Healthy Homes

What Is a Healthy Home?

Alex and Dana recently bought their first home a—real “fixer-upper” built in the early 1980s. They wanted to do everything they could to make their new home a safe and healthy environment, especially because they have two young children. Although the home had working smoke detectors, the previous owners had not installed carbon monoxide detectors. As part of their plans to restore their new home, Alex and Dana immediately installed carbon monoxide detectors. They also replaced the batteries in the smoke detectors with new ones.

These are just a few steps that helped Alex and Dana create a safe, healthy home for their family. Read below to learn more about creating a healthy home.

A healthy home is designed, built, and maintained to support our health. Most people spend at least half of every day inside their homes. Although people living in poorly maintained homes are at increased risk for injury and illness, no one is immune to illness or injury occurring in the home. A healthy, safe, and accessible home supports peoples’ basic needs and protects them from illness and injury.

CDC’s Role in Healthy Homes: What Success Looks Like

CDC focuses on preventing diseases and injuries associated with home-related hazards. Success looks like a smoke alarm in every house in the United States and no deaths in house fires. It looks like carbon monoxide detectors in every home, no deaths or illnesses from malfunctioning gas stoves, continued reductions in lead paint hazards in housing and in blood lead levels in the nation’s children. It looks like a reduction in serious falls for adults, especially the elderly, and an increase in the availability of healthy, safe, accessible, and environmentally friendly homes.

Make Your Home a Healthy One

Make your home as environmentally healthy and safe as it could be. For example, the Surgeon General suggests that in your kitchen:

• Never use the stove or oven to heat the house.
• Use a range hood fan or other kitchen exhaust fan that vents outside.
• Install smoke and carbon monoxide alarms.
• Use safe cleaning and pest control products.
• Stop cockroaches, ants, and mice without pesticides: (1) Keep them out – seal openings to the outside and between rooms, (2) Starve them – put away food, clean up, cover the trash and garbage, (3) Deny them water – fix leaks and wipe up spilled water.
• When necessary, use closed baits, traps, and gels.
• Never use bug bombs.

Read the Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Promote Healthy Homes for other ways to ensure a healthy home.