You probably already know your environment plays a vital role in determining how you feel mentally and physically. With your home contributing to your overall health, it’s no wonder you’re looking for ways to keep your home — and yourself — in top shape.
In particular, hidden health-wreckers like bacteria, dust mites, and mould, might be lurking in your house. When left unchecked, these can wreak havoc on your health and damage your immune system. So, it’s critical to pay attention to what’s around you and deal with any unhealthy elements quickly.
A well-ventilated home is key. Opening windows or doors from time to time (weather permitting) is the easiest way to remove stale air from the home. Doing so keeps the air fresh and healthy indoors and helps your home “breathe”. Like our lungs, a “breathing home” ensures fresh air comes in and dirty air goes out. When trapped indoors, air pollutants and moisture builds up, leading to odours, mould, gases, and dust.
In winter, you might like to swap out your window and door routine for an air filter; ideally a HEPA-style air purifier. Placing a few indoor plants around the home will also help naturally reduce carbon dioxide and release oxygen. If you don’t know where to start, check out our easy-care indoor plants guide.
When maintenance tasks around the home aren’t managed quickly and appropriately, problems will grow. Inspect your dwelling regularly so you can quickly handle any issues. This might mean changing the filter on your air conditioning unit, cleaning exhaust fans, patching wall cracks, or checking for asbestos if you have an older property.
A tidy home and a clean home are two different things. Even if your home is clutter-free, it might still be harbouring germs. Thankfully, the idea of cleaning the home is often the only hurdle — once you get started, it’s way easier than you think.
Specifically, you need to pay attention to areas that might be holding onto bacteria. Trapped moisture, dirt, dust, sloughed-off skin cells, dust mites (and more) make themselves at home in bed sheets, grout, sinks and drains, and kitchen appliances like ovens or even toasters.
We suggest you vacuum, dust, wipe down and mop at least weekly. For an average-sized home, doing one job a day should take you no more than 30 minutes. Empty bins as soon as they’re full or start to smell, change sheets fortnightly, and give your wet areas a deep clean once a month. If investing time in a good clean isn’t viable for you (e.g. you work fulltime), enlisting a professional cleaner each fortnight, or even once a month, will make a huge difference.
Speaking of cleaning, another key step to a healthy home is using organic cleaning products where possible. Of course, sometimes using strong chemicals (such as mould-killer or bleach) is necessary, but most harsh cleaning products can be swapped for environmentally-friendly alternatives.
You’ll easily be able to find natural and biodegradable products in your local supermarket. For example, both Coles and Woolworths stock the brand Organic Choice — a leading chemical-free house cleaner. The range includes multi-purpose sprays, floor cleaners, air sprays, laundry liquid, and more. Look out for it in the cleaning aisles.
We’ve talked about mould, a lot — that’s because it can be extremely dangerous if it’s left to spread. Many people have recurring chest infections or a persistent cough due to hidden mould, or mould that’s not dealt with correctly. Mould can grow anywhere, but is particularly fond of wet and damp areas. It grows very quickly, so what looks like a small pocket of mould in the corner of your bathroom can quickly spread and take over the shower.
Our first point about ventilation will go a long way to keeping mould at bay, as well as regular cleaning. Ensuring areas like tiles, sinks, drains, and benchtops are wiped over and sanitised is key. If this is preventive (e.g. no mould is present), an all-purpose spray will do the job. If you can see mould, you’ll need to go in with gloves, a mask, and a mould killer.
If your curtains press up against a damp window in winter, taking these down once or twice a year to wash or steam clean them is a good idea as mould can become embedded in the fabric. If you have a severe mould problem, you’ll need to wipe down basically every surface in your home — including walls and ceilings.
If you suspect lingering damp isn’t contributing to mould, check for roof leaks and ensure that drainage and plumbing are working efficiently. You should also always use a fan when in the shower or using the stove top, and leave it on for 10 minutes after the fact, to ensure excess damp doesn’t linger in the air.
Some older houses are simply more prone to damp and mould due to age and old construction methods. Aside from a full renovation, investing in a dehumidifier will help reduce unwanted damp.
We love nature, just not when it makes its way inside without an invite… Bugs can spread disease and illness, and although it’s can be challenging to get rid of them entirely, it’s important to combat them as needed.
This is where maintenance comes back into the picture — wall, floor and ceiling cracks and fissures should be sealed to prevent pests from making their way inside. Any holes in the roof also need to be patched (it’s amazing how quickly rats and mice will find a loose roof tile). Now moving over to cleaning, keep food sealed and stored correctly in the fridge, freezer, and pantry. Throw out expired foods quickly, and empty bins regularly.
If you need to, invest in pest control methods like cockroach bombs, barrier sprays, and vermin traps (you can buy catch-and-release varieties if you prefer). If pests persist, call in the professionals.
As realtors, we’ve been into hundreds of homes across Perth, and we’ve seen it all. We can tell you first-hand that a healthy home is significantly easier to sell than an unhealthy one — and it’s not hard to tell which is which. If you’re hoping to sell your home, dealing with mould and handling any maintenance tasks beforehand is strongly recommended. Our free appraisal can also tell you what areas to focus on in preparing your home for sale.
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