10 simple tips for a healthier home

1. Dust your house regularly: Dust in the house is one of the primary reasons for many respiratory diseases and allergies. Keep your home dust-free by dusting regularly (a damp cloth picks up dust far better than a feather duster), changing your bed sheets once a week and minimising clutter than can accumulate unwanted dust.
2. Clean your shower curtain from time to time: If you use shower curtains in your bathroom, remember that they can be a hot bed for all kinds of bacteria and mould thanks to the mix of moisture and soap in the bathroom. Wash your shower curtains regularly to keep them clean. Most of them can be thrown into the washing machine, along with your towels, so much effort needn’t be put in. (Test your shower curtain first to make sure it doesn’t bleed
3. Always flush after putting the lid down: This is really important. Make it a habit to always put the lid down on your toilet seat before flushing. Tiny particles and water splash out of the toilet seat every time you flush and you don’t want all those particles on the other stuff in your bathroom – especially your toothbrush!
4. Avoid wearing shoes around the house: Removing your shoes and wearing only your home slippers when you’re indoors is a common practice in many states of India – and a very good one at that! Why bring all that dirt and filth from outside into your clean home? Just leave it at the doorstep.
5. Avoid wearing shoes around the house: Removing your shoes and wearing only your home slippers when you’re indoors is a common practice in many states of India – and a very good one at that! Why bring all that dirt and filth from outside into your clean home? Just leave it at the doorstep.
6. Change your kitchen sponge often: The kitchen sponge has been rated the number one source of germs in the house. Ironic, considering it’s used to clean your dishes! Never keep your sponge on the dishwashing soap, always squeeze it and keep it dry and discard it when it starts to fall apart.
7. Clean your remote controls: The remote control is another popular destination for germs. Because it’s constantly touched and handled, often by grubby hands, germs really have a field day multiplying on the remote controls. Use alcohol soaked cloth to wipe them clean from time to time.
8. Wipe your refrigerator handles once a week: Think about it – all day the refrigerator is opened and closed by hands that have usually been near food. All that touching makes the refrigerator handle ripe for germs and bacteria. Most of us keep the inside of our refrigerators clean anyway – remember to wipe them clean on the outside as well and you’re improving overall hygiene.
9. Don’t smoke: You may be familiar with the concept of ‘third-hand smoke’. This refers to the toxic particles that are left behind even after the cigarette has been smoked and extinguished. Smoking inside the house means you’re leaving extremely harmful carcinogens on the carpet, curtains and other surfaces of the house. These are especially harmful to infants who crawl and touch all sorts of surfaces. These injurious particles also cling to your
10. Watch your plastics
    
    Plastics bottles and containers are a staple in most kitchens. However, it’s important to remember that all plastics are not the same on the health scale. Certain grades of plastics are known to leach dangerous chemicals into the foods that are stored in them, so choose your plastic containers wisely by checking out the number at the bottom of the container.