and it is in powder form. And you can add that to any of your loads if you're using a more green product with less power that you want to amplify that power a little bit. So, like if I if I'm washing like really smelly socks or something in just like a seventh generation or Ecover or something like that, I'll add some borax and it'll take care of the load better. So there's that. And then not using laundry sheets, dryer sheets in your dryer is really important. Dryer sheets are 100% chemical. That's all they are. They're just synthetic fragrance. And yeah, maybe they do help with static a little, but you don't need them. You can get some wool dryer balls. I mean, even Trader Joe's sells wool dryer balls. So grab those. Before dryer balls were really available. I used to use tennis balls, but they do give a little scent to the clothes. They're not clean. So don't do that. I've done it before. It doesn't work. I mean, it works, but it it has side effects. So don't do that. Look for some wool dryer ball balls. You can use them on, get them online. And then also there are some now alternatives, like by seventh generation. But overall, I don't think you need that. There's a more there's a more sustainable source. Okay, so let's hit another room. We'll go into bathrooms. So bathroom, same thing. It's just like heavy chemical scene. If you have your house cleaned by other people or you know have been using like comet and bleach and stuff like that, just stop. There's no reason to use it. In fact, the studies have been shown that using bleach on mold makes the mold worse over time. It requires it basically creates a non-ending cycle of needing to have the bleach. So bleach hides in a lot of products. So just you can get rid of that and simplify. There's a lot of companies that are making full sets of everything, but the simplest thing to do is to swap out your bleach for vinegar. And I mean just white vinegar. And that does the job every time. I have I have scrubbed boats with vinegar, I have cleaned out entire water tanks that were full of mold with vinegar. I mean, you can do a lot. You can put vinegar on your washing machine for your clothes to smell or to remove smell from your clothes. It's super powerful. And what I found with talking to cleaning professionals over time is they typically like to use vinegar on windows. It is a non-streak, solid win every time. So, some if you have cleaning professionals who work for you, sometimes they won't use it anywhere but the windows, but that's an easy, easy win. And then as far as other stuff like scrubbing, like if you're replacing a product like Comet that has bleach or something like that, you can use a product called Bone A Me, and that's all B-O-N-A-M-I, and it's all natural polishing and a little bit of coarseness to scrape and clean stuff off. So there's a lot of easy ways to change things now, and a lot of great companies out there. All right, let's talk about a couple other spaces. The rest of the house, let's take just the living room, for example. Most people have a couch, chairs, curtains, some upholstery, right? So upholstery typically is pretty heavy off-gasting when you buy something new. And if you've had your couch for a really long time, then it's probably not necessary to worry about this. But the thing most people don't do is have their upholstery cleaned. And same with their rugs. So rugs you can typically send out and get a green clean, a non-toxic clean. And often they can come into your house and also do like a deep clean, or you can buy like a steam cleaner for your furniture and stuff. And what I'd say is most people are really surprised at how dirty their furniture is. So something to consider for spring cleaning. And then it's kind of the same thing with curtains. If you're using fabric curtains, they do off-gas a fair bit. So looking at natural fabrics like linen and cotton and linen and cotton blends are really great. Same with carpeting or excuse me, let's start with rugs. Same thing. Linen or sorry, cotton and wool blends are really great. Full wool is great. And these are just really clean products. Now the rug pads that go underneath of them are typically all synthetic. So you can find green rug pads, non-toxic rug pads, and that's another area people often miss. You can look for that. And then as far as carpeting, there are plenty, maybe not plenty, but at least two that I've added when I was building my house because I did end up putting carpeting in the kids' playroom and on the stairs. And I did find 100% wool carpeting. And I found the you know the carpeting pad underneath it as well. So this exists, and you know, just I've also seen old Persian carpets used as runners on stairwells. There's a lot of a lot you can do right now with refurbishing old or really just being aware of the alternatives of what's really clean. All right, so we hit the stairwells for bedrooms. I would just say there's a lot of particle board and plywood used in bedside tables. Pretty much similar thing with the boxes we were talking about in the Kitchen. The bases are typically plywood, and that's okay if you can't find an all-wood dresser. It's very hard to find them. Very few new companies are making all wood dressers, but you can do well by not buying particle board as that base and looking into like what the top is. If there's a laminate top, you can say, all right, I know that's gonna have chemicals and off-gassing that I don't need. So finding, you know, tops that are wood, 100% wood, is gonna be a better choice than something that's, you know, from a store that's gonna have particle board and laminate, for example. Okay, the other thing to think about when you're taking a look at your house, and I talked about this a little bit with Leah Vong, who was on. We were talking about turning the air over in your house really frequently, opening the windows. If you are getting a new HVAC system because you're building new, it's fantastic. I had a whole house turnover circulation system put in in my greenhouse. So the air, anytime I poke the button, the whole house would turn over, or I could leave it on like that and it would turn over all the time, which was amazing and really fresh. I had so much confidence, especially where my house was in the Pacific Northwest, we would get in the summers smoke from the fires, either in Canada or in the US, and we were able to really turn the house over and have great air quality. There's other air quality devices you can bring in. I think air doctor is probably the most popular one, the big units that can be used in each room. Otherwise, just get it making sure that air is being turned over regularly. And a lot of things people will miss is for if you have a whole house heating system, their filters that are put in usually need to be changed every six months. Most people don't do it and they forget. So putting that calendar reminder and really having that filter clean, these are all such simple things, but they just require some organization and diligence. And then looking at, I think the last thing to look at would be stuff like garages. So garages usually have most, like if the most amount of like stuff and totes and dirt and stuff like that. So just making your space organized so that you have stuff collected. And maybe you're gonna use giant rubber-made totes so that you can store stuff using plastic there. It's like the right place to use it. So I'm not saying that you know a house needs to be plastic-free, but there are certain spaces that are good for plastic and certain spaces that don't need plastic. So finding your way as you navigate all this new information and or maybe old information and just confirmation, you decide how you want to be, how you want to live. It's really up to you because you're the portal of possibilities. You just decide at what level you want to take this on. And one thing I can say about switching cleaning products, the difference for me is really night and day. When I moved to Santa Fe, I had a cleaning company come in and I just noticed how crappy I felt for like maybe even four hours after they came. And that's the last thing I want to experience. When I have cleaners take care of everything for me, I want to feel fantastic. And for me, it was a combination of the synthetic sense and the like the overwhelming amount of like actual product use they used. And so when I had them back again another time, I gave them all of my green products to use instead. And the difference was just night and day. And that's my experience. So see what you think. Maybe it's been a while since you've vetted everything in your house. It's a really good time of year to do a big clean out and just do your best and see what comes up for you. You're gonna notice stuff. Your eyes gonna, oh, how long have I had that product? Oh, it's expired. How long have I been using this when I thought it was good for me and necessary, you know, or a necessary evil, but now I know there's an alternative. So let me know if you have any aha moments and keep being that amazing portal of possibility.