Appliances are part of the standard fabric of contemporary life. While we could certainly survive without them, they add a significant level of convenience to our homes. Let’s face it, few of us want to come home from a long day of work or family activities and build a fire to cook food on. But, in many ways, our appliances do more for us than simply make our lives easier.
There is a clear connection between the appliances in your home and your health. At the most basic level, items such as washing machines and vacuum cleaners make it easier for you to maintain a good level of sanitation. Refrigerators and freezers also allow us to keep perishable goods fresh for longer, mitigating the potential for food poisoning and other issues.
We’re going to look at some of the other links between your home’s appliances and your health. What should you be aware of and how can you enhance the positive attributes?
The Impact of Sustainability
Sustainability has become a key focus and with good reason. It’s important to understand that this isn’t just a matter of protecting the planet. Incorporating greener actions into your lifestyle can have a clear positive impact on your physical and mental well-being. This can result in reduced exposure to harmful chemicals, improved dietary intake, and even just the peace of mind you get from living a more sustainable existence. As such, taking a green approach to your appliances can be vital for your health.
It’s important not to underestimate the impact investing in energy-efficient appliances can have. Most household items are now available in forms that utilize less electricity while maintaining high performance. Indeed, the government-backed Energy Star program keeps a list of products conforming to the highest efficiency standards. When your items utilize less electricity, this results in fewer emissions being released from power plants, particularly if your electricity is provided by traditional coal or gas sources. As more people adopt efficient technology, there can be a cumulative effect on the cleanliness of the air you’re breathing and of the ecosystem that supports your family.
Efficiency can also be good for your mental wellness. Your investment in greener appliances can significantly reduce your household bills over time. Particularly as we’re living in a period of drastically rising costs of living, this can reduce the strain on your cash flow. In turn, you can find this mitigates the stress and pressure you experience on a day-to-day basis.
The Issues with Faulty Items
Appliances are such a central part of life that when they start to fail this presents a significant inconvenience. However, the problems with faulty appliances can go far beyond disruptions to your routine or finances. Aging and deteriorating household items also have the potential to negatively impact your health.
Ovens are a key example here. Years of heating and cooling can cause wear and tear to the components of your oven. In the most innocuous cases, issues like a broken oven thermostat or malfunctioning heating elements can cause overheating issues. However, when you’re utilizing a gas-fueled oven, wear-and-tear faults may lead to pumping gas into your home, leading to potential carbon monoxide poisoning or fires.
On the other end of the temperature scale, refrigerators and freezers can pose issues when they start to deteriorate. If faults or damage cause the internal temperature of your appliance to rise, the food you’re keeping inside may be subject to bacterial contamination. This can be particularly problematic if the temperature rises above 40°F, which is the danger zone for pathogenic bacteria to grow rapidly.
It’s important to regularly monitor your appliances for signs of wear and tear. At the earliest opportunity, you should have potential faults investigated and repaired by a qualified engineer. However, if the items are already reaching the end of their expected lifespan, it may be wiser simply to replace them.
The Importance of Safe Disposal
Replacing a faulty appliance or upgrading to an eco-friendly model isn’t the end of your health considerations. You have to remember that even when they’re not plugged in and functioning, old electronics can be potential sources of hazardous waste. As such, the way you handle and dispose of an old appliance can also have an impact on your wellbeing.
Firstly, try to avoid keeping an old appliance on your property for a long period of time. We all know it’s easy to just dump an item in your garage with the intention of eventually taking it to be disposed of. Unfortunately, appliances can be filled with potentially toxic substances that you may be exposing your family to as the item gradually deteriorates. Many appliances will contain old oil, carcinogens like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and, in some instances, mercury.
Indeed, while it’s important to dispose of these items swiftly, it’s often wisest not to perform the task yourself. Not to mention that taking such items to a landfill transforms the issue from a potential health hazard in your home to an environmental damage problem. Many appliance manufacturers and sellers today provide a pick-up service so older appliances can be handled and disposed of safely by professionals. For particularly old items, your city or municipal government is likely to provide a hazardous goods disposal service.
Conclusion
Appliances are a convenient part of modern life, but they can also impact your health. Utilizing more sustainable items reduces emissions and improves efficiency, which can boost your physical and mental wellbeing. Remember that faulty appliances can subject you to potentially harmful substances and bacteria. When you need to replace your appliances, responsible disposal can also mitigate the potential for harmful exposures for both your family and the environment. The technology you surround yourself with can be a positive influence, but you also have to be mindful of using them in the healthiest way possible.
