Deformation 

How to make your home safe. How to make a private house safe

Growing up, the baby more and more shows initiative and independence. Starting to crawl, he learns the world with his hands and teeth, studies objects that are within his reach. Where can he go? What can he hit? What can he suddenly grab and stuff into his mouth? All parents should think about this in advance.

Think, calculate, simulate possible dangerous situations. And not just to think over and model, but immediately, while the baby is just beginning to show independence and master the space at home, take the strictest security measures.

It is foolish to advise loving mom and dad not to spare repairs and move the outlets higher - repairs, even costing a lot of money, are incomparable with the health of the baby. And even if mom really likes vases standing on low shelves or a coffee table, even if grandma's pills should be somewhere at hand, DO NOT SORRY, REMOVE! This way you can prevent the most terrible and dangerous consequences for the baby.

In addition, it should be remembered that all the most stringent precautions will be needed for a year and a half or two (except for pills, poisonous, cleaning products! They should be hidden away until the child’s conscious time). Having matured, the baby will already be able to distinguish between hot and sharp objects, pull anything into his mouth less, learn to recognize edible and inedible objects. In the meantime, scissors, medicines, hot irons, sockets and other dangerous things should be hidden away and deeper from an inquisitive child.

In this section, we will tell you about the steps you can take to keep your baby safe in the home, as well as devices (perhaps you don't know about) developed by various manufacturers to help keep your baby safe in the home.

And we will start with a short “course of young parents”, who may not even guess where in the house, crawling or starting to walk, the baby may be in danger.

What can you do to keep your home safe? How to secure a house?

As soon as the child begins to move independently (or in a walker), an ordinary house turns into an unknown land for him, full of secrets and mysteries, filled with dangerous traps that can lead to serious injury or even death. The only protection for your baby during the first years of life is your common sense and constant vigilance.

For an incident to occur, a combination of various factors is usually required, including a dangerous object or substance (this could be a ladder or medicine), a vulnerable victim (a child), and possibly environmental conditions (unsecured steps, an unsecured medicine cabinet).

In order to minimize the possibility of an accident, all these factors must be changed in some way. Dangerous objects and substances must be moved to places where the child cannot reach, a vulnerable child must be made less vulnerable through gradual safety training, the dangerous environment must be eliminated (by installing barriers on stairs and locks on lockers), and, perhaps most importantly, Parents need to be on their guard at all times, especially during the hectic times of the day when most accidents occur.

To prevent an accident, observe the following basic rules:

1. Always remain vigilant, especially if your child is overactive;

2. Do not be distracted while using detergents or cleaners, medicines, electrical appliances, tools and other dangerous objects and substances if your child moves freely around the house;

3. Be extra careful during busy times of the day. When you are in a hurry, you can leave a knife on the table, forget to fasten the child in a high chair, or close the fence;

4. Do not leave the child alone in the house, and also alone with children preschool age(they often do not realize their own strength or do not understand what consequences their actions can have) or with a dog (even the most peaceful);

5. Familiarize yourself with the rules for providing the first medical care, this can be very useful to you in an emergency;

6. Once you have made your child's environment as safe as possible, give him more freedom. Children, like all of us, learn from their mistakes, and not allowing them to make mistakes can hinder their growth and development.

Now is the perfect time to do the strictest inspection of your home. Try to see it through the eyes of a child. When you inspect your home, you should first of all pay attention to to the following things and change them if necessary:

1. Windows. Install safety grilles on them or adjust them so that they cannot open wider than 15 cm.

2. Cords from blinds and curtains. Tie the cords so that the child cannot get tangled in them.

3. Electrical cords. Keep them out of the reach of the child to avoid electric shock from touching them.

4. Electrical sockets. This danger can be easily eliminated by closing the sockets with special protective caps.

5. Unstable furniture. Temporarily remove any unstable chairs, tables, and other furniture that a child can tip over, securely attach bookshelves or other objects to the wall that could fall on a child.

6. Boxes for linen. Keep the drawers closed so that the child cannot climb into them or pull the drawer all the way out and drop it on their feet.

7. Painted surfaces. Make sure the paint is lead free. If the analysis showed the presence of lead, then it is better to completely remove the paint.

9. Houseplants. Some of them are poisonous. So keep them in available seats Oh.

10. Loose handles on furniture. Remove or secure any handles that are small enough for a child to swallow or choke on.

11. Heating radiators. During the heating season, put fences around them or use special casings.

12. Stairs. It is necessary to install barrier devices at the top and on the third step from the bottom.

13. Railings and balustrades. Make sure that the gap between the railing posts on the stairs does not exceed 12 cm and that none of the posts wobble.

14. Fireplaces, stoves, heaters, barbecues. Install protective grills or other barriers to prevent a child from touching a hot surface (even a grill on a grill can be hot enough to cause second-degree burns) and the fire itself. Unplug electric heaters when you are not using them and, if possible, keep heaters out of the reach of children.

15. Tablecloths. Do not lay tablecloths hanging from the table, as a child can easily pull them off.

16. Tables with glass top should be covered thick cloth, but it is better to remove it altogether.

17. Sharp edges or corners on furniture, cover with safety pads.

18. Small rugs. Make sure they don't have a slippery interior and don't place them on the landing.

19. Hollows in parquet and carpets. Repair any loose parts of the parquet so that the child does not stumble.

20. Heavy trinkets and bookends put them in a place where the child cannot reach them and drop them.

21. Chest for toys. It should have a lightweight lid with a secure closing mechanism (or no lid at all) as well as vents (in case a child locks themselves inside); open shelves are safer for storing toys than a chest.

22. As soon as your child begins to stand up, move the mattress to the lowest position and remove large toys, pillows, bolsters and other items from the crib that can be used as steps..

23. Garbage on the floor. Try to keep the house clean and tidy, immediately wipe up puddles and pick up fallen objects so that the child cannot slip or stumble.

24. Garage, basement and various workshops. Keep them securely locked and out of the reach of children, as dangerous tools and poisonous substances are commonly stored in such places.

25. Lock cabinets and sideboards with breakable crockery so that the child cannot reach it.

Be especially careful with items such as:

  • scissors, knives, razors (do not leave them on the edge of the bath) and razor blades;
  • coins, paper clips, pins, buttons (they can be easily swallowed);
  • Pencils, pens, and other writing utensils (offer your child non-toxic crayons as a substitute)
  • plastic bags (a child can put a bag on his head and suffocate);
  • matches, lighters, and burning cigarettes;
  • paints, thinners, threads and needles/woodworking tools, etc.;
  • toys (if they belong to older children, they are usually not intended for babies under 3 years old: designers with small parts, tricycles and scooters, small cars and other toys with sharp corners and detachable small parts or electric motors);
  • round-shaped batteries used in watches, calculators, hearing aids, cameras, etc. (they are easy to swallow);
  • objects that imitate edible products made from wax, papier-mâché, rubber (wax apples, candles that look and smell like ice cream, children's eraser, similar in shape and smell to fresh strawberries);
  • cleaning materials;
  • glass, porcelain and other breakable objects;
  • light bulbs, especially small ones that a child can put in his mouth and crush;
  • jewelry, especially beads that can crumble, as well as rings (they are attractive to the baby and can end up in his stomach);
  • shoe polish;
  • perfumery and cosmetics (it is potentially toxic), vitamins and medicines;
  • toy whistles (a child can choke on them);
  • balloons (a bursting or deflated balloon may end up in the child's mouth and get into the windpipe);
  • nuts, raisins, popcorn and hard candies (a child may choke on them);
  • weapons (if you have one);
  • alcoholic drinks ( even small amounts of alcohol can be fatal to a child);
  • ropes, cords, tape cassettes, and other things that could wrap around a child's neck and cause suffocation.

    • Fire safety measures

    Since most accidents involve fires, you need to follow fire safety measures in your home:
    - do not allow anyone (including guests) to smoke in bed;
    – keep matches and lighters out of the reach of children;
    – do not allow garbage to accumulate in the house (especially flammable, such as rags stained with paint or solvent);
    – avoid using flammable liquids such as kerosene and petrol to remove stains from clothes or furniture;
    – while cooking on an open fire, avoid clothes with long sleeves or tails, which can accidentally catch fire;
    - make sure your child's nightwear meets government standards for fire resistance;
    - make sure that electrical appliances in your home are always in good condition;
    - do not allow adults and children to approach a fireplace, wood stove or heater with dangling sleeves, a dangling scarf or long shirt flaps that could accidentally catch fire;
    – cover halogen lamps with protective shields;
    – hang fire extinguishers in places where the risk of fire is greatest, such as in the kitchen or in the room where the fireplace is located, and also near the stove. In an emergency, you can use baking soda to put out a small fire. Install smoke detectors in your home.

Usually parents buy a crib, a potty, a high chair and toys and calm down on this. Sometimes a baby monitor or a diaper bucket is added to the list of purchases. But there are things that are more important than a stroller, because the safety of the child depends on them.

About 2,000 children die every day in the world World Report on Child Injury Prevention. due to accidental injury. Most of these injuries happen at home, close to their parents. Children drop weights on themselves, stick knitting needles into sockets, swallow batteries and fall out of windows. As a rule, most of these injuries could be prevented with little effort.

How to prepare the floor

Independent acquaintance of the child with the world begins, as a rule, from the floor. Children crawl and test the strength of everything they can reach.

Make a floor that you can't slip on

Even when the child does not know how to walk and crawl, parents who have a child in their arms can slip. What to do to prevent this from happening:

  • Choose a non-slip floor covering.
  • Put rugs on especially dangerous places.
  • And all these rugs must be glued (or at least kept on silicone pads so that the rug itself does not slip).
  • Glue the corners and edges of large carpets to the floor so that they cannot be tripped over.

Remove small items from the floor

Small items are coins, needles, buttons, batteries, nails, jewelry. All boxes in which small and crumbly items are stored must be at least a meter high.

Hide wires, ropes and packages

Wires and ropes are tightened at the wrists, wrapped around the legs and even the neck. And the bags suddenly end up on their heads and make it difficult to breathe, so store them in places where they will not attract children with rustles and bright colors. Everything (even extension cords) must be either rolled up and stacked or secured to the walls and floor so that they cannot be tripped over.

Close entry to dangerous places

For example, you have a staircase - to the second floor or to the basement. The entrance to this staircase must be closed with a special screen, and the screen is firmly fixed. You can make such fences with your own hands, but in general they are sold and outwardly resemble playpens.

Take away the flowers

Hide dangerous foods

Move dangerous foods away. These are bottles of vinegar, packs of soda and salt, hot spices, bottles of alcohol.

Make your stove safe

Use gas stoves and panels with gas control sensors: such sensors turn off the gas supply if there is no fire on the burner. This will protect the house from accidental leakage if the child turns the stove knob.

A special screen can be installed on the edge of the stove, which will not allow the child to reach out to the fire or hot surface.

Get in the habit of not placing hot objects on the edge of the table.

How to prepare a bathroom

In the bathroom, the main danger is the slippery floor and water. Drowning is one of the most common causes of childhood death from injury, and that's because young children don't need much. They are able to literally drown in a bucket or basin of water. Therefore, the bathroom has its own rules.

Don't leave your child near water

Even if you just put a basin and poured clean water into it for the child to play. Play with him, do not leave alone with the water. Even on a swimming slide, even with an inflatable ring at the neck. It is clear that as the child grows older, this rule will become less strict.

Place a non-slip mat on the bottom of the tub to prevent your child from slipping and hitting the edge of the tub.

Hide dangerous substances and objects

Move household chemicals as far away and close as securely as possible. Poisoning and, caused by the fact that the child has tasted pipe cleaner, is incredibly dangerous. Shampoos, shower gels and aftershave lotions are also kept away from children's curiosity.

There may be dangerous items in the bathroom: razors, tweezers, tongs, hair dryer. Find a place for them that the child cannot reach.

Hide any aerosols. Even if there is nothing poisonous in them, they are dangerous if they get into the eyes.

You can, of course, say that this list is too long, that children do not need a super-safe environment, that difficulties should temper the child, that somehow everyone grew up without problems before. But in such cases, the law of meanness works: everything that can break, deteriorate or harm will definitely do it. So introduce your child to all the surrounding objects under strict parental control and supplement the list with your tips in the comments.

Before letting the little one out!

A small child, even in his own home, faces a lot of dangers, and although it can be very difficult to keep track of a little explorer, parents still have the opportunity to reduce the number of threats to a minimum. The PIK group of companies and the Social Projects and Programs Foundation have launched a new social project, the Information Program on Home Safety for Children, within which they give advice on how to protect a child. The RIA Real Estate website has selected the 10 most important recommendations.

soft protection

While the child is very small and spends most of the time in the crib, it would seem that it is not difficult to create a safe environment around him - it is enough to keep the house clean. However, when buying a crib for a newborn, you should not forget about such a simple thing as a bumper, which will protect the child from possible impacts on the hard walls of the crib and will not allow him to stick his head between the bars.

The playpen needs to be safe too - if you choose a wooden playpen, then make sure that the distance between the bars is no more than 6 centimeters. If you're staying in a mesh arena, you'll want to go for a coarse mesh model that won't get your clothes buttons stuck in it.

Often, babies do not like to lie in a crib or they get bored with this limited space, and they are laid out on a bed or sofa. In this case, in order to protect the surrounding space, it is imperative to lay pillows or something soft on the floor around the sofa.

Limiters, blockers and plugs

Children are very curious, and children who can crawl become real explorers who are interested in literally everything around. To make your child's acquaintance with your home as safe as possible, special limiters on drawers and cabinet doors that prevent the child from opening them allow. Door locks will prevent pinching and injury to the baby's fingers.

Sockets that need to be closed with special plugs deserve special attention. If there are wires in the rooms, they should be removed behind cabinets or tables, and in the ideal case, hidden under the baseboard. And such a simple thing as overlays on the sharp corners of the table will save the child from bruises and deep scratches.

Edible - inedible

Since children get to know the world not only “by touch”, but also “by taste”, parents should also control this process - household chemicals and medicines should be stored in places inaccessible to children.

Also, although houseplants enrich the air with oxygen and decorate the apartment, it is worth bearing in mind that the leaves and milky juice of some species can be dangerous for children. When purchasing indoor plants, you need to make sure that they are safe, and if you already have dangerous species in your home, then they must be removed.

It is better to keep products in the kitchen in wall cabinets so that the child cannot get close to them. Particular attention should be paid to the storage of vinegar and alcoholic beverages.

The stove is not a toy for children

The kitchen in general is fraught with many dangers for the baby. Regardless of whether you have a gas stove or an electric stove, the burners must be protected from children's curiosity - install a protective barrier on the stove. It will not interfere with cooking, but it will significantly increase the safety of the stove.

If you decide from a young age to teach your child to help in the kitchen, then at first do not give him sharp objects - first let the child peel boiled potatoes or tear salad. When your child is comfortable in the kitchen, give him a plastic safety knife and offer to cut soft ingredients. Only when the child feels confident in the kitchen, trust him with a real knife.

non-slip path

Do you have sparkling parquet floors in your home, or do you prefer to use tile flooring? In any case, it does not hurt to make sure that the coating does not allow slipping. House slippers help prevent slipping, but children often wear only socks or tights and may fall.

Carpets, by the way, can also slide on the floor, so when buying them you need to make sure that the reverse side does not slip. And for existing carpets, you can buy anti-slip pads that are attached to the back.

If the house has stairs, they also need to be inspected for safety for the baby, for example, you can stick a special rough tape on each step that will protect the child from slipping.
No synthetics!

Even minor burns can leave scars on the body that are difficult to get rid of. Synthetic clothing can increase their severity, so it is better not to use it.

And burns with hot water can be obtained not only by infants due to the carelessness of their parents, but also by older children who are not always able to immediately adjust the desired water temperature. To eliminate such incidents, bathrooms can be equipped with installations that limit the water temperature to 50 degrees.

By the way, although bathing gives children a lot of positive emotions, the bathroom is considered by doctors to be one of the most dangerous in the apartment. Small children should not be left unattended in the bathroom, even if there is not much water in it - in a few minutes of your absence, the baby can choke on water, taste shampoo, drop a razor into the water. And an older child may fall when trying to get out of the bathroom on their own.

Proper balcony and windows

Cases of children falling from windows and balconies, unfortunately, are not so rare. In many countries there are already certain norms that must be observed when erecting buildings. For example, in Portugal, a project is being prepared, according to which the height of the balcony wall should be at least 110 centimeters, and the distance between the bars should not exceed 9 centimeters. Such a fence seems to be difficult for children to overcome, so they will not even try to climb over it or stick their head in. You can also install special fittings on windows and balcony doors, which allows you to open a window or door wide open only with the help of keys.

Windows, as well as glass cabinet doors, are also dangerous because children, playing, for example, with a ball, can break them and get hurt. To prevent this from happening, stick bright stickers on the glass surfaces that will remind the child of the danger.

Alone at home

But if the presence of adults in the house does not always protect children from danger, then what can we say about those cases when parents have to leave the child alone for a while. A few rules will help to minimize the danger of an independent stay of the baby at home.

First of all, before leaving, you need to check if you left the water or gas turned on and turned off the electric heaters. Matches, all piercing and cutting objects and other objects with which the child may be injured should be removed.

You also need to close the windows. If your apartment is located on the ground floor, you need to curtain the windows and teach the child this trick: if someone knocks on the window, your child, without coming up to him, should shout: “Dad! Go here!". In the evening, it is also worth turning on the lights in the rooms - this will scare off intruders.

Always in touch

Every child must know the phone numbers of their parents. Remembering long phone numbers is not easy, so the apartment should have a list of necessary phones in a conspicuous place - in addition to parents' work and mobile phones, there should be police, ambulance, fire department phones. Teach your child to call you in any situation and be sure to let you know if any unusual events occur at home, especially if it is an emergency.

At the same time, it is imperative to explain to the children that the fire department should be called not only when a fire is visible, but also when there is a smell of smoke or smoke is observed in the house. You also need to call 01 in situations where a fire occurs on the street or a child sees fire or smoke from a window in a neighboring house or on the street.

If the child already has mobile phone, be sure to save in the phone book the unified emergency number 112, which operates in all Russian cellular networks. Explain to your child that this number should be called in any emergency if a regular landline phone is not at hand. You also need to learn with the child what his name is, what the names of his parents are, his home address and telephone number.

To safety through play

And finally, advice that will make it easier for the child to remember all the numerous safety rules. When teaching these rules to children, do not try to appeal to logic - children perceive learning as a game much better. For example, read the fairy tale "The Wolf and the Seven Kids" with your child. Explain to your child how important it is to ask who is behind the door and why you shouldn't open the door to strangers.

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With accessible places electrical wires. Do not run extension cords across the room to prevent tripping over wires.

2) Do not plug several large electrical appliances into one outlet at once. Use network filters.

3) Be sure to periodically check the performance of the sockets. Unreliable broken, sparking sockets must be replaced in time.

4) In the bathroom, install sockets with covers to prevent water from entering.

5) Check the safety of electrical appliances. Be sure to pay attention to the quality of the wires: if the insulating layer on the wire is broken, do not plug the device into the outlet.

6) Install fire detectors at home that respond to high temperature or smoke. Purchase fire fighting equipment, such as a fire extinguisher.

7) Use sustainable furniture. Securely and carefully install large pieces of furniture: cabinets, walls, kitchen sets. Be sure to check the reliability of fastening shelves and brackets.

8) Check the reliability of fastening chandeliers and sconces.

9) Try not to put heavy items on the shelves to prevent them from falling.

10) If you buy furniture with drawers, make sure that their design is equipped with a special limiter. It will prevent the drawer from falling out on your feet if you pull too hard on the handle.

11) Secure floor carpets to the floor with special Velcro to prevent tripping over the edge of the carpet.

12) Get bath mats with non-slip backing.

13) Make the bathtub less slippery by gluing a special sticker or a rubber mat on its bottom.

14) Try to use less household chemicals in the house, as many of the modern cleaning and laundry products can cause health problems. Buy eco-cleaning products whenever possible.

15) If you live in a private house, take care to install a security alarm.

16) In the event that you live in an apartment on the first floor, attach reliable bars to the windows.

Even more safety requirements in the house must be shown if a small child lives with you.

17) Lock all doors, the opening of which may be dangerous for the child. Close the door tightly to the workshop with tools, to the unglazed balcony. Put locks on cabinets for medicines and household chemicals. If you have a glass cabinet with dishes, you should also limit the child's access to its contents.

18) Install plastic locks on the drawers of the chest of drawers so that the child cannot pinch his fingers.

19) Use plastic plugs for sockets.

20) Put stops on the windows to make it possible to open them by a maximum of 10-15cm. If you leave your child in a room alone, even for a short time, be sure to close the window. Make sure that there is no furniture or other objects under the window that the child could use as a step.

21) Remove sharp objects from the baby's reach: knives, scissors, manicure accessories. Keep them locked up or on high shelves. Also, it is necessary to exclude the child's access to other dangerous things: matches, lighters, sewing accessories, plastic bags, electric light bulbs.

22) If you have a glass table, be sure to stick a colored film on it. Do the same with glass doors that the child may not notice.

23) Cover any sharp corners with plastic or rubber patches. Eliminate any sharp pieces of furniture. For example, unscrew the decorative tops on the headboard.

24) Limit the child's access to any heaters: radiators, fireplace, electric heater. The batteries can be hung with a cover, the fireplace can be fenced with a grate with frequent partitions so that the child cannot get stuck in them. Turn on the heater only when you yourself are in the room.

25) Remove all small objects from the territory reachable by the child. Beads, earrings, paper clips, buttons, batteries, etc. should not be left unattended.

26) Do not use a tablecloth with hanging edges, pulling on which, the baby can knock over the dishes. Do not leave mugs with hot drinks, forks and knives on the edge of the table.

27) Give preference to household appliances with child protection. Use special protective panels for cooking stoves to protect the child from the possibility of getting burned.

28) If the house has stairs, put barrier devices at the top and on the third step below. It is also good to put a soft non-slip coating on the steps.

29) Install a safety pad for the faucet in the bathroom, which will protect the child from hot water burns.

Home is a place of comfort and tranquility where we spend more than 60 percent of our time. After a long trip, we always strive to get home - to a corner where you can hide from the bustle of the city. Since ancient times, people have attached special importance to their homes. In Scripture, the word "house" is one of the most frequently used. Righteous Alexy Mechev said: "Every house is a home church in honor of those saints whose names are borne by those living in it."

A special atmosphere and home comfort are created by things and interior items that we choose for our home together with loved ones, we bring from various trips or receive as a gift.

“Very important for our salvation is how our house looks like, the room where we spend most of our lives. Because all the surrounding objects should tune us to the good, saving, divine and not lead us into temptations in any way, so that it does not ruin us spiritually. So Saint Nikon says: "Throw away everything that tempts you in your cell." (Archpriest Valentin Mordasov)

AT modern conditions home often becomes a place of work. There are people whose professions are related to remote activities - thus, we can say that they spend most of their time in the house and feel safe in it.

When we go outside, we often pay attention to the environmental conditions around us - exhaust gases, the level of air pollution in the city, or the cleanliness of local water bodies. At the same time, we forget that the climate of our home is often also environmentally unsafe. Moreover, we consciously bring sources of pollution into our home, or we create them in the process of life.

Recent studies of air in cities have shown that air in an apartment is more often polluted than outside outside the window, so doctors It is advised to ventilate living quarters at least twice a day to reduce the concentration of harmful substances.

In this article, we will analyze what are the sources of hazardous substances in apartments and houses.

As a rule, when moving into a new home, the first thing tenants face is renovation. And at this stage, it is most important to set a goal - to “create” a safe house, to make its microclimate environmentally friendly. To do this, it is necessary to choose safe finishing materials so that their evaporation does not lead to allergies and other chronic diseases over time.

What you need to know when choosing environmentally friendly finishing materials?

When buying any building material for interior decoration, make it a rule to check its hygiene certificate. In any large store, at the first request, you should be given it.

Remember that any hygiene certificate has an expiration date, which you also need to pay attention to.

Important:

  • purchase materials only from large manufacturers;
  • carefully read the composition of the material, the most dangerous components are PVC, phenol, solvents, phenol-formaldehyde resin, lead, toluene, formaldehyde, chlorine-containing components, acetone;
  • observe the technology of applying the material and the drying time;
  • remember that it is better to move into a renovated apartment a month after the repair, so the most dangerous substances will have time to neutralize and disappear.

How to decorate walls safely?

The safest for wall decoration are ordinary paper wallpapers or non-woven. In the production of interlining, paper pulp is used, which is then repeatedly pressed. Interlining is biologically inert and is even used in medicine as a biosoluble inert dressing material.

If you decide to paint the walls, then in this case you need to be more vigilant. Paints may contain potentially hazardous substances such as highly volatile solvents or lead-based pigments.
The solvents used in the manufacture of paints are highly volatile compounds that are harmful to humans if inhaled. Such unsafe paints, for example, are alkyd. Them distinguishing feature strong chemical smell.

How to determine if the paint is safe for health?

Water soluble paints are safe. The most common of them are imported and quite expensive. Whether it is worth saving on your health, everyone decides for himself.
Modern water-soluble paints contain practically no volatile organic substances, are resistant, durable and environmentally friendly.
In Russia, the content of solvents in paints is not regulated. However, before the paint hits the store shelves, it must pass sanitary— epidemiological study, which maybe reveal her allergic action.

The manufacturer indicates this information on the label, which should also contain:
- the name of the paint;
- purpose and method of application (not all paints can be used for interior work);
— rules and conditions of safe storage;
- Precautions at work;
- expiration date, batch number, release date, weight;
- contact details of the manufacturer;

- compound;

- the more natural components (vegetable oils, resins, mineral pigments) and less organic solvents, the safer the product.

In accordance with the new European regulations, interior paints are considered safe, if content volatile components not exceeds 30 grams on the liter;

What documents for paint can be requested at the store?

There are three documents that must be kept by sellers without fail.

1. Certificate of state registration of Rospotrebnadzor
2. Declaration of conformity in the GOST RF system - issued only for enamels, anti-corrosion primers and drying oils
3. Voluntary certificate of compliance with the requirements of 123-FZ "On Fire Safety Requirements".

For modern paints, the availability of quality certificates can be a criterion for paint safety. ISO 9001and/ orISO 14001 which the manufacturer indicates on the label. This is a kind of guarantor of the quality of the paint. Almost all imported paints have these certificates.

What is safe to cover the floor during the repair?

Floor coverings often highlight toxic substances or contains allergens. There are environmental requirements for such coatings. According to the latest data, the following materials are the safest for human health:

  • natural wood
  • cork floor
  • laminate class E1
  • natural linoleum
  • parquet

At the same time, parquet and natural wood are often varnished to give a beautiful appearance and strength. When buying varnish, give preference to expensive and well-known brands.

Choosing high quality linoleum

If you opted for a relatively inexpensive linoleum for flooring, then you should remember the need to require a hygiene certificate for it.

Certificate compliance

When considering an environmental certificate, it is worth paying attention to the labeling of the material, namely the emission class.
Emission classes determine the degree of formaldehyde emission from finishing materials. There are classes E1, E2 and E3, where E1 is the lowest level of formaldehyde emission. The safest are class E1. Linoleum class E2 and E3 can only be used in non-residential premises. When choosing linoleum, you should also pay attention to its smell. Safe linoleum practically does not smell.

In general, linoleum is currently considered a non-environmental material. Initially, linoleum was patented based on natural vegetable oils. However, their high cost led to a change in production technology. The basis for it is currently unsafe polyvinyl chloride, which emits phenol and formaldehyde. Such substances are very harmful to health, can cause allergies and infertility.

Fortunately, many manufacturers are returning to the origins of the production of linoleum based on natural ingredients for safe home. Such linoleum does not emit hazardous substances into the air, but it also costs more.

Choosing a quality laminate

Laminate is 80 percent wood chips and paper, and 20 percent synthetic resin, and it can be said that it is practically safe for health. However, its surface is covered with resins, which use dangerous formaldehyde in their production. Therefore, when choosing a quality laminate, you should also look at its emission class in the hygiene certificate.

Remember:

1. E1 safety class laminate can be used in residential areas. Classes E2 and E3 only in non-residential premises.
2. When choosing a laminate, it is necessary to check the conclusion of sanitary and epidemiological supervision so that the level of formaldehyde does not exceed 0.12 mg per cubic meter.
3. Laminate is safer, in the production of which acrylic resins were used.

At first glance, everything described seems rather difficult to remember, however, it is worth remembering that we do not often deal with repairs, and checking, for example, a hygiene certificate in a store is a matter of minutes, but we neglect it, worsening the environment at home.

We clean the air in the apartment

You can improve the ecology in the house and clean the air with the help of. Of course, they will not eliminate dangerous formaldehyde and other chemicals. However, assimilating carbon dioxide, ecological plants synthesize oxygen. Such plants, for example, include chlorophytum, which purifies the air more efficiently than technical air purifiers.

Biologists found out that in a day chlorophytum is able to completely clean the air of the experimental chamber from all harmful impurities. .

Chlorophytum multiplies very quickly and shoots appear on its stems, perhaps this fact is responsible for air purification.

Another such environmental plant is the water hyacinth. A study of the water in the rivers where this plant grows showed a surprisingly low content of harmful substances in the water. Water hyacinth can be grown in home gardens, purifying the surrounding air.

The additional use of filters placed in the soil effectively eliminates harmful impurities in the air. So, for example, in a pot of earth you can put Activated carbon, which the enhances the cleansing properties of the plant as a whole.

Electrical appliances are dangerous sources of pollution

One of the sources of pollution in the house are also electrical appliances that emit electromagnetic waves.

Action electrical appliances on the organism human

Electromagnetic waves are a stream of charged particles that affect the cells of our body. Under the influence of an electromagnetic field, phospholipids of cell membranes and proteins with their own charge begin to oscillate, which causes the destruction of cellular structures.

Russian scientists have found that embryos are most susceptible to such radiation. It turned out that electromagnetic fields also affect the nervous and muscle tissues, can provoke neurological disorders and insomnia, as well as malfunctions of the gastrointestinal tract.

Most electrical appliances are in the kitchen. In a residential building, the most powerful radiation was recorded from microwave ovens, refrigerators with a frost-free system, electric stoves and mobile phones.

How to protect yourself from the influence of electromagnetic radiation?

“In living quarters, it is enough to correctly arrange household appliances: a bed and sofas, a dining table, that is, those places where we spend a lot of time, should not fall into their field,” explains Dmitry Davydov, an expert at Ecostandard, an independent environmental review company.

If it is impossible to abandon the technique, then try not to turn on all the devices at once and reduce the time spent near the turned-on devices to a minimum.

In the children's room, it is necessary to practically abandon the use of electrical appliances, since the growing children's body is most susceptible to the effects of a dangerous field.

When arranging sockets, you should pay attention to the fact that they are as close to the floor as possible. Electric heated floors are a very strong emitter of electromagnetic energy, so it is better not to place them under the bed or in the nursery.

When you are not using electrical appliances, do not be lazy to unplug them from the outlet, because even in standby mode they are a source of powerful radiation.

With regard to microwave ovens, it is very easy to check the quality of the tightness of such an oven. If you carry a sheet of aluminum foil in front of the door of a working microwave oven, then the absence of crackling and sparks will confirm that everything is in order.

Garbage disposal

One of the keys to good ecology in the house is the proper disposal of garbage. The well-known saying “Think globally, act locally” fits perfectly in this case. Think about it, have you ever handed over batteries for recycling? We all throw them in the general trash. Statistics show that 15 million batteries end up in Moscow's landfills every year.

The use and improper disposal of batteries has created many environmental issues due to soil and air pollution with toxic metals. These include lead, mercury, and cadmium.

How dangerous metals for human?

  • Lead accumulates in the kidneys and can cause brain disease.
  • Cadmium accumulates in the thyroid gland and can cause cancer.
  • Mercury is one of the dangerous poisons of the 1st hazard class, and causes diseases of the respiratory system.

Batteries are fatal if swallowed. For example, in children's body they can burn the tissues of the esophagus due to leakage of alkali from the battery. Therefore, it is recommended to prevent children from playing with devices containing batteries, and to hand over used batteries and batteries for disposal and recycling. Looking at the finger battery, you will see a distinctive sign.

It means that the battery should not be thrown into the general trash. You can hand over the used battery absolutely free of charge to large electronics stores or special recycling companies. There are similar reception points in Moscow, Novosibirsk, Volgograd, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, St. Petersburg, Smolensk, Tula, Chelyabinsk.

The topic of separate waste is especially relevant now all over the world. In Russia, there are still very few containers with separate waste collection. By the way, we all throw out the garbage and do not think about what happens to it in the future.

Garbage dumps filled all the suburban areas of large cities. For example, there are 59 landfills in the Moscow region, and only two of them comply with environmental standards. Moscow and major cities are now on the verge of a garbage crisis. Separate waste collection allows you to isolate recyclable materials from it. These are plastic, glass, paper, aluminum.

Recycled materials are used to produce products that are useful in everyday life. But the world, as they say, is not without kind people who are not indifferent to this problem. And already today there are collection companies, volunteer organizations to organize the collection of people who want to throw away garbage separately. More information is available on the Internet. A map of waste collection points is now available frommovement "Separate Collection". For example, Russian Railways has joined this movement since 2014 and introduced separate waste collection at all railway stations in the country. In this problem, the main thing is to start, and you can do it small. For example, if possible, do not buy a drink in a plastic bottle. If you have already bought it, then do not throw it away immediately, but adapt it for something. If you decide to throw plastic bottle into the general garbage, then it is necessary to crush it, releasing the air. Thus, they will take up less space in the garbage truck, and it will be able to transport more garbage at a time, use less gasoline and emit less exhaust gases into the air.

Very often we buy things in bright packaging. You can later reuse it for children's crafts, if it is cardboard or paper. Or wrap a children's gift in it, as children really like bright holiday packaging. It is very convenient to recycle shopping bags for garbage collection.

household chemistry – sourcebad ecology in home

A social survey company conducted a study on whether household chemicals are safe. Two-thirds of Russians surveyed aged 20 to 65 answered that they had never thought about it. Household chemicals include washing powders, dishwashing and plumbing detergents, and various polishes. Russian scientists have found that only in the brain "settles" 1.9% of the total amount that got on the skin while washing dishes, in the liver - 0.6%. Surfactants have a chemical affinity for certain components of human cell membranes and accumulate on them, covering the membranes with a thin layer. Reaching a certain concentration, surfactants cause violations of biochemical processes and the very integrity of the cell.

Recall that most dangerous are ionogenic surfactants (cationic and anionic). They are used as an active ingredient in detergents and cosmetics.

Choose, if possible, detergents containing non-ionic surfactants. If a in composition contained cationic or anionic surfactant, then content them not must to be more 5 percent. For washing dishes, it is worth giving preference to products based on natural ingredients, such as straw and bran, often they have an ecological label on the packaging. If such products are expensive for you, you can wash dishes with natural soap, soda with citric acid. You can not use dish detergent if you fill the sink with water and just soak the plates, then it will be enough to rinse them or wipe them with a sponge with laundry soap.

environmentally hazardous

Of course, it is impossible to completely abandon the use of household chemicals, because they came up with it to make our lives easier. Recently, the film “Habitat. Household chemicals". The filmmakers set up a simple experiment. They tried to wash the T-shirt with natural products. In this case, 1 kg of lemons and an hour and a half of hard physical effort were used.

Of course, health issues should be taken seriously, however, in modern world it is very difficult to give up all the blessings of civilization. There is an exit. You just need to learn how to read the labels on detergents. For example, when choosing a washing powder, you should give preference to phosphate-free products. Phosphates are very hazardous to human health and also pollute wastewater. Rostest advises choosing powders containing zeolites - they have replaced phosphates and are safe for health and the environment. To better remove stains, enzymes and polymers are added to modern environmentally friendly powders.

Choose washing powder for children's underwear

Baby powder should not contain enzymes, phosphates and zeolites, bleaches.

By the way, all children's washing powders sold in large stores contain dangerous phosphates, and their content is more than 5 percent. Now Japanese and Korean phosphate-free children's washing powders have become available.

  • High-quality baby powder dissolves perfectly and quickly in water, it does not form lumps, does not leave marks on clothes, and practically does not foam.
  • Be sure to check the integrity of the package and the expiration date.
  • The use of fabric softeners for newborns is prohibited.
  • If the powder is imported, the packaging must contain instructions and composition on Russian, and also all information about the manufacturer.

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Creating a safe home is an investment in the health of the whole family. Using the tips in this article, you can help our home become environmentally friendly. And this means that each of us will take a step not only towards the cleanliness of our own housing, but also towards improving the ecology of our planet as a whole.

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