I was so pleased the Blissfully Domestic editors asked me to contribute this post. Although most of you might know me from my modeling days, I’ve been passionate about the environment my entire life, probably because I was born and raised on a farm in Minnesota. I think that gave me a great respect for the land and the environment that never went away even though I moved to big cities. I have a great love for Mother Nature and try to help her out whenever I can!

Right now I’m working as a sustainability spokesperson for Cambria, and I’m so grateful they’ve provided me with a platform to talk about indoor air quality. The focus has been on radon gas lately, but I think a broader concern for families should be to keep the air inside their homes as pure as possible. Indoor air pollution can cause serious health problems like asthma, allergies, and even cancer. I thought it would be a good idea to give all of you some easy and inexpensive ways to keep the indoor air in your home cleaner. It’s really not that hard to do. Here are a few tips that work for me, and might work for you as well!

1. NASA actually discovered that certain houseplants clean indoor air much better than others. They recommend using 15-18 good sized houseplants throughout your home. Their top two picks are philodendrons and spider plants. Boston Ivy’s, which I find particularly beautiful, are wonderful. Dracaena work really well, too.
2. If you’re like me, you love candle light. Be sure to burn soy candles. Paraffin candles give off soot and some by-products that might pollute your indoor air. There are lots of gorgeous options now in soy candles but make sure you look at the label and see they contain mostly soy.
3. I like this tip – if you use a traditional dry cleaner take the plastic off and air it outside the main parts of your home. Growing up in Minnesota folks often had a “mud room” – that’s a perfect place to hang the clothes for a day or so to get rid of those chemicals, but your garage will work too.
4. Try to stay away from some of those oil-based air fresheners. Not all of them contain chemicals, but some do and it can irritate people with allergies or asthma. You can use soy candles to keep the air fresh.
5. Finally, OF COURSE, have your home inspected for radon. There are radon inspectors throughout the U.S. that will come to your home; you can find them on the EPA website. Remember to check multiple rooms in your home, including the kitchen. Many of the granite companies are offering to do inspections free of charge now so check with your builder.

I hope these tips are helpful for you. There’s so much for all of us to learn as we try to protect this beautiful planet, which includes our homes. If you would like more information, Cambria has provided additional indoor air tips on their website; click here.

In the meantime, I’m so looking forward to answering your questions in my next post. The environment is my greatest passion and I’m thrilled to be able to share it with all of you!

Peace,

Cheryl

Would you like to ask Cheryl Tiegs a question about her environmental campaign for clean indoor air? This is an important issue, and she is looking forward to answering questions from our BD community. Simply include in your comment a question for her; next Tuesday her answers will be featured. Remember what you learned in school…the only silly question is the one you didn’t ask! Ask away!