The only thing more exciting than picking up the keys to a new place is picking out the ways to upgrade your current pad. In the same way that people are shopping for organic produce and clean beauty products, more-and-more women are also looking for ways to make their homes a beacon of wellness.
With a health-conscious mindset, it can be easy to get caught up in the minute details of upgrading your space, but the process doesn't have to be so overwhelming. According to Danny Seo, a sustainable home expert and celebrity design consultant, focusing on the big picture is key to actually enjoying your upgrades with minimal stress.
Keep reading for the healthy home upgrades that should be on your radar.
A commercial-grade water filter
If your trusty pitcher filter has been by your side since dorm days, it's time you considered a major upgrade.
"I think the most important thing in a home is water quality," says Seo. "One of the smartest things you can do is to spend the money on a commercial grade water filtration system." If this sounds like a major overhaul of your plumbing system, you can breathe a sigh of relief right about now; it's a five-minute fix.
Seo swears by Pentair EverPure filters. "It takes out all of the odor, all the particulates, all of the lead, but also it takes out trace pharmaceutical drugs," he says. "It takes out all the bad things you can’t necessarily taste or smell but are impacting your health."
An EverPure filter will last for a full year, and Seo insists that it's a total game changer for everything from cooking to laundry.
A fridge to fight food waste
If you've ever opened the fridge and exclaimed, "I forgot I had that!" I hear you. While there are plenty of "smart" refrigerators out there, Seo recommends skipping the ones with high-tech exteriors and focusing on what's inside, instead.
He suggests looking for a refrigerator with a matte black interior rather than a white one, such as the Jenn Air. "When you have apples and oranges and everything else against a matte black surface, you can see more of what you have in the refrigerator."
In addition to making the contents of your fridge more visible, Jenn-Air models also fit their refrigerators with filters that help your food stay fresh for longer, according to Seo. The filter absorbs ethylene gas, a chemical byproduct of ripening produce. "Ethylene gas is an odorless gas that all your fruits and vegetables release as they ripen. So if you put an avocado next to an apple, because they’re both releasing ethylene gas, they’re going to ripen much more quickly and go bad quickly," he explains.
A coat of non-toxic paint
A fresh coat of paint is arguably the easiest way to breathe new life into a lackluster space. But there is some controversy about the toxicity of it. According to Seo, most paint bases and colorants have toxic chemicals called volatile organic compounds—or VOCs. "VOCs are anything you can smell. They're chemicals that off-gas," He explains. "When you open a can of paint, it’s got that strong odor that might give you a headache." Those are the VOCs.
"You want to get a zero VOC paint for your home so there’s no odor, there’s no off-gassing and it’s better for the inside of your home," he explains. "You want to make sure that the colorants are also zero VOC." So, in the same way that you're paying attention to nutrition and beauty labels, it's time to get smart about this label as well.
Obsessed with all things healthy home? Here are five ways design pros think your place keep getting healthier. While you're at it, boost your good vibes with any—or all—of these seven plant subscription boxes.
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