Materials, Finishes & Furnishings

The walls, floors and roof of your home are made of materials which influence the indoor air quality that you breathe. So too do the interior finishes and furnishings, and everything else that you introduce into your home interior yourself.

Many of these are considered normal simply because they have become the mainstream way and not because they are a good choice for protecting your health. They will often contain chemicals that off-gas into the indoor air and can be the cause of itchy eyes, runny noses, respiratory irritations and coughs, and breathing problems.

Your choice of materials, finishes and furnishings majorly affects the indoor air quality in your home.

Instead, choosing healthy materials, finishes and furnishings makes a huge difference to the indoor air that you breathe:

• walls, wallboards and insulation
• wood particle boards such as MDF, plywood and chipboard
• plasters and stones
• paints, finishes and furnishings
• sofas and beds
• flooring and carpets
• heating and ventilation
• cleaning, laundering and bathing products

Making healthy choices

This means avoiding materials, finishes, furnishings and products that contain:
Volatile organic compounds, formaldehyde and microscopic fibres.
Foams or plastics containing PVC, bisphenol A, phthalates, or styrene.
Radioactive radon, pesticides, fungicides, and other biocides.
Fire retardants, stain resisting finishes, and moth proofing.

When building, refurbishing or decorating.
Selecting healthy non-toxic building materials, paints, finishes and furnishings, whenever you are building, refurbishing or decorating, allows for a healthy indoor air.

Preventative approach
It is much easier to create a healthy indoor air quality when selecting new materials, finishes and furnishings, as a preventative approach, rather than sourcing which of your existing materials may be toxic.

Furnishings and flooring
Most new furniture, furnishing and carpet can contain a cocktail of toxic ingredients, including stain proofing, moth proofing, and fire-retardant chemicals. These will off-gas especially when new. However there are more healthy alternatives becoming available.

Cleaning, laundering and bathing products
These can contribute to the cocktail of toxic chemicals indoors. Many healthy alternatives are readily available

Avoiding synthetic finishes
Synthetic fabrics and finishes can contribute to a high electrostatic in the air. This allows toxic microscopic particulates to remain suspended in the air which makes them more easily inhaled into your lungs.

Building vapour permeable external walls
When building new, choosing vapour permeable external walls means that vapour can permeate out of the construction, thereby avoiding damp and subsequent mould problems internally. Sometimes also called ‘breathing wall construction’, it continually balances humidity, temperature and air electrostatic in your indoor air.

This, together with the use of non-toxic materials, finishes and furnishings, creates a superiorly comfortable ambient indoor environment.

Selecting non-toxic Materials, Finishes and Furnishings