10

THE HEALTHY HOME

BY NOW YOU SHOULD HAVE a clear, clean house. You are well on the way to making your home a healing haven, a true sanctuary. This part of the book contains a lot of very practical information which may seem a little dull. But, trust me, it is all essential. However hard you try you will never get the most out of an environment which is not intrinsically clean, clear and healthy. All the space cleansing and feng shui in the world won’t help a home which is dirty or full of harmful chemicals and gases.

Many of us would prefer to shut our eyes and ears and hope that the thorny subject of pollution would just go away. It won’t, unless we take action. By actively choosing healthy alternatives for your home and supporting companies which produce non-toxic and natural materials, you can help to change not only your own home, but also the world. A large claim but perfectly true. Any market can only survive if the demand is present for its products. If more of us demand safe, non-toxic, non-polluting furnishing, decorating, building and cleaning materials, more companies will be persuaded to produce them. There will be more choice, prices will fall and it will become far easier to protect your health and the wellbeing of the planet without sacrificing style or your pocket. You can create that market, that demand, and feel good in yourself that you are helping to protect the world. However, that’s the wider issue. First and foremost, think about your home decoration for your own sake.

HAZARDS IN THE HOME

Our homes are, sadly, full of hidden hazards. Walk through your house and they are swarming all around you. Are your carpets synthetic or foam-backed? They are probably oozing volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as formaldehyde. Do you have special stain-resistant finishes on your soft furnishings? They most likely leak organo-chlorines and phenols. There are VOCs and organo-chlorines all around the house: in building boards, bedding, paint solvents, adhesives, wood preservatives, household cleaners, air fresheners, polishes, and most plastic products. If your home lacks adequate ventilation or you rarely open the windows, you may have high levels of pollutants building up unchecked in your home.

Domestic water is often polluted with chemicals such as chlorine and nitrates, not to mention bacteria. Radon gas can be transported through the water system and up into your tap and your drinking glass from many miles away. No-one, not even the Environmental Protection Agency now knows how many chemicals are in use today. The EPA has more than 85,000 chemicals listed that fall under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The vast majority are unknown factors: they simply have not been tested fully. We don’t know what they do to us, yet we trustingly take them into our homes.

As if all that were not enough, we are often suffering the ill effects of electro-stress in our modern homes. Electro-magnetic fields (EMFs) are all around us, created by all the gadgets and wonders of the modern world. From outside we are bombarded by radio waves, power lines, radar and satellite transmissions. From inside our homes we are embraced in the emissions from our televisions, faxes, photocopiers, computers, microwaves, mobile phones, night storage heaters, even from our bedside clocks. It has been estimated that our bodies are now handling up to 200 million times more electromagnetic signals than those of our ancestors.

The effects on our health and wellbeing can be enormous. If we are healthy and have strong immune systems we can take a certain amount of bombardment, for a certain amount of time. But if we have weakened immune systems or suffer high levels of electro-stress and chemical pollution over a prolonged period of time, there are well-documented health risks. Electro-stress can cause tiredness and depression, headaches and a host of chronic diseases. Researchers blame ME, foetal abnormality and even cancer on electro-stress. Toxic chemicals have insidious effects too: many people are allergic to them and suffer asthma, eczema, migraine and chronic fatigue. Nausea, dizziness, heart irregularity, respiratory and eye problems, unexplained joint and muscle pain may all be blamed on chemical toxicity. And so too could problems of impaired judgement, irritability, mood swings and co-ordination difficulties. Not a cheery thought.

What can we do? First of all it helps just to be aware of the problems. Forewarned is forearmed. Baubiologie or Building Biology is a philosophy which began 20 years ago in Germany and at last seems to have found its time. Its manifesto for healthy homes is as follows: fresh air; clean water; natural materials; generous daylight; suitable temperatures and humidity; protection from EMFs and avoidance of harmful earth energy (geopathic stress). The strategy is to identify the hazards in your home and take whatever steps you can to minimize or eliminate them. Here’s how.

TOWARDS A HEALTHY HOME

• Few of us can afford to redecorate and refurnish our homes right away. But every time you need to redecorate a room or buy new furniture make sure you choose safe, non-toxic materials. Keep away from synthetic, foam-backed carpets: choose recycled wooden floors; natural floor coverings such as sisal, coir; seagrass, jute; 100 per cent wool or cotton/wool mix carpets and rugs. Natural linoleum is becoming very fashionable now. It’s nothing like the old, dull lino; instead it comes in a vast range of subtle and vibrant shades and can be cut into stunningly lovely designs. It’s not cheap but it is natural, easy to clean and very hygienic, so think about it, particularly if you have young children crawling on the floor
• Look out for paints which are water-based, milk-based, plant-based and mineral-based. If you want vibrant colours, use powdered pigments which you simply mix yourself. Old-fashioned milk paints are long-lasting, safe and come in a huge range of fashionable and traditional colours. Pick natural thinners such as linseed oil and pine resin turpentine, and choose natural varnishes which allow the wood to breathe (they combine resins with scented turpentine and pigments). The added benefit is that they smell lovely.
• Be careful when buying new furniture. Check what materials are used in the stuffing, base and fabric of sofas and chairs. Be very wary of treated materials – they may save stains but could be nasty to your health (maybe think about loose covers which can easily be washed instead). Recycled wood is a great option for tables, chairs, beds and cabinets. Many companies now use all old wood for their furniture which is not only safer for you but looks great too.
• Pick 100 per cent natural fibres for your curtains, covers and bed linen. Organic unbleached cotton makes the most wonderful sheets and duvet covers as it gets softer and softer the more you wash it. Snuggling up in them in the winter is pure heaven (but make sure your duvet is all natural too). In the summer; cool linen sheets are about the most inviting fabric you could put on your bed. Be particularly sure your children are sleeping in all pure materials. Many childhood allergies could be avoided this way. You may put off treating yourself to new bed linen but I would seriously advise you to change your children’s sheets right away.
• While you’re waiting to redecorate or buy new, there are still plenty of things you can do. First of all, keep your home as well aired and ventilated as possible. Open the windows and let the air in – for at least 15 minutes twice a day. This also helps prevent excess humidity and stops the air getting stale. Install window and ceiling fans throughout the house and use exhaust (extractor) fans in kitchens and bathrooms.
• If your home has undue humidity, install extractor fans. If you have the opposite problem and your air is too dry (usually a result of central heating), increase humidity with bowls of fresh water or use it as an excuse to install a decorative waterfall (great feng shui – more about that in Part 4).
• Always use natural cleaning products, or make your own – as we discussed in the previous chapter.
• Turn off all electrical appliances and pull out the plug when they are not in use. Choose your television viewing with care, and sit as far away from the screen as possible. Don’t ever fall asleep in front of the television and avoid having one in your bedroom. Be particularly careful with children who often tend to fall asleep watching television or have it on for excessive amounts of time.
• Let there be light. Get rid of fluorescent lights and, where possible, replace all lightbulbs with full-spectrum light. If that’s too expensive, make sure you use full-spectrum lighting at least for your work light or reading light. Lack of natural light can cause tiredness and depression. Maximize natural daylight by keeping curtains well pulled back, and blinds fully folded. Or go Scandinavian and cut out curtains altogether Not ready to bare all? Use the sheerest of sheer fabrics to protect your privacy but let the light flood through. Try café curtains – covering the bottom half of the window only. Or make blinds from the flimsiest gauze.
• Trade in your electric blanket for a hot water bottle! Use a wind-up clock or a battery-operated alarm clock in your bedroom to avoid sleeping in an EMF from an electric clock. Make sure your bed is away from radiators and, particularly, from night-storage heaters.
• It’s hard to avoid the EMFs from computers but keep it turned off when not in use. Wear natural fibres when working on screen. Modern devices emit far lower EMFs but it’s not just the screens that emit them – the electronics inside your computer also generate them.
• Use microwaves as little as possible – or not at all. The same with mobile phones. Be particularly wary in the home office – only switch on your photocopier when you actually need to use it – and switch it off afterwards.
• Stock up on healing plants. Research from NASA showed that certain plants can remove up to 80 per cent of formaldehyde within 24 hours and that they can also absorb ozone, fumes from chemical cleaners, radon and cigarette smoke. Choose from these wonder plants: peace lilies; dwarf banana plants; golden pothos; peperomias; spider plants; mother-in-law’s tongue (Sansevieria); Chinese evergreens (Aglaonema) and goosefoot plants (Syngonium podophyllum). Keep at least one by your computer and television. The Cereus peruvianus (‘Monstrosus’) cactus, if you can track one down, is probably the very best to have by your computer as it can help to neutralize the harmful effects of VDUs. If you have a new carpet or have just painted a room, put as many of these plants in as possible and let them feast on all those nasty chemicals.
• Install a water filter (reverse osmosis is good) under your sink – or at least buy a water filter jug for the fridge and put all your drinking and cooking water through it.
• Make sure boilers and furnaces are serviced regularly to reduce carbon monoxide leakage. Ensure ventilation is adequate.
• Iron and steel in bed frames and sprung mattresses can become magnetic and leak EMFs. Test your bed by running a good compass slowly over it – if the needle deflects from North, the springs or mattress are likely to be magnetic. Be on the safe side and make sure your next bed is wood; your mattress made of natural products without metal springs.
• Make sure everything works in your home. In feng shui terms, cracked window panes, clogged plumbing and dodgy electrics can actively affect your health and happiness. Get them fixed as soon as possible. Keep everything running smoothly and efficiently and your life should run along the same lines.
• If you live in an area where radon gas is a problem, have your home checked. There are solutions which can remedy the problem.

GEOPATHIC STRESS — UNHEALTHY EARTH ENERGY

Geopathic stress is believed to be caused by abnormal energy fields generated by deep underground streams, large mineral deposits or faults in the substrata of the earth. It has been blamed as a major contributing factor in everything from migraines to cancer, from nightmares to divorce. It sounds like the latest scare story but the evidence suggests that geopathic stress certainly does exist. In Germany it has been researched since the 1920s and is taken very seriously. Experiments have shown that bacteria grow abnormally when grown over underground currents of water, while mice inoculated with disease will fall ill far more rapidly when kept over a subterranean vein of water. Now builders in Germany and Austria test sites before building and many will routinely give guarantees that new buildings do not have lines of ‘bad’ energy passing through them.

However, the methods for testing for geopathic stress are far from reliable. Most people use dowsing, but when I asked three ‘experts’ to check my house for geopathic stress, they all came up with wildly different diagnoses. One said I had ‘mild’ stress, nothing to worry about; another claimed the house was badly stressed and needed expensive ‘cures’; the third said there was no stress at all. The ‘cures’ are equally unpredictable and many consumer watchdog organizations believe they are simply expensive placebos. On the other hand, some people I have spoken to are quite convinced they help.

So what do you do if you suspect your house is suffering from geopathic stress? First, don’t panic – you won’t need to move house! Geopathic stress moves in quite focused lines – most likely you would just need to move your bed or favourite chair. Find a dowser or expert who has no interest in selling you anything – professional dowsing societies may be able to put you in touch with someone local and reputable. Karen Kingston suggests you have three dowsers check your property and only take the advice they all agree on, which is fine unless, like mine, there is nothing they agree on! I hope that serious research will put geopathic stress, its detection and cures on a more rational basis. In the meantime, though, you can try the following.

DETECTING GEOPATHIC STRESS

• How can you tell if you have geopathic stress in your home? Dowsers say that typical signs of GS are feeling permanently tired and below par. Everything is an effort. You are easily depressed and irritable. You constantly suffer from colds while illnesses, aches and pains will not respond to any treatment. Children become disruptive and badly behaved (although there could be plenty of other reasons for that kind of behaviour!).
• Because GS comes up in thin lines it can easily affect just one person in the house – a line can pass through one side of the bed or one armchair So don’t expect everyone to suffer the same symptoms – or even to have symptoms.
• If you suspect you suffer from GS, try putting cork tiles under your bed or favourite chair for a few weeks and see whether you start to feel better. The cork seems to neutralize the rays for a limited period. If you do start to feel better, try moving your bed or chair.
• Watch where your pets sleep. Cats adore GS and will often choose to sleep on a bad spot while dogs will avoid it at all costs. If the cat always makes a beeline for your favourite armchair; try moving it to the dog’s favourite spot. The downside to this one is that cats will also often follow their owners, so use your common sense here.
• Babies are apparently very sensitive to GS. If your baby constantly rolls over to one corner of the cot, he or she may be attempting to escape GS. Move the cot to another part of the room and see whether the baby stays put.
• Geopathic stress expert Jane Thurnell-Read suggests trying the following if you feel you are affected by GS: switch on a hairdryer and run it all over you with the side of the dryer touching your body. ‘It sounds crazy,’ admits Thurnell-Read, ‘but if you do it once a week it does seem to help.’