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CLAUDIA IN WASHINGTON, DC, ASKS:
I’m interested in creating a healthy home for my family. I’m worried about pollution from my gas stove and stair carpeting, but I’m a renter. I don’t get much say in things like appliances in my home, and I can’t afford new ones anyway! Do you have any advice on sustainable options specifically for and available to renters?
Tell Congress: Save the Chemical Safety Board
MOM DETECTIVE ANSWERS:
This is such a fabulous question, Claudia. I love it so much and have so many ideas, I’m answering it with a top ten list. I respond to questions all the time with advice that anyone, including renters, can do to make a home healthier, from choosing safer pots and pans to rugs to laundry detergent to bedding. Still, when it comes to things like appliances and repairs or renovations, you are correct, renters do have less agency than homeowners. Don’t be discouraged. Even when it comes to things like countertops, there are steps renters can take to boost sustainability and safeguard family health. Here are just some ideas on actions to take at home, both with and without a landlord’s blessing.
Five steps renters can take to “green” a home without the landlord
Kick shoes off at the door to drastically reduce pollution, lead and pesticide residue, pollen, mold, plus bacteria and so much more from being tracked inside. This is especially important in a home with crawling babies and kids that play on the floor. Got a dog or an outdoor pet? Wipe off paws too.
2. Choose “green” cleaning products.
Unless your rental agreement includes weekly house cleanings, you’re—thankfully—in charge of the products you bring into your home. Choose wisely so you won’t pollute your indoor air. Many cleaners contain harmful ingredients, including synthetic fragrances, that don’t legally have to be listed on bottles like they do on food or personal care products.
3. Ventilate, ventilate, ventilate.
Open your windows, when weather permits, to air your home out. If your windows don’t open, you’ll need to ask to have this remedied pronto! You don’t want offgassing furniture, gas stove fumes, and so much more sealed in tight. Unless you’re experiencing wildfire smoke or live in close proximity to a known source of pollution, outdoor air has two to five times fewer pollutants than indoor air. I personally try to “rinse” my air daily for at least 10 minutes, even in the winter.
Testing tap or well water and filtering accordingly can go a long way to creating a healthy home. Even if your rental is in a town with excellent municipal water, hazardous chemicals and even lead from old pipes can make their way into your glass. Drinking water doesn’t need an expensive whole-house filtering system; there are many renter- and budget-friendly options to filter at the tap.
5. Save energy.
If your rental has energy efficient appliances, great. Not all do. Without buying new appliances, you can still save energy at home by drying your laundry on a line or indoor rack, using your air conditioner and heat at moderate temperatures, adding weather stripping and other inexpensive, removable insulation, unplugging chargers and electronics when not in use, adding blackout curtains, and much more.
Five very doable ideas that may require landlord approval
Some landlords have exterminators come on a set schedule to bait and spray for everything from roaches to ticks to small rodents. If yours does, a little conversation can go a long way. Once, when pregnant, I was able to ban exterminator visits to my apartment just by showing building management my baby bump.
If your building has shared garden space, speaking (kindly!) with your landlord about impacts of pesticides on people, birds, bees, and groundwater as well as suggesting a safer alternative, like integrated pest management, might just do the trick. It never ever hurts to ask.
7. Advocate for safer paint and other home improvement materials.
Should your landlord need to, say, fix a leak in a ceiling or make cosmetic improvements in your family’s home, it’s wise and totally acceptable to check in about the products being used. There are many low- and no-VOC paints now on the market that release fewer volatile organic compound fumes into the indoor air. There are also safer floor finishes, sealants, caulks, and so much more. All are pretty widely available and affordable too. Once I convinced a resistant landlord to let me pay for better materials, including paint, his workers then used. I decided it was worth the added expense.
8. Get composting.
There may already be a municipal composting program where you live, but if not, there are still ways to compost as a renter. You can ask to have compost picked up for a nominal fee (or pay this yourself). And you can also ask for permission to start a compost pile in a shared outdoor space.
You may be using safer cleaning products in your home, but what’s used in the shared spaces like hallways and elevators is up to the landlord. And it’s not always the greatest stuff. You can ask for better products. Once I suggested a better carpet shampoo after product fumes seeped under my doorway. But actually my biggest shared space pet peeve is piped-in scent from things like plug-ins and even burning scented candles in the lobby. Ask your landlord to skip the smell. Due to trade secret rules, the specific ingredients of any given fragrance formula are not required to be listed on a label and many chemicals typically used in fragrance pose human and environmental concerns.
10. Idle-free parking.
Does your rental building have a parking lot or garage? Suggest adopting a no idling policy. Many schools have them for good reason; they reduce exposure to toxic vehicle exhaust from delivery vehicles and neighbors’ cars. While discussing parking, you can gently ask about electric chargers (if not already available) and find out what sorts of chemicals are used to de-ice spaces during winter snow season. Why not?
Claudia, I hope these ideas make you feel more in charge of your home, rental or not.