Saturday, April 3, 2010

Dirt - can be a dirty little word...





Dirt: we use to play in it, its natural, it is everywhere, we plant in it. Dirt is as natural as apple pie... right? What if your apple pie is a highly processed imitation?

I just got in from planting beets and carrots in my "dirt". In our master home environmentalist program, one of this week's topics is on dust. A lot of our "dirt" becomes our dust.

Volcanic ash, quartz, sand... this is in your dirt. It is the number one thing that damages your floors. Getting tracked in from outside, dirt acts like sandpaper on the bottom of your shoes scraping and wearing out your floors.

This is what we often think of when we think of our dust, we think of our dirt. But maybe what is in our dirt is not just "dirt". The indoor air quality of most homes is pretty poor. A big factor in the health of our homes is in the dirt we track in - or don't track in.

So just what is in our dirt anyway? Besides the stuff that damages your floors, there is a ton of other possibilities including: lead, pesticides, bacteria, pollen, road/street dust, and other toxic substances from air pollution. All this and more can end up in our "dirt".

So what is a family to do? Not to panic, there are 3 simple prevention steps you can take.

1. Install great entrance rugs at every entrance to your home. Think of these rugs as filters to your home. Get good quality commercial rugs, keep them clean, and get them as big as you can. In our home, we usually come through the garage. This is a perfect place for a long commercial grade runner.

2. Take off your shoes. This is huge in keeping contaminates out.

3. Minimize pesticide use. Many weed and feed type products for our lawns also contain pesticides. It's often the stuff you spray to remove ants, wasps, dandelions and other little annoying plants and critters. Outside, these pesticides may get broken down a little, - although many end up in our water. But inside, we don't have rain, sunshine or wind and those pesticides and herbicides come into our homes...to stay.

There are lots of other tips for dirt control but this is a great place to start. Not only will your homes and families be healthier, you won't have as much to clean and remove and your floors will last longer. Not a bad days work! I'll be giving you some dust prevention and containment tips later this month, but dirt prevention is a good place to start.

Wishing you and your family a healthy and happy home,
Denise Frakes
Blue Sky Services
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