Volume 1, Number 50 • March 2012

Habit #50:
Remove Toxins in Your Home
Once upon a time, my wife went “berserk”.
One day, I found her on her knees, looking at the different stuff under our sink and storage cabinets—and
throwing plastic bottles and tin cans away. She had a huge trashcan beside her and it was slowly being filled.
The first thing she threw away was the pesticides. Next was the air freshener. Floor wax. Laundry soap.
Wood polisher. On and on, it went.
“What are you doing, sweetheart?” I asked, worried what in the world my wife was doing.
“I’m declaring war on toxic chemicals in our house!” she said. “Through my research, these things will
make us sick one day.”
I slowly walked out of the kitchen and steered away from my wife’s path. She’s just declared war and I
wanted to leave her in peace. I knew my wife: When she gets passionate about something, nothing can stop her.
This happened years ago.
And I’m so grateful to my wife. Today, our home is safer. Even now, she’s still doing it—trying hard to
make our home safe for humans.

Making Your Home Free from Toxic Chemicals

It’s true.
There are products you use every day for cleaning the house, washing clothes or gardening which contain
ingredients that are harmful to your health.
Your air freshener and your toilet bowl cleaner may contain dangerous chemicals that will harm you and
your kids over time.
Your sofa, your clothes cabinet, and your food storage containers (plastics) may contain toxins that could
be harmful to you.
Shelves made from particle boards that have been
treated with formaldehyde (the same chemical used in
funeral homes to preserve the dead!), are toxic. If your
kitchen cabinets are made from particle boards, you may
want to think about remodeling since formaldehyde is
classified as a carcinogen.
Exposure to this chemical (even for a short while)
may cause eye irritations, throat irritations (including
cough), skin rashes, nausea and vomiting, headaches and
nosebleeds.

Disclaimer:
Neither the author, the publisher nor any of their respective affiliates make any guarantee or other promise as to any results that may be obtained from using this Report.
No reader should make any health decision without first consulting his or her own personal physician and conducting his or her own research and due diligence. To the
maximum extent permitted by law, the author, the publisher and their respective affiliates disclaim any and all liability in the event that any information, commentary,
analysis, opinions, advice and/or recommendation in this book proves to be inaccurate, incomplete or unreliable or result in any detrimental health condition.

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 Volume 1, Number 50 • March 2012

Here’s what I’m saying: You may not have control over the toxins when you visit a mall, or when you stay
in a hotel, or when you drop by your neighbor’s house. But that’s okay, because you stay in those places only for
a few hours at most.
But toxins at home are dangerous because you stay there every day.

Most Common Toxins Found in Homes

It’s difficult for us to constantly monitor products and materials that we use in our homes. Most of us are
not equipped to check out items for hazardous material content. But having enough knowledge to identify what
these are will help us choose what products to buy.

1. Volatile Organic Compounds

Formaldehyde is an example of a “volatile organic compound” or VOC. These

are chemicals that vaporize easily, spreading gas pollutants in the home.
VOC can be found in many household products. Some examples of products
with VOCs are furniture, interior paints, shampoos, dry cleaned clothing, carpets and
new plastics.
Prolonged VOC exposure may cause eye and respiratory tract irritation,
headaches, dizziness and memory impairment. If exposed continually, there is liver and
kidney damage and an increased chance of cancer.

2. Pesticides

Most pesticides are known to be carcinogenic. Herbicides, fungicides and insecticides

are used on vegetables and fruits. Lawn chemicals – used to make beautifully manicured
lawns – can enter our homes through the air or with our shoes. Chemical-based pest
control products are used for controlling pests in the house.
Pesticides, aside from increasing our risk of cancer can cause eye, nose and
throat irritation. It can also cause damage to the central nervous system and kidneys,
cause miscarriage, nerve damage and block the absorption of food nutrients.

3. Phthalates and Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC)

Phthalates and PVCs are usually used to prolong the shelf life of fragrances and to soften plastics. Plastic
storage containers can leech phthalates in our food. Vinyl floorings, baby toys, air mattresses and wall coverings
are just some of the common household items that contain PVCs.
Researchers have associated phthalate exposure to endocrine system damage and negatively affecting
genital growth of children in the womb. These risks are high, even in cases of low-dose exposure.

3 Basic Things to Do to Reduce Your Exposure

I know. You can’t do everything, right now, right away.

Goodness, how will you know if our sofa is safe? And will you be able to replace your particle board
shelves right now? Or how about the plastic containers that you use for food—can you just dump them and use
high-grade plastics and glassware instead?

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 Volume 1, Number 50 • March 2012

My little word of advice: Don’t go overboard on this. Don’t try to do all things right away. Instead, I’ll ask
you to FOCUS on the most basic, most dangerous, most toxic stuff in our house that need to go away.
Hey, this is difficult. And this is hard work.
But try to do one thing a week, and you’ll be able to cleanse your home over a year.
Here they are:

1. Use Natural Cleaning Products

There are several cleaning products available now that use natural ingredients. There are laundry detergents,
shampoos, and cleansers available in most health stores that we can use for cleaning.
You could also make your own cleaning product. My wife uses a lot of these homemade substitutes,
because they’re economical but also effective. Examples are: baking soda (cleans and scours), lemon (kills
household bacteria), white vinegar (cuts grease and removes mildew), and, cornstarch (polishes furniture and
shampoos carpets). My wife also uses apple cider for a lot of other stuff.

2. Use Non-Toxic Pest Control Products

Don’t use chemical pest control products.

Use safer, non-toxic pest control products to control insect pests
(like ants and cockroaches) in the home.
Example? Scatter dry, crushed mint leaves or cloves near where the
insects seem to come from. You can also use cucumber peels or bay leaves in
place of the mint leaves.
There are certain plants that mosquitoes don’t like—like citronella.
And during the dengue epidemics, my wife used non-toxic insect repellants
she bought in health stores.

3. Maximize Houseplants

Finally, choose houseplants that can actively absorb potentially harmful gases and clean the air inside
homes.
Examples of house plants are the different palms that grow well indoors (Lady, Areca and Bamboo Palm),
Peace Lily, and the Boston Fern.
Start with these three basic things, and you would have done a lot in making your home toxic-free.
Declare war against toxins in your home.

May your dreams come true,

Bo Sanchez

P.S. Wow, I can’t believe how quickly we’ve gone through 50 Habits! Two more to go. And the Healing Habit
I’ll discuss next week is very important and no laughing matter. But in some way, it is! Intrigued? Watch for it.

Not yet joined 52HealingHabits Program? Join at www.52HealingHabits.com now!

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