What is a healthy home?
The healthy house picture shows the seven principles of a healthy home, keep it maintained, pest free, clean, dry, safe, well-ventilated, and contaminant free. If these principles are applied, you can have a healthy home whether you live in a newly constructed home or one built over 100 years ago.
Linn County Healthy Homes supports families in their desire to have a healthy and safe living environment through promotion of healthy homes concepts in the community by means of education, assessment, and collaboration.
Principles of a Healthy Homes
- Keep me
Maintained: Poorly maintained homes are at risk for fall and trip
injuries, moisture intrusion, and pest problems. Deteriorated paint in
older housing (pre-1978) can present a lead-based paint hazard. Each
year, 1,100 to 1,500 children are newly diagnosed as lead poisoned.
Keep me Pest Free: Cockroaches and mice are asthma triggers. Pests can contaminate
food and destroy property. Pesticides used to treat cockroaches, mice,
and bedbugs can exacerbate health problems. Americans use more than a
billion pounds of pesticides each year. Every 13 seconds in the U.S., a
poison control center answers a call about a possible poisoning. More
than 90% of these exposures occur in the home.
- Keep me Clean: Dust mites are an asthma trigger. Clutter provides food and
harborage for some pests and can present a trip hazard.
Dry: Damp houses provide a nurturing environment for mites,
roaches, rodents, and mold, all of which can be asthma triggers.
- Keep me Safe: Falls are the leading cause of non-fatal injuries for all children ages
0 to 19. Every day, approximately 8,000 children in the U.S. are treated
in emergency departments for fall related injuries. This adds up to
approximately 2.8 million children each year.
Ventilated: Increasing the fresh air supply in a home helps improve
Contaminant Free: Chemical exposures include radon, carbon monoxide,
pesticides, volatile organic compounds, and environmental tobacco smoke.
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