"Healthy Homes" is a century-old concept that promotes safe, decent, and sanitary housing as a means for preventing disease and injury. There is a lot of emerging scientific evidence linking health outcomes such as asthma, lead poisoning, and unintentional injuries to substandard housing. It is estimated that there are more than 6 million substandard housing units nationwide.

But it's not just older homes that contain hazards. Even newer expensive homes may have hazards lurking within. Creating healthier housing promotes the healthy growth and development of children and has the potential to save billions in health care costs. Everyone, from newborn to senior adult, needs and benefits from a healthy home.

The Healthy Homes Initiative encompasses a holistic view of housing and its effect on human health.  People spend approximately 50% of there day inside their homes.  Young children spend about 70% of their time indoors. With this said, it only makes sense that conditions in the home will have a major influence on health and well being.

The Healthy Homes Program approaches the home from several different problem areas and shows how a problem in one area may influence a problem in another.  For example, a leaky roof will create a mold problem that affects indoor air quality and in turn may trigger an asthma attack or an allergic reaction for a person. The program also looks at the importance of safe drinking water, the importance of a lead free home, and keeping the house free of accident causations (poisons, tripping dangers, electrical shock and fire dangers).

A self- home evaluation is a first step in identifying problems that affect health and safety in the home environment.  The National Center for Healthy Housing has established seven principles for healthy homes:

1. Keep it dry.  Moisture causes mold.  Certain pests such as dust mites, roaches, and rodents thrive in damp conditions.
2. Keep it clean.  Keeps dust levels down, which effects air quality.  Eliminates food and harborage sources for vectors and insects.
3. Keep it pest free.  Certain pests are disease vectors.  Other pests can even affect air quality and be allergen irritants or asthma triggers.  Inappropriate treatment for pest infestations can increase health problems, and pose risk for neurological damage and cancer.
4. Keep it ventilated.  An improperly vented home can increase air pollutants, or create moisture problems.  Cleaner air improves respiratory health.
5. Keep it safe.  Most accidents occur in the home; this includes falls, burns, shock, and accidental poisoning. 
6. Keep it contaminant free.  Household cleaners, hobby products, tobacco smoke, Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), pesticides and other products can produce toxic conditions in the home and should be used and stored properly.
7. Keep it maintained.  This covers structural maintenance as well as maintaining house systems such as the HVAC system.  If it is an older home, maintaining the condition of painted surfaces to reduce lead poisoning hazards is vital in preventing lead poisoning, especially in young children.

Union County Environmental Health strongly supports the Healthy Homes Initiative.  To learn more about Healthy Homes go to: http://www.healthyhomespartnership.net/.  For information on specific topics such as mold or pests, and how to reduce their harmful impact on your home and health go to: http://www.disasterhousing.gov/offices/lead/hhi/index.cfm.