7 Tips to Create an Eco-Friendly Apartment in 2020
Living a toxic-free life can be difficult, but creating an eco-friendly apartment is achievable. By making a few simple changes around your apartment you can easily reduce your carbon footprint, which can also be beneficial to your overall health. Your apartment should be free of allergens, carcinogens, and other dangerous objects or products that can cause you harm. Let’s take an in-depth look at how you can create an eco-friendly apartment with these eco friendly apartment ideas!
1. Chemical Hazards
To rid your home of chemicals you must read the labels of the cleaning products you already own. Do you have any idea what the ingredients are? Generally, these products contain solvents and disinfectants that are comprised of ammonia, ethylene glycol, monobutyl acetate, sodium hypochlorite, and more. These chemicals can cause mild to severe reactions to your skin, eyes, nose, and throat. Ingesting these products is even more dangerous than smelling them. In the last decade, we have seen a huge growth in the number of non-hazardous, eco-friendly cleaning products available. Investigate which of these are right for your home and switch from toxic clean to safely clean.
2. Plants
Green plants in your home are an amazingly simple way to help purify the air you breathe. Plants release oxygen and absorb carbon dioxide. An experiment by NASA in 1989 led to the discovery that certain indoor plants can absorb chemicals like benzene and formaldehyde from the air. NASA also discovered that up to 87% of air toxins can be removed in a 24-hour period by houseplants.
Rubber plants, sansevieria, English ivy, and Boston ferns are just a few of the easy-to-grow beneficial plants for your apartment. There are plants for every home, and can survive in low, high, or moderate light. Don’t forget to add aloe vera to your collection; not only does aloe vera help absorb chemicals from the air, but this plant is also wonderful for healing mild burns. Keep in mind that if you share your apartment with pets or small children you will want to make sure the plants you choose are not harmful.
3. Faucets and Light Bulbs
Not everyone can live a zero-waste lifestyle but anything you do to create less garbage and conserve energy is a good thing. Start with something as simple as reducing your water usage. Turn the water off when you brush your teeth, don’t run the shower if you’re not in it, and make sure your faucets are leak free.
Utilizing LED lighting is an easy way to consume less energy and LEDs are safer to have in your home because they contain no mercury—a toxic metal. LEDs stay cooler to the touch and last many times longer than incandescent bulbs.
And don’t forget to unplug devices that you are not using. Leaving your phone charger dangling from an outlet while you are at work all day uses what is referred to as “zombie power.”
Wondering how to create an eco-friendly apartment? If so this article is for you and gives you a step-by-step guide to creating an eco-friendly apartment! #realestate #ecofriendly4. Replace with Sustainable
A trip home from the grocery store shouldn’t end with you wondering what to do with all those now–empty grocery bags. Paper bags waste precious trees, and disposable plastic bags are an ecological nightmare. Google “Plastic islands in the Pacific” and you will be horrified by what humans have done to our oceans. Instead, be kind to the planet with these two sustainable apartment hacks. One, bring your reusable totes as you run your errands. You will be surprised how easy it is once you make it a habit. Keep your totes near your keys and you will never forget them. Two, buy a few reusable water bottles.
5. Insulate
If you feel drafts of cold air in the winter or can’t seem to get your apartment cool enough in hot weather, check your windows. After a few years, the caulking around windows begins to disintegrate, creating spaces where warm or cold air can escape. The easy fix is to re-caulk. There are also thermal tapes available that can be applied to the frames of your window–an easy resolution to the problem. Check outlets on outer walls too. If they feel cold and drafty in the winter, it means the outlet lacks insulation, and you can find insulation products designed specifically for outlets at almost any big box store.
6. Compostable
Use disposable products that do not fill our landfills and contaminate our freshwater. Coffee filters, sandwich bags, plates, and cups are available in compostable variations. When you are ready to replace linens, towels, and bedsheets, look for those produced from bamboo, a highly sustainable crop. Bamboo towels absorb liquid at an amazing rate and bamboo sheets will help keep you sleep more comfortably at night.
7. Keep it Clean
Whether you live in a city like Denver where rental rates are affordable, or an expensive city like New York there are always going to be areas in your apartment that need to be cleaned occasionally to keep your home running efficiently, economically, and in an eco-friendly way. Your refrigerator is an amazing appliance. To keep it running perfectly move it away from the wall every six months and vacuum the coils.
Also, remove the dust and icky stuff that seems to appear from nowhere underneath your fridge. There are filters under there that could use your help. Change the filters in your furnace/air conditioner once a month to keep the air in your apartment clean and to prevent your HVAC system from overworking. This is especially important if you have pets that shed.
Make a concerted individual effort to leave a smaller carbon footprint. If everyone did this, it would make a world of difference
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Let's take an in-depth look at how you can create an eco-friendly apartment free of allergens, carcinogens, and other dangerous objects or products. #realestate #homedecorAbout the Author
Top Wellington Realtor, Michelle Gibson, wrote: “7 Tips to Create an Eco-Friendly Apartment in 2020”
Michelle has been specializing in residential real estate since 2001 throughout Wellington Florida and the surrounding area. Whether you’re looking to buy, sell or rent she will guide you through the entire real estate transaction. If you’re ready to put Michelle’s knowledge and expertise to work for you call or e-mail her today.
Areas of service include Wellington, Lake Worth, Royal Palm Beach, Boynton Beach, West Palm Beach, Loxahatchee, Greenacres, and more.
7 Tips to Create an Eco-Friendly Apartment in 2020
Michelle Gibson of the Hansen Real Estate Group Inc is a full-time REALTOR who has been specializing in Wellington Florida real estate since 2001. This veteran of the real estate industry has expertise in technology, marketing, and social media.