Healthy home guide

The environment affects human health, often in more ways than you might think. Your home environment is no exception. The air you breathe, water you drink, things you touch, and types of chemicals in your home affect your health.

You can take action to improve the health of your home by learning to:

Spot hazardous household products.
Store hazardous household products properly.
Clean your home with safer chemicals.
Shop for safer products.

I want to:

Click the link to learn how to find safer products

Shop for safer household products

Click the link to go to our Safer Products for Washington webpage

Find Safer Products for Washington resources

Click to go to information about how to dispose of hazardous household waste

Dispose of hazardous products

How can you improve the health of your home?

Click the image to go to our Healthier Living Starts at Home publication. — See our Healthier Living Starts at Home guide.

There are simple things you can do today to improve the health of your home and environment:

Know what hazardous products are in your home.
Look for products labeled "Caution," "Warning," "Poison," or "Danger."
Store hazardous products properly.
Keep hazardous products in a tray, tub, or bin. Make sure containers have the original label (tape it down if it comes loose). Keep out of reach of children and pets.
Clean out and dispose of hazardous products.
Always dispose of hazardous household products correctly. Never dump them down the drain, sink, toilet, or trash.
Choose safer products.
Look for products with less toxic chemicals, such as those with the Safer Choice label.

How to spot and store common hazardous products at home

Many common products you have at home can contain hazardous chemicals. Be sure to:

Store these products in bins, trays, or other storage options.
Keep these products out of reach of pets and children.
Keep the labels on so everyone knows what the product is.

Adhesives: Epoxy, glues, glazes
Auto and boat equipment: Batteries, gasoline, oil, antifreeze
Cleaners: Disinfectants, household and bathroom cleaners, aerosols, degreasers
Electronics: Fluorescent lightbulbs, computer monitors, and TVs
Explosives: Ammunition, fireworks
Mercury: Mercury thermometers and thermostats
Outdoor equipment: Pool chemicals, glaze, white gas
Paint and solvents: Oil-based paint, paint thinner, paint stripper, solvents
Pesticides and fertilizers: Wood preservatives, herbicides, pesticides
Pharmaceuticals and medications: Prescription, non-prescription, over-the-counter drugs

Warning labels: Skull and cross bones, red X, yellow triangle

How do you know if a product is hazardous?

Look for warning labels. Many products that are hazardous have words or pictures to show:

Danger.
Warning.
Poison.
Caution.

Are there toxic chemicals in household products with no labels?

Yes! There are products in most of our homes that contain toxic chemicals that come with no labels. Why? Because there are toxic chemicals widely used that are unregulated (i.e. there is no oversight to their use).

Go to our Safer Products for Washington resources page to learn more.

EPA's Safer Choice label. Click to go to EPA's Safer Choice program webpage.

Shop for safer products

Part of improving the health of your home involves choosing products that are less-toxic to start with. Here are our recommendations for how to find products that are effective at what they do, but contain less toxic chemicals.

Look for EPA's Safer Choice labels

If you see the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Safer Choice program label on products, this is because the product is certified to:

Contain the safest ingredients.
Be just as effective as similar, more toxic products.

Other safer products

Cradle to Cradle is another certification program that lists many products (clothing, building materials, etc.) that are certified as less toxic, responsible, and ethical.

Find Cradle to Cradle Certified products and brands online or in stores. They certify based on a tiered system.

Are you a business owner?

Business owners can improve their impact on the environment too by:

Switching to safer alternatives.
Participating in one of our product replacement programs.
Working with our technical assistance staff to help you improve overall energy efficiency, process efficiency, and other ways tailored to you and your business needs. This is a free, non-regulatory service.

Contact information

Safer Products for Washington
SaferProductsWA@ecy.wa.gov
360-999-7566

Were you able to find what you were looking for today?*:	Yes No Not sure
What were you trying to find?*:
Please describe your experience. What was challenging? What was helpful? *:	Please include details that will help us address any issues you're reporting.
Was the search tool helpful to you? *:	Yes No I didn't use Search.
How can we improve our website?:	Optional. If you have suggestions, we'd like to hear them!
Your name:	Please include contact information if you'd like a reply.
Email:	If you’d like a reply, please provide an email address.
Phone number:	( ) - Second three digits Last four digits If you’d like us to call you, please provide a phone number.
Which best describes your role in visiting our site today?*:	Business / Consultant / Contractor Government - Local Government - State Government - Federal Government - Tribal Scientist / Researcher Non-profit Washington resident / Public Educator Student Job seeker Ecology employee
PleaseLeaveBlank:	Are you a robot? If not, please do not enter anything in this field.
	ignore
	ignore