Your home should be a haven for relaxation. It should be a place that promotes wellness for all in your household. Prioritizing wellness at home helps to develop healthy habits that ensure mental and physical well-being. Simple adjustments like ditching snacks for healthier foods and exercising can go a long way in creating a healthier lifestyle. Additionally, so is ensuring the systems that promote air quality and safety in your home. Consider the following checklist to promote wellness in your home.

1. Research Different Companies to Remove Water and Mold

According to Water Mold Fire Restoration, about 70% of homes in the United States have some level of mold, from the fuzzy white patches on your floors, the orange film in your kitchen drain, or the slimy black spots in your bathroom cubical, mold can be found in almost every room in your house. Mold is not only unpleasant to look at but can also threaten all members of a household. Statistics indicate that 28% of people have mold allergies. However, whether you’re allergic or not, your nose, throat, skin, eyes, and lungs can irritate when exposed to mold.

Although small amounts of mold are harmless if the mold lands on a damp area in your home, it can drastically start to grow. It then emits spores into the air that can, over time, result in various health complications when inhaled. To guarantee wellness for all household members, research different mold and water removal companies for a contractor to eliminate the mold menace in your home permanently.

2. Test Your Paint for Lead

According to CDC, since 1978, lead-based paints have been banned for use in residential homes. However, if you live in a house built before the ban, the walls in your home are likely coated in lead-based paint. Although lead can still be found in paint, its percentage has significantly dropped from 50% to 0.1%. Lead is a toxic substance that can jeopardize wellness for all. It poses a significant threat to children, unborn babies, and pregnant women.

Lead is typically added to paint to speed up the drying process, to act as a moisture barrier that causes corrosion, and to increase durability. However, these are all good attributes. When lead chips or dust is inhaled, it can result in complications such as anemia, reproductive issues, damaged kidneys, and high blood pressure. Therefore, if you’re planning to renovate your home that was built before the ban took effect, hire a contractor who knows the right protocol to follow when offering lead removal services. To hire a lead-safe certified contractor, ask for at least three references where the contractor worked on houses built before 1978.

3. Determine If You Have Pests

Michael Sellner and Jordan Wicht noted that out of the 124 million occupied houses in the United States, 14 million were reported to have cockroaches within the last year. At the same time, another 14.8 million cited seeing rodents roaming around in their home. Pests have evaded many American houses, and it is vital to determine if yours is one of them. The truth is that pests can affect wellness for all and cause different health complications, such as allergies, respiratory diseases, asthma, and, in some cases, more serious complications that lead to fatalities.

Discovering pests in your home can be mentally frustrating or embarrassing. While most people associate having pests and rodents with dirty spaces, this isn’t always the case. Sometimes, even the cleanest homes can be infested with pests, depending on the season. Regardless, if you notice pests in your home, contact a local pest control company for a pest-free house. The contractor should be able to help you put in place measures to ensure the problem doesn’t recur.

4. Rent a Dumpster for Your Home Improvement Waste

According to a publication by Zippia Team, Americans schedule home improvements every three to five years. Whether you are doing a minor renovation like adding a fresh coat of paint or other bigger renovations like expanding a room, waste is generated. Although you already have your usual garbage pick-up plan, this may not sufficiently manage the waste generated from a home improvement project.

Proper waste management ensures wellness for all. When waste isn’t properly managed, it can cause several health complications depending on its type. Therefore, before starting your home improvement project, have enough dumpster rentals to help manage all the waste from the project. You can rent a small dumpster if your home improvement project is small. On the other hand, if your project is bigger, get bigger dumpsters. In case you’re uncertain about the right dumpster to rent for your project, ask your contractor to help you choose the right one.

5. Decide If You Require New Roofing

The roof is one of the most important parts of your home; it acts as a barrier protecting the people inside against external elements such as rain, ice, snow, and debris. If your roof is compromised, the structure of the entire house also gets compromised, risking the lives of everyone inside. Here’s a scenario to consider: You have a leaky roof that has gone unnoticed for some time. In this case, mold may start to grow, posing a threat to the well-being of all occupants, or, worse, the entire roof may start caving in and eventually collapse, resulting in fatalities.

Don’t wait for the problem to escalate. You may be skeptical about spending money on repairing your roof and even deciding to DIY, but what do you know? Have you fixed the problem, or just what’s visible on the surface? Also, how durable is your DIY fix?

To ensure wellness for all, get certified roofing contractors to assess your roof for any damage that may require repair. Typically, you should have your roof inspected at least once per year. Different weather conditions can, however, affect the frequency of the inspections. Depending on the damage to your roof, your contractor can either decide to repair or replace the entire roof. Should the inspection reveal you need a new roof, Forbes estimates you’ll spend approximately $11,500 to roof an average-sized home.

6. Assess Your Home Insulation Status

Your home insulation not only helps guarantee comfort within the home but also helps ensure wellness for all family members. As a homeowner, it’s your responsibility to ensure the insulation in your home is inspected at least once every year; a damaged, exposed, or poorly installed insulation system can easily pose a health risk. Insulations found in homes include cellulose, mineral wool, straw, foam, fiberglass, recycled denim, and sheep’s wool.

If, after assessing the insulation status in your home, you discover it needs to be replaced, depending on your budget, choose your preferred insulation from the various options available. Should you have a limited budget, foam insulation will be gentle on your bank balance. According to Rachel Newcomb, the average cost of spray foam insulation ranges between $2.75 to $7.50 per square foot; source the market for a local contractor offering foam insulation services at a budget-friendly price.

7. Discuss The Status of Your HVAC System

The main function of your HVAC system is to ensure thermal comfort and quality indoor air through proper ventilation and filtration. Consequently, this ensures wellness for all household occupants. You could have four main types of HVAC systems in your home: the cooling and heating split systems, duct-free systems, hybrid systems, and packaged heating and air. Regardless of the system, Hannaberry recommends assessing it once each year.

Is it that crucial to assess the status of your system? After all, you’ve only had it for a few years, and everything seems perfect. Well, think of your system like you would a car. Would you skip taking your car for a routine service just because all appears okay? Do you wait until your car breaks down to take it to a local mechanic? Routine HVAC maintenance is as important as servicing your car; failure to follow up on your maintenance schedule will put your system at risk.

8. Speak About if You Require a New Furnace

Winter is here; temperatures will drop below zero degrees. Thankfully, your furnace keeps you warm and cozy. Imagine waking up to a breeze of cold, freezing air sweeping across the room. Chances are you’ll start trying to figure out what’s wrong; unfortunately, your worst fears are confirmed: your furnace has stopped working. What could be the problem?

The truth is, your furnace will not last forever. To extend its life, schedule routine maintenance. Do you remember the last time you replaced the filters? If not, that’s probably the main reason it’s stopped working. The number of times you should change your furnace filters varies from one home to another. If you have installed thick filters, you may not have to replace your filters as often as someone with thinner filters. It’s important to check the recommended frequency for changing the filters with the manufacturer. Failure to properly maintain your furnace may force you to do an entire furnace replacement, which is costly.

9. Routinely Have Your Carpets Cleaned to Remove Allergens

Carpets are a great addition to a home. They add to your home’s aesthetics and keep it warm during winter. However, carpets attract dust, dirt, and allergens that can harm health. Picture this: every time you come home from work, you immediately start sneezing before you get a chance to sit down on your sofa. This has been going on for a while, and it has been affecting everyone in your house.

No, you don’t have flu, and neither does the rest of the family. The most likely culprit is right under your feet. When was the last time you cleaned your carpet? Although Nafeesah Allen recommends cleaning your carpet every 12 to 18 months, there are other factors to consider, such as the carpet material, allergens, foot traffic, and pets. Also, your carpet will absorb the musty smell of cigarette smoke should there be smokers in the house.

For a small home with little traffic, vacuuming every once a week may work, but if you’re living in a high-traffic home, you’ll need to vacuum at least twice a week. Although vacuuming will eliminate food particles and other debris that may have fallen on the carpet, deep cleaning is the only sure way to eliminate stains and bacteria that could compromise wellness for all. If you notice that the part of the carpet covered by furniture is a different shade from the rest, it’s time to hire a residential carpet cleaning company to clean it up thoroughly.

10. Consider Installing a Pool to Promote Regular Exercise

Generally, having a pool in your home is highly beneficial. Not only does it raise the value of your home, but it also promotes wellness for all. Unfortunately, the number of homes with the luxury of a pool in America is below 8%, possibly because installing a pool doesn’t come cheap. In fact, according to a publication by Forbes, the average cost of installing an in-ground pool is $35,000. Therefore, if you’re considering installing a pool in your home, remember it’ll cost you a pretty penny to hire a swimming pool contractor and buy all the necessary supplies.

Swimming offers several health benefits, starting as soon as you get into the pool but lasting long after you leave. It’s a form of cardiovascular therapy that improves the heartbeat, muscles, and joints. Unlike other high-impact exercises that often lead to hip, knee, or ankle injuries, swimming is an ideal exercise for people with joint problems. Therefore, everyone from toddlers to their great-grandparents can benefit from swimming.

Each member of the family stands to benefit a great deal by participating in a wellness journey. A family that walks together throughout the journey can physically and mentally support each other whenever someone lags behind. Even the small changes you make can have a significant impact. Ultimately, the wellness of everyone in your home depends on many factors, such as a properly functioning HVAC system or furnace. Dirty filters or a carpet not cleaned for weeks could be why everyone sneezes upon entering your home. Periodic maintenance of appliances and your home’s components, such as the roof, ensures no one’s health is compromised.