The Movement to Create Healthy Homes in the Metro Area

About Omaha Healthy Kids Alliance

8 Principles of a Healthy Home DRY CLEAN PEST-FREE SAFE CONTAMINANT-FREE VENTILATED MAINTAINED ENERGY EFFICIENT

National Center for Healthy Housing

Keep it DryDamp houses provide a nurturing environment for mold and pests

Even small gaps (between wall and baseboard) can breed mold

Killing or bleaching mold does not workThere are no government standards for mold (CA does have a new law)

Keep it Pest-Free Bed bugs may be allergy triggers and

exacerbate asthma Spraying for bed bugs does not always

kill them Cockroaches can live for only a week

without water Cockroach dander is an asthma trigger

Keep it Safe Concrete on the outside of the home can

be a trip and fall hazard as well as a way to let water into the home

The risk of child being injured as a result of a fall at home is twice the risk as at child-care

Almost every month, a child in the U.S. dies from mini-blind cord strangulation

Keep it Contaminant-Free Chemical exposures

radon pesticides volatile organic compounds environmental tobacco smoke carbon monoxide lead

Exposures rates are higher indoors than outside

Keep it Ventilated Most roofs may not be properly vented Ventilation reduces household allergens Fresh air supply in a home improves respiratory

health Opening your windows for 15 minutes a day can

help to filter out the contaminants that may be present in your home, including radon, a leading cause of lung cancer, or formaldehyde, an air pollutant linked to leukemia

Keep it Maintained Reduce the likelihood of household fires

and carbon monoxide poisoning by having gas, oil or solid fuel heating appliances professionally serviced once a year

Change your furnace filter every 3 months Test your smoke and carbon monoxide

alarms

Keep it Energy Efficient In the average home, 75% of the electricity used to

power home electronics is consumed while the products are turned off. (Idle power consumes more electricity than all the solar panels in America combined.)

Properly designed and executed, energy-efficient new homes have been shown to improve the general and respiratory health of occupants when compared to new homes built using traditional practices.

Weatherized homes are at lower risk for fires, and their residents have fewer respiratory illnesses

Before After

Before After

The Movement to Create Green and Healthy Homes in the Metro area…

• Have your home assessed for hazards• Have your child tested for lead and allergies• Make your own Healthy Home• Volunteer to with us to help make other Healthy

Homes• Partner with us• Create an infrastructure that supports Healthy

Homes in the Metro area• Walk or run the Rundee – August 27• Attend our 10 year anniversary event – May 7