These 5 Common Household Items Are Actually Hurting You (and the Environment)

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The casually eco-conscious might think to turn lights off when they leave rooms or unplug unused kitchen appliances after breakfast. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg in terms of how the typical roster of household acts and items can change to benefit our ecosystems—and benefit your personal health too. The fact is, now that the average American spends over 90% of their life indoors, it’s incredibly important to reduce environmental health risks and improve the generally terrible air quality of our homes.

“Even the most educated and enlightened people who have environmental concerns, it’s always interesting to me how little people know about the materials in their own homes and the potentials for toxins,” says Rona Easton, owner of Easton Combs in New York City. “They think their homes are as safe as they could be, but they're actually not—an average home is just absolutely filled with toxins.”

Below, we highlight some of the lesser-known household items that are often overlooked according to experts.

Vinyl flooring

“Luxury vinyl tiles,” or polyvinyl chloride flooring, have become rather popular in North America in just a few decades, with plenty of inventory available online and at big-box stores. But while the flooring is touted for its durability and cheapness, it’s a synthetic material made of the same plastic as PVC pipes. The need to use fossil fuels to create plastic is accelerating the climate crisis, and the producers of vinyl tiles often underestimate the carbon dioxide emissions tied to their products. A 2022 report from the Center for Environmental Health revealed how, in some instances, vinyl tile makers undercounted such emissions by as much as 180%.

Plus, the creation and use of vinyl tiles is linked to health and labor concerns. For example, workers, including enslaved Muslim Uyghurs in China, breathe in toxins and carcinogens every day on the job, resulting in health concerns including an increased risk of lung cancer, according to a 2022 report co-published by an English international justice center and an American toxic chemical investigative firm. At home, vinyl tiles help lay a foundation for poor indoor air quality. According to the nonprofit Environmental Working Group, “most vinyl flooring contains multiple harmful chemicals, including the same phthalates that have been banned from children’s toys.

Additionally, “phthalates can off-gas from building materials for years after installation … [and] are linked to birth defects and can disrupt hormones.” The Healthy Materials Lab at the Parsons School of Design currently offers a materials database for “green” flooring choices.

Fast furniture

Who doesn’t love changing up the furniture sometimes? While there’s a thrill in making a purchase, buying something high-quality—and more likely to last—a lot less worthwhile furniture is made nowadays. A proliferation of low-priced, low-quality furnishings has made its way into many homes; junky, unfixable furniture that inevitably bends, buckles or peels is sold in many stores. Dupe culture isn’t helping the problem, encouraging mass-produced, cheap knock-offs of whatever designer styles are trending, much of that is also manufactured with concerning chemicals added for supposed performance benefits linked to serious health problems.

Although some circular business models have begun to pop up in recent years to responsibly recycle or repurpose undesired furniture, much of our furniture over the past few decades has more commonly ended up at the landfill or at an incineration facility to burn it for energy. In 1960, 2.2 million tons of furniture and furnishings ended up in the municipal solid waste stream, or the accumulation of everything we want to dispose of, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. By 2018, that amount had risen to 12.1 million tons every year — a 450% increase in about six decades.

Instead of adding to the pile, Rona suggests shopping secondhand and opting for vintage furniture, which could help reduce the exposure to toxins. “If you’re buying old furniture, vintage furniture, you've probably got the best chance of bringing something into your home that isn't jam-packed full of toxins,” she says while noting that even older furniture can have concerning chemicals but that “they’ve been around long enough that most of that off gassing [has occurred, so] you don’t have to be so concerned about it.”

Gas kitchen appliances

According to Consumer Reports, just under 40% of American homes rely on gas cooktops to make their meals. Yet doing so exposes households to harmful air pollutants, including methane—a major contributor to the climate crisis—and benzene, which is linked to cancers. Upgrading from gas to induction cooking appliances reduces the amount of methane and benzene leaking into your home. A study released by Stanford University last year found that “gas and propane burners and ovens emitted 10 to 50 times more benzene than electric stoves,” while “induction cooktops emitted no detectable benzene whatsoever.”

“Most people assume that it’s going to be a major project to move from gas to electricity, and that’s really far from the truth,” says Dan Mock, vice president of operations of Mister Sparky, a nationwide electrician franchise. “Most homes today are equipped to be readily converted to an all-electric home.” That assumes your wiring and electrical panel are newer, and that you can afford the switch. But state and federal financial incentives are available to homeowners; if you rent, tell your landlord about the health and environmental benefits and be sure to mention the subsidies.

Outdated garage fridges

While a fridge is much more commonly found in the kitchen, it’s not at all odd to find one in the garage. But unlike the inside fridge, a garage fridge tends to be an outdated, infrequently cleaned and energy inefficient model that was relocated after a kitchen renovation, used primarily for backstock perishables and excess beer.

Shelie Miller, a professor at University of Michigan focused on sustainable systems claims that the typical garage fridge is “an energy hog,” meaning they’re not helping minimize your energy bills or power demand—meaning more electricity needs to be produced than might otherwise be needed. Instead, she recommends upgrading to a newer back-up refrigerator with better energy efficiency cred; this calculator from the US Department of Energy can help you see your potential savings in terms of both climate and financial benefits. “Do we actually need something that's drawing power 365 days a year to refrigerate sodas or beers or whatever?” she asked rhetorically.

Large, pristine lawns

America’s suburbs are synonymous with expansive green spaces, but not necessarily the kind full of trees and natural habitat. Frequently referred to as biodiversity deserts, turf grass lawns aren’t inviting homes to native plants and animals. Additionally, that flat, green square of space often has homeowners turning to synthetic fertilizers and lawn equipment that runs on fossil fuels. Shelie suggests thinking about how you can reduce that turf. Instead, you (or a persuadable landlord) could expand planted beds, add more trees or convert the turf into a meadow.

“I think there’s different ways of getting around it; it doesn’t have to be a weedy lawn,” says Shelie, adding that pro-pollinator, low-maintenance lawns are achievable. “It doesn’t have to take over an entire lawn. But even just [converting] a small portion of an existing lawn could really add home value and improve curb appeal—and also reduce the impact on the planet.”

Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest