Tag: plants

Household Toxins Might be Making you Sick

household toxins
~ Loreeebee ~ 3 Comments

Common household toxins may be making you sick.  In some cases you don’t even know you are sick. Toxins are present in your home in the form of cleaning products, paints, furniture, synthetic building materials such as particle board and insulation, carpets, and even your printer and photocopier! Learn about the common culprits and just what they can do to your health.

VOCs are Household Toxins

Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) are harmful gases released by all of the common household items listed above.  These gases cause lethargy, skin rashes, headaches, drowsiness, itchy eyes, asthma-like symptoms, and even cancer.

Be aware of what you are bringing into your home!  I was reminded of this a few weeks ago when I was cleaning my house.  Out of my usual brand of toilet cleaner, I grabbed a bottle of Javex sitting around the house from my pre-toxin awareness days.   I used it (sparingly) to clean the toilets in my home…

Symptoms of Household Toxins

The next day I woke up with what I thought was the start of a cold.  My chest felt heavy and I could not seem to draw a full breath into my lungs.  I also had a vague headache, and a “tickle” in my throat, but no other cold like symptoms developed.  Later on that day, I developed a shallow, dry cough which felt like my lungs were trying to clear whatever was irritating them. 

These symptoms lasted for four days.  Coincidence?   I don’t think so; this is how my lungs felt most of the time before I switched to non-toxic products. The products I now use are all made with tea tree oil, an anti-viral, anti-bacterial, natural ingredient.  My respirologist agrees, as my asthma-like symptoms have disappeared since switching to these non-toxic products.

Houseplants Remove Household Toxins

You can also make your home healthier by adding house plants to your decor.  Not only do plants look nice, but they can also help keep your family healthy.  Carbon dioxide and the VOCs described above, as well as other harmful gases such as benzene, formaldehyde, and trichloroethylene are absorbed through the roots as well as through pores in the leaves of plants.   In exchange, beneficial and healthy products like oxygen and moisture are released into the air for us to breathe.

Choose plants such as spider plants, dracaena, English ivy, mother-in-law tongues, bamboo palms, and other tropical plants. These choices are all easy to grow and readily available.  Tropical plants are suitable for indoors in homes and offices because they are used to growing and processing gases in reduced light under the canopies of jungles and rain forests.  Water your plants thoroughly with warm water and let the soil dry out between watering; too much water is the easiest way to kill your house plants.

Fifteen medium to large plants (greater than six-inch pots) in an average-sized 2000 square foot home can greatly improve the air quality in your home. So, get growing!

In Conclusion

Get rid of the common household toxins making your family sick by removing offending chemical compounds and adding houseplants. Check out a recent post on what I’ve learned about houseplant care. My house is fast becoming a jungle, but I love it.

A green landscape outside can improve the air quality in your yard and even your neighbourhood as well. Planting lots of shrubs, trees, perennials and annuals can turn your yards into a healthy environment for you as well as the birds and other wildlife.

Beware of Wild Parnsip, but Leave the Goldenrod

wild parsnip
~ Loreeebee ~ 3 Comments

Beware, wild parsnip has made its appearance in Eastern Ontario, introduced from Asia and Europe for its edible root.  A tall wildflower or weed with yellow flowers, it can cause severe blistering and burning when the sap within its stalks comes into contact with skin that is exposed to sunlight.  As Goldenrod is also a tall wildflower with yellow flowers and is very common along roadways in Eastern Ontario, I thought I would compare the two…

Wild parsnip has lobed, sharply toothed leaves, a grooved stalk, and yellow flowers that form a flat-topped, umbrella-like, seed head…

wild parsnip

Goldenrod has elongated, swordlike leaves, a smooth stalk, and plumes or spikes of yellow flowers.  Once you compare the two, the only thing they have in common is the color of their flowers. Goldenrod is harmless, and growing in a field or along a roadside can be quite beautiful.  Some claim it is the cause of their seasonal allergies in late summer, but others claim its leaves and flowers have medicinal properties, even helping to alleviate seasonal allergies.

Armed with the details of what these two plants look like, I searched through our cottage lot for signs of wild parsnip.   I did not find any wild parsnip, but did find several clumps of goldenrod.

I have seen clumps of wild parsnip in the vicinity of several gardens I work in though, the largest area is within the Beaverbrook area of Kanata, behind Borduas Court and Carr Crescent, between this residential neighbourhood and the Kanata Lakes Golf Course.  This clump of wild parsnip has gone to seed, meaning the flowers have faded to a beige-brown color and the seeds are blowing in the wind, spreading through the neighbourhood.

There is a path between the two streets with wild parsnip close to the edge of the path.  The plant growth along the path appears to have been mowed recently, but mowing often causes the dangerous sap to leak out of the stalks, especially if a weed wacker or whipper snipper is used.   I would hesitate to let my dog or children walk along there!.

If you spot any wild parsnip in your neighbourhood, notify your local authorities, and do not attempt to eradicate large patches of it yourself.  To remove one or two plants, you can try to dig up the long taproot, but be sure to wear long pants, sleeves, and waterproof gloves.  Try not to break the stalk, place it in a black plastic bag, and leave the bag in the hot sun for a week to kill the plant.  Remove the gloves last and wash them several times with soapy water.  Clothing can be washed in the laundry.

Beware of wild parsnip, but leave the beautiful and harmless goldenrod.