Aside from giving them lots of love and care, one of the best things you can do for your babies is to provide them with a safe and healthy environment.
Luckily, you can make your home and baby's nursery healthier and safer in many ways. Most of these efforts are simple, from cleaning the air to choosing eco-friendly paint. Keep reading for our tips.
- Why Babies Are More Vulnerable To Airborne Pollutants
- A Healthier Environment for Baby–Step By Step
- Step 1 – Clean the Air
- Step 2 – Control the Temperature
- Step 3 – Maintain a Healthy Humidity Level
- Step 4 –Use Eco-Friendly Paint
- Step 5 – Clean Naturally
- Step 6 – Keep Pets Out
- Additional Resources
Why Babies Are More Vulnerable To Airborne Pollutants
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), babies and children may be more vulnerable to environmental exposures than adults for three reasons:
- Their body’s internal systems are still developing.
- They eat more, drink more, and breathe more in proportion to their body size.
- Their behavior can expose them to more chemicals and organisms.
Exposure to allergens, smoke, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), pesticides, chemical cleaners, radon, carbon monoxide, and lead at a young age can trigger dangerous health conditions like asthma, lead poisoning, radon poisoning, and even cancer.
A Healthier Environment for Baby–Step By Step
Indoor air can be two to five times more polluted than outside air. This can occur for several reasons. For instance, your home may lack adequate ventilation and fresh airflow, which means airborne allergens can be trapped and re-circulated throughout your home–including your baby's nursery.
Alternatively, your indoor air may contain higher traces of VOCs from those chemical spray cleaners or air fresheners you like to use. Whatever the cause, improving the air your baby breathes is vital to encourage their safe development.
Step 1 – Clean the Air
Airborne pollutants can enter your home through a multitude of sources:
- Off-gassed materials from new furniture and plastics like cribs, changing tables, and gliders
- New carpeting or flooring
- Mold
- Pollen from indoor and outdoor plants and trees
- Automobile exhaust from nearby traffic
- Dust mites and dust particles
To remove some of these pollutants from the air, run your air conditioning system or use the fan-only mode to filter particulates. Change your air conditioning filters regularly and keep air ducts clean. In addition, consider using a HEPA air purifier in your nursery to help remove tiny allergen particles and airborne chemicals from your baby's breathing space.
Consider using do-it-yourself allergen testing to help identify specific allergens in your environment and more effectively remove them.
Step 2 – Control the Temperature
When your baby's nursery is either too hot or too cold, it's much more difficult for him or her to fall and stay asleep. Typically, newborns have a more difficult time staying warm, so your baby’s environment must remain at a comfortable sleeping temperature. Consider using a dedicated air conditioner in your baby's nursery, such as a portable or window air conditioner, if you have trouble maintaining a cool temperature. Alternatively, use a portable heater with child safety features if your nursery tends to be too cold.
Step 3 – Maintain a Healthy Humidity Level
Many nurseries are too humid in the summertime, which can spawn musty odors and mold problems, encourage the spread of dust mites and other pests, and contribute to an overall clammy feeling. Conversely, winter air, often too dry, can lead to bloody noses, sore throats, dry skin, respiratory issues—and an overall uncomfortable feeling for your baby. Keep baby’s room comfortable year-round by maintaining the EPA's recommended indoor humidity level of 30 to 50 percent.
In the summertime, your central air conditioner automatically helps reduce moisture levels. However, you'll need to supplement your AC with a dehumidifier to reduce your indoor humidity adequately. In the wintertime, add a humidifier to boost your nursery's moisture level and keep your baby happy and restful.
Step 4 –Use Eco-Friendly Paint
Many parents-to-be wait until the last minute to paint the nursery, especially if they want to coordinate the nursery color with their baby’s gender. Before you do this, remember that fresh paints are a source of VOCs, which are toxic gas emissions linked to various health problems.
According to the EPA, short-term exposure to VOCs can cause eye, nose, and throat irritation as well as headaches, loss of coordination, and nausea. Long-term exposure to VOCs has been known to cause damage to the liver, kidney, and central nervous system and even lead to cancer. Be sure to paint your nursery well before your baby's arrival to provide ample time for ventilating the room to remove toxic fumes and gases and prevent adverse health effects.
If you are pregnant and plan to paint your nursery yourself, use extreme caution when using conventional paints. It's best to cover your face and body, paint in a well-ventilated area, and take frequent breaks to reduce exposure to airborne toxins.
To relieve some of the stress surrounding painting the nursery and protect yourself and your baby from toxic fumes, consider using one of the many low-VOC and no-VOC paints that have entered the market in recent years. Almost every popular paint supplier now produces lines of low-VOC /low-odor paint. Additionally, some paint suppliers make non-VOC paint that is 100 percent non-toxic. Eco-friendly paints are available in hundreds of colors, so you won't have to sacrifice choice or style when planning your nursery décor.
Step 5 – Clean Naturally
Keeping your floors clean and germ-free is critical when you have a fast-moving toddler. Carpeted floors add another concern because they are often notorious traps for dirt and allergens. To clean carpets, be sure to use a HEPA vacuum. Along with removing dirt, dust, and particles, HEPA vacuums contain High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) exhaust filters that prevent airborne allergens from being released into your environment. For the cleanest carpets and air, consider a Miele vacuum. They feature closed systems in addition to HEPA filtration, making them some of the most effective vacuums on the market.
When cleaning hard flooring and other hard surfaces, resist the urge to reach for chemical disinfectants. Chemical cleaning solutions often do more harm than good because they leave behind toxic residues in the air and on your surfaces. Moreover, if not used according to exact manufacturer directions–which often explain that you must leave the chemical on the surface untouched for 10 minutes or longer to adequately disinfect–the chemical agents may not do the job you expect. Most vacuums work on hard floors as well as low-pile carpeting.
Consider using a steam cleaner as a more effective and green alternative to chemical disinfectants. Steam cleaners like the Vapamore MR-100 use only water and heat to create a dry disinfecting steam that kills germs in seconds and won't leave behind toxic residues. In addition, vapor steam cleaners come with many attachments designed to help you easily clean all the nooks and crannies in your baby's nursery.
Step 6 – Keep Pets Out
It can be a heartwarming and interactive learning experience to introduce your baby to the family pet under supervision. However, pets should be kept out of your baby's nursery and crib for health reasons. Pets are known carriers of many allergens, including their dander and the allergens they pick up around the house. Pets that play outside also come into contact with pests, such as ticks and fleas. It's best to keep Fido or Fluffy out of the nursery so your baby can enjoy an allergy-free, restful sleep.
Additional Resources
Visit these sites for additional information about creating a healthy environment for your baby:
- Environmental Protection Agency Children's Health Protection Website
- Healthy Child Healthy World
- Safe Kids USA
In Summary
Babies are more vulnerable to indoor air pollutants than adults, so maintaining clean air through an air purifier, humidifier, and precise temperature control is crucial. Careful selection of paints and green cleaning products are also important factors for ensuring a healthier environment.
Still Have Questions?
For more information on specific products that can help improve indoor air in your baby's nursery and the entire home, please review our extensive product listings and visit our Learning Center. Not sure what’s best for you? We can take the guesswork out of decision-making. Contact our product experts toll-free at 1-800-934-9194. We want to help make your indoor environment a healthy one.
