Six Ways to Create a Healthier Home

©Shutterstock

When this article was written, the world was grappling with the COVID-19 outbreak. Physical distancing and self-isolation at home is considered as an effective way to suppress the spread of the virus. It means that our home should be a comfortable, healthy shelter to isolate and protect ourselves from diseases.

A healthy home is a widely used concept by architects to create a residential space that can maintain homeowners’ physical and mental well-being. The question is, is the home you are living in right now healthy enough? How do we create a healthy home? The followings are six to make your home heathier.

Give Way to Natural Light

©Shutterstock

Although lamps can brighten a room, the presence of natural light is more than necessary as it can affect the activities and the homeowner’s health. Besides functioning as lighting, natural light could help to prevent bacteria from growing and lower the humidity in the room. The sun light in the morning is also a great boost to our immune system.

Avoid Using Material that Contains Hazardous Chemical Substances

©Shutterstock

To keep our bodies fit, building material should be chosen carefully. There are a lot of materials that are still used until now although they contain hazardous substances, such as asbestos. Therefore, the use of asbestos is no longer recommended these days for roof installation. Besides asbestos, there are also several other materials like PVC, paints, and thinner that contains dangerous substances. Before selecting the material, it is advisable to find out more about the materials’ substances.

Provide Openings and Ventilation for Air Circulation

©Shutterstock

The presence of openings and ventilation at home is particularly important for a good air circulation system. If possible, apply a cross-ventilation system so that fresh air can be flushed into the indoor spaces. If ventilation is not enough to cool the room, you can opt for air conditioner. But, do not use air conditioner all the time as it can have an impact on your health.

Add Garden and Plenty of Plants

©Shutterstock

Besides making the house design look cool, beautiful, and fresh, the existence of a garden will surely have a great effect on the homeowner’s physical and mental well-being. Garden and plants can help regulate air circulation, temperature, and humidity. Moreover, plants serve various functions, like producing oxygen and filtering polluted air. From the psychological perspective, presenting a garden and some plants at home can help homeowners to relax and relieve stress.

Wastewater/Sewage System

Home wastewater system needs to be arranged and set properly to prevent health problems and discomfort for the occupants. Especially for a landed house, it needs to have at least one septic tank as the place for the final disposal of household wastewater. If the distance between the source of wastewater to the septic tank is quite far, use a grease trap to avoid the build-up of waste in the pipes that can cause clogging, especially if there are many bends in the dirty water pipe system.

For solid waste, do separate the bins for the organic and the non-organic. In the area below the kitchen sink, you can also add grease trap to hold the oil and fat from cooking so that they don’t build up in the pipelines. But just like trashcans, the grease trap needs to be cleaned regularly to repel bacteria and bad odour.

Do House Maintenance Regularly

©Shutterstock

Remember, nothing lasts forever in this world including your home. Although you might have spent an extensive budget in the design and construction, maintenance is needed to keep them looking great and firm. Keep your house clean so that it stays safe, comfortable, and healthy to live in. Besides staying clean, make sure that your house is free from pests, like moulds, termites, cockroaches, and many others. If necessary, use some pesticide to repel those pests. However, do not use pesticide too often as it can leave harmful chemicals inside the house. Therefore, prevention is always better than curing.

Try to recheck your house, is it healthy enough to live in? If no, apply the tips mentioned above to make it healthier and more comfortable. Keep visiting Archify for various of interesting tips and ideas about homes, architecture, and interior. If you are looking for an architect or an interior designer, you can also find them here.