HOME HEALTHY AN SAFETY

PRINCIPLES TO KEEP IN MIND

Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes (OLHCHH) estimates that approximately 30 million homes have indoor environmental hazards, including physical safety hazards, lead-based paint hazards, and pests. In order to help create healthier homes and families, they have created a list of 8 Principles that will help keep your home and family safe and healthy. 

These Principles will help create standard messaging and practices around home health and safety. These principles are:

1. Keep your home dry, mold and moisture increase allergens and asthma triggers, and can cause deterioration of your home
2. Keep your home clean, clean homes help reduce pest infestations, dust, and exposure to contaminant
3. Keep your home pest-free, many pest treatments pose risks for families with health problems or expose young children and pets to poisonous residue. Non-pesticide treatments are best for the first line of defense
4. Keep your home safe, a majority of injuries among children occur in the home. Falls are the most frequent cause of residential injuries to children, followed by injuries from objects in the home, burns, and poisonings
5. Keep your home contaminant-free, chemical exposures include lead, radon, pesticides, and environmental tobacco smoke. Exposures to radon gas, carbon monoxide, and second-hand tobacco smoke are far higher indoors than outside
6. Keep your home ventilated, studies show that increasing the fresh air supply in a home improves respiratory health. Air filters in HVAC units collect and protect families from many particulates found in the air
7. Keep your home maintained, poorly-maintained homes increase the risk for deteriorated lead-based paint in older housing which is the primary cause of lead poisoning in children less than 6 years of age
8. Keep your home temperature controlled, houses that do not maintain adequate temperatures may place the safety of residents at increased risk from exposure to extreme cold or heat

For more information on keeping your home healthy, download the OLCCHH guide to a healthy home https://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/documents/huddoc?id=nhhm_planningguide.pdf