You may not know it yet, but some of the things you have in your condo may cause you some danger. Even the most mundane objects are compounded with some of the deadliest substances; simple fixtures like drawers and window blinds can cause various accidents. It’s best that you get acquainted with some of the most common condo buyer mistakes, or the things that you shouldn’t bring inside your condo. Avoid these things and know the different ways and guides on how you can avoid dangers at home.
Mothballs
Mothballs are placed in closets to kill clothes-chewing moths. They are handy and helpful actually. However, the chemical components of mothballs are quite dangerous. Paradichlorobenzene is one active component in mothballs and it is a known carcinogen which means it can cause cancer in some animals. Naphtalene is also a key substance in mothballs and is also quite dangerous. Naphtalene can harshly affect red blood cells and may consequently cause nausea.
Extension cords
Extension cords are quite crafty especially in extending outlets or providing more than what is available. Since you probably have a gazillion gadget and condo appliances, you might need a lot of extensions for your electricity needs. However, continuous use can cause deterioration in the cords insulation. Studies show that when this occurs, the cords become a root of accident like electrocution and the possibility of fire.
Carpet Chemicals
Floor carpeting seems like an imperative for any good condo unit. Carpets add style and comfort to the floors of your condo home. However, recent studies show that indoor carpets are compounded with VOCs or volatile organic compounds. These VOCs are located in the adhesive material used in installing the carpets onto your floors. These VOCs, in high concentrations, are bad for your health.
Humidifiers
Humidifiers are perfect for suppressing the cold. For this purpose alone, humidifiers become indispensable during times of biting cold. However, a poorly kept humidifier can cause you harm. If water is left to sit in the humidifier, it can regress into a breeding ground for spores, molds, fungus and bacteria. Cleaning up the humidifier can save you from harboring all these unwanted guests.
Lead Paint
Lead paint is probably the most well know dangerous thing you have in your homes. The chemical lead is known to have adverse effects on intelligence. Large concentrations of lead adversely affect the brain. Lead is also dangerous for its ability to accumulate inside the human body and be a cause of various free radicals. Avoid lead paints by avoiding paints produced from years before.
Flame Retardants
Flame retardants are commonly compounded in mattresses and non-stick cookware. The compound polybrominated diphenyl ether is a common substance in flame retardants. This compound is known to store itself in blood, breast milk or fatty tissues. Its toxicity is related to liver and the thyroid. As such, the presence of flame retardant objects in your condo home can cause various health risks.
Cleaning Solutions
A constant condo chore every month is cleaning. And cleaning solutions are always a necessity in determining how to clean your condo. Though these cleaning solutions help in sanitizing the spaces of your condo home, they also release toxic levels of pollutants. Ethylene-based glycol ethers and terpenes are substances released using your cleaning solutions and they are not only harmful to your health, but also to the environment as well.
BPA Bottles
Polycarbonate plastics are made with bisphenol-a chemical or BPA and polycarbonate plastics are usually made into bottles, feeding bottles for babies in particular. Dubbed as BPA bottles, these chemically toxic materials are hormone disruptors which mean that constant exposure to these can cause a jumble in your body’s hormones which is bad especially for young, growing and developing children.
Blinds
Blinds might just be the most surprisingly dangerous condo fixture. They are inconspicuous and at first glance, harmless. However, recent cases of children getting entangled in the strings that form a loop hanging with the blinds. This loop has caused strangulation and near-strangulation in different cases of children playing around with them.
Pest Killers
Pest killers range from any poison that specifically targets small insects to those aimed at eliminating a rodent infestation. All these pest killers, however, can prove to be dangerous to your health. Hazardous substances of pesticides, when exposed to a human continuously and when stored in the person’s colon, can surely cause poisoning and death. Best to keep your pesticides far from children’s reach.
Faux Wood
Faux wood or pressed wood looks good on your table or counter top. It even looks good coating your cabinets or drawers. However, the adhesive material used to stick this pressed wood to table surfaces often utilizes the chemical urea-formaldehyde. This resin is identified by the EPA as one of the biggest sources of formaldehyde emissions inside homes. This emission can cause adverse effects to the health such as watery eyes or burning throats, in worse cases, even cancer.
Laser Printer Chemical
Energy efficient home designs utilize only the best power-saving appliances. A laser printer does this by cutting down on your electrical expenses while at the same time sufficing your printing needs. However, studies have shown that laser printers emit ultrafine particles that are linked with heart and lung diseases. With this study, printer productions have been keener on their products and have released models that do not have the same flaw. Energy Star provides recommendations on printers that are environmental and health friendly.
Cosmetic Chemicals
Phthalates are present in most hairsprays, shampoos, fragrances and deodorants. This chemical helps bind the color of these everyday cosmetic objects. However, phthalates are associated with various reproductive and developmental problems as it has the same hormone-jumbling property as BPA. Phthalates are also present in children’s toys produced before the chemical was banned. It’s best to be more scrutinizing with the things your children play with and the things you put on your face.
Plastic Shopping Bags
Plastic shopping bags are recycled and are indispensible especially to homes and condos in the Philippines where the reusable plastic bags are kept in drawers and cabinets in the kitchens. These plastics commonly contain the same toxic materials present in BPA bottles, however in small concentrations. The biggest hazard of the plastic shopping bag is towards the environment. A huge bulk of worldwide trash is formed by plastic garbage.
Big TVs
The arrangement of any living room design idea uses a large, flat-screen TV as its focal point. Everything in the living room is directed onto the large TV. Recent events, however, showed that a number of accidents involving poorly installed flat-screen television falling over innocent children playing around in the living room. To avoid such accident while at the same time, keep the television, make sure that it is properly and securely installed in the living room.
