What makes a healthy home in San Diego? Our team would tell you reducing energy costs and making your home toxic-free is a fantastic place to start. But how? 

Silvia León, an EHC Healthy Homes advocate, visits homes door-to-door and educates residents on the small changes in daily habits that can have an enormous impact on health and the environment with less reliance on polluting power plants, lowered instances of child respiratory illnesses and cleaner air.

León brings with her simple tool kits coined "Healthy Homes kits", which contain: 

• efficient light bulbs that provide immediate savings
• a timer for the shower to help people understand hot-water consumption
• fridge and stove thermometers to help tell when an appliance needs an adjustment or to be traded in

Her home visits teach families how to read and comprehend their energy meters and bills, provide customized room-by-room energy savings action plans and track energy and gas consumption.

One resident working with León, Jerry Guzman, saw drastic reductions in his energy and gas use. Living in a four-bedroom house with his family, prior to the education program they were using about 977 kilowatt-hours of energy a month. After going through EHC's program, they reduced their energy use by 36 percent.

"Prior to EHC working with my family, we had no idea about the easy ways to save energy," Guzman said. "Now I know how to read my energy bill and can better track my family's energy usage."

Results like the Guzman family saw were common among most families that León visited. León says that saving money motivated families as well as the desire to reduce demand of fossil fuels and greenhouse gas emissions – helping to combat climate change and air pollution often seen in their communities.

In addition to putting their energy savings toward other things, such as school supplies or family activities, the major takeaway from this community work is the family's commitment to applying their new habits over the long term as they understand their role in protecting the health of their home, neighborhoods and the planet.

To evaluate your own energy usage, conduct a home energy assessment or Esta dirección de correo electrónico está siendo protegida contra los robots de spam. Necesita tener JavaScript habilitado para poder verlo. today.

Although we use pesticides to get rid of unwelcome home guests, they are toxic to both the intruders and the people who live there, especially children. The use of pesticides indoors is extremely risky considering ventilation in most homes is relatively poor and people spend many hours a day at home, breathing these chemicals in long after they've been used.

Pesticides are not the only way to control pests in your home. Follow the toxic-free pest control method and protect your family without the use of pesticides!

1. Use preventive methods first: Start by sealing food in tight-fitting containers, not letting dirty dishes pile up, taking the trash out regularly, groom pets and routinely sweep and vacuum.
2. Monitor your pest population to discover when, why and where they come from: Look in drawers, along walls and under the kitchen sink for their droppings or trails.
3. When preventive measures are not providing enough control, use the least toxic methods.

Depending on which pest is giving you a problem, there are several different options.

Ants: Diatomaceous earth (look for the garden grade, not the pool grade) is a dehydrating powder that kills insects on contact. Sprinkle it in carpets or around doors and windows.

Fleas: Effective control of fleas requires an organized plan with attention to fleas in the carpet, on the animal and in the yard. Soap and water traps for flea control in the house are extremely effective. In recent years, new products are available over the counter or from a veterinarian for use directly on pets such as Frontline Top Spot, Revolution or Advantage. Experience shows animals tolerate these well, but they aren't entirely non-toxic so keep them away from small children. For outdoors, an insecticidal soap product can be used to discourage flea growth in your yard.

Cockroaches: Boric acid is a moderately toxic, noncorrosive powder found in many commercial brands (look for 99% boric acid) carried in hardware stores and garden centers. Sprinkle it in cracks and crevices and behind furniture. IT IS TOXIC BY MOUTH: do not put it where children and pets can get to it.

Termites: Termite exterminators currently rely on Vikane (sulfuryl fluoride) for whole house fumigation and Dursban (chlorpyrifos) for spot treatment – both of which are toxic to the nervous system. EHC suggests removal or repair of infested wood, whole house heat, cold treatment and spot treatment with electricity, limonene or other citrus derivatives. Call EHC for more information on termite control.

Garden Pests (insect and weeds): Adhesive products and traps with sticky barriers are good for catching unwanted garden insects. Soap and water, inorganic dusts and oil spray are also good solutions to eliminate most insects, fungi and weeds.

Pesticides should be a last resort for pest management. Please contact EHC for more specific information on controlling unwanted guests without sacrificing the health of your family members and your home.

Parents, back to school is here --that means summer is coming to an end! Now is the time for your kids to shift back from play time to study time. And, as a parent, you want the very best for your child in everything: education, fun and health.

Have you thought about how clean is the air in your child's school?
Do you know if your child's indoor environment is safe?

One way to improve the indoor air quality in your child's school is to eliminate the use of cleaning supplies with toxic chemicals and use alternative cleaning methods which work just as well without catalyzing asthma and respiratory problems.

Help make your child's classroom bleach free- Ask the teacher NOT to spray chlorine bleach on your the desks, as this causes asthma in young kids. Water, soap and vinegar can replace bleach when cleaning and disinfecting your child's desk. 

Share Environmental Health Coalition's Multi-Purpose Non-Toxic Cleaning Solution with your child's teachers:

1 Spray Bottle
2 Cups of Water
½ Spoon of Liquid Dishwashing Soap
3 Spoons of White Vinegar
Mix all together in a bottle

A few small changes can make your child and their school healthier. Help children breathe easier and get ready for school by staying asthma free. Children with asthma and other respiratory problems will thank you!

Click here for information about green cleaning and safer disinfectants, wall paints, computers, office equipment, and art supplies.

La respuesta puede ser afirmativa. 

Cuatro de nuestras salsas populares contienen altos niveles de plomo.  El FDA estará trabajando con uno de nuestros aliados (durante nuestra batalla con los dulces) para establecer un nivel seguro para las salsas.  Mientras tanto, por favor de evitar el consumo de estas salsas.

El Pato Salsa Picante
Salsa Habanera
Salsa Picante de Chile Habanero
Bufalo Salsa Clasica

Lea más aquí.

As the days get warmer, your kids and your inner child will head outside to enjoy the outdoors! Do you know if your play area is safe for your family? 

Playing outside is great fun and exercise, but dirt around older homes can contain lead. Unfortunately, lead was used in gasoline many years ago and can now be found along our curbs and yards - especially homes near freeways. 

Lead is a heavy metal and a poison to the human body; It is the #1 environmental health threat impacting children under the age of six. Lead poisoning can cause brain damage, hyperactivity, learning disability, and aggressive behavior. Without an identifiable smell or taste, it is up to us to take precautions to protect ourselves.

Here are some tips to keep the kiddos happy and safe!

• Cover bare soil with grass, mulch, wood chips, stones, bark or gravel to avoid exposure to lead, which may be in the soil.
• If you have bare soil, it's time to do some planting!
• If you are planning on making home improvements to the exterior of your house (i.e. repainting), make sure you or your contractor use lead-safe work practices. This includes: safely containing any dust, thus avoiding lead contaminated dust from filtering into indoor of your home. For more information about lead-safe work practices, contact EHC.
• If you are at a new play area and you do not know if the bare soil is contaminated, tell your kids to stick to the #1 Play Rule: Play in the grass, not in the dirt!
• When it is time to go inside your home, ask your children to remove their shoes or wipe them off at the doormat.
• When heading outside to play, be sure to turn off all of your household lights to save energy, save money, and help our planet!

Ten Ways to Be Toxic Free and Energy Efficient: The Spring Cleaning Edition

May is here and Spring is in full force. What better time than now to discuss how your Spring cleaning can help ensure you have a green and healthy home? Here's a list of ten quick and easy tips to be toxic-free and energy efficient with your Spring cleaning:

1. As a general rule of thumb, try to use non-toxic cleaning products when spring-cleaning. One easy and effective recipe can be achieved by mixing white distilled vinegar, dish soap, and water.
   
   
2. Clean out the dust from your windowsills with this mixture or just plain vinegar.
   
   
3. Toss out unused prescription pills and expired pain medications. With fewer pills lying around, your kids will be safer at home. Questions about disposal? Call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222
   
   
4. Wash your curtains, and open them up to let in daylight. Longer days mean less use of electric lights. This saves energy costs while eliminating any toxins that can blow onto your curtains from outside.
   
   
5. Clean your light bulbs to conserve energy. Dust can cut light output by as much as 25 percent.
   
   
6. Use baking soda before you vacuum to clean your carpet and area rugs. Spreading baking soda over carpet helps eliminate moisture and odors, absorb dirt.
   
   
7. Get rid of old boxes! Roaches and other pests love them and come summer time, it's their favorite hiding place for lounging around and laying eggs.
   
   
8. Clean your clothes-dryer lint filter after every load. Clogged filters drive up the drying costs and can be a fire hazard.
   
   
9. Clean the burner pans on your stove. When clean, they will reflect heat more efficiently back up to pots and pans.
   
   
10. Clean out food particles from your microwave. Without dust and left over food particles, it will cook food more efficiently.

In addition to this list of toxic-free cleaning tips, EHC can help with more tips and education. EHC also offers Healthy Homes kits which come complete with non-toxic cleaning supplies, roach traps, lead check swabs, and much more. Best of all, these cleaning kits are absolutely free if you qualify and sign up for a Healthy Homes Visit. For more information and help setting up your home for toxic-free cleaning, Esta dirección de correo electrónico está siendo protegida contra los robots de spam. Necesita tener JavaScript habilitado para poder verlo. at 619-474-0220 ext. 163.

On February 26, 2013, EHC, the San Diego Housing Commission and La Maestra Health Center hosted a blood lead testing event for kids at King Chavez Primary Academy. This was our seventh blood lead testing event, testing 79 kids and bringing the total up to 542 for the program since October 2010. The testing events help families know if their children have any levels of lead in their blood and provide education on eliminating lead from their homes.

Blood-lead level testing is important because lead poisoning does not produce physical symptoms. Childhood lead poisoning is a silent disease. We don't see it. We don't smell it. Yet it is hidden in the paint of many of our older homes. There is no safe level of lead exposure.

Blood-lead levels can be detected easily with noninvasive portable blood analyzers. The blood analyzers require only a small pinprick to a child's finger and provide results within three minutes. Families with children who test positive are referred for further medical evaluation.

The blood lead testing events are a part of the "Home Safe Home" program. Visit the San Diego Housing Commission's YouTube channel for a video about the event.  Esta dirección de correo electrónico está siendo protegida contra los robots de spam. Necesita tener JavaScript habilitado para poder verlo. at EHC for more information on future events.

Winter is officially here, so we should be pro-active in reducing energy use before we turn our heaters and furnaces on. These simple tips will allow us to take control of our energy bills and be more responsible for our energy use. You can save money on utility bills and reduce demand on power plants to decrease greenhouse gasses.

1. Layer your windows to keep drafts out and heat in. Use the existing drapes and curtains at night to add layers.
2. Because winter-time brings more time indoors and less hours of sunlight. When we’re indoors, we should take advantage of natural light available. if you haven’t replaced all of your home’s incandescent bulbs with CFLs yet, make that one of your New Years resolutions. Replacing your bulbs can save 30% on your energy use immediately.
3. Televisions, DVD players and Cell phones chargers all use energy even when they’re not being used This is called “vampire energy” To stop the Vampire from sucking your energy, use a smart power strip, which completely disconnects some appliances from taking energy from the outlet.
4. Use a shower timer like this to ensure you take less than five-minute showers and avoid the temptation to take longer, hotter showers in the winter because it's cold. It takes a lot of energy to heat water, so you're paying more for your water bill and your energy bill.
   
5. A refrigerator thermometer is helpful to ensure your refrigerator is operating properly. Best operating temperature to help save energy is at 28 degrees. Colder than that can waste energy and warmer than that may indicate that your door seals need to be replaced or you may need a new, more efficient appliance.
6. One of your best tools is your energy bill. Read your energy bill and track your month-to-month usage and set conservation goals for you and your family. It’s fun to work together to save energy and save on our utility bills.

Happy Holidays everyone! Get outside, have fun and enjoy San Diego. If you have any questions or want information on free energy audits contact us at (619) 474-0220

As part of our Healthy Kids Campaign, EHC won passage of the first state law to ban the sale of lead-contaminated candies which significantly threaten children's health. The lead-free candy law went into effect in 2005.

Unfortunately, the threat of lead in candy still exists in California.

The CDPH sent a warning out last month telling parents and families that makers of Red Vines® Black Licorice  Twists, Family Mix, Mixed Bites and Snaps containing black licorice had lead levels exceeding California standards. The products have been recalled.

EHC asks you to be careful and discard any candy that is on the list below:

• Black Licorice Bar, 2.5 oz.
• Jumbo Black Licorice Hanging Bag, 8 oz.
• Black Licorice Tray, 5 oz.
• Black Licorice Laydown Bag, 7 oz.
• Black Licorice Laydown Bag, 16 oz.
• Black Licorice Jar, 4 lbs.
• Mixed Bites Hanging Bag, 8 oz.
• Mixed Bites Bag, 16 oz.
• Family Mix Laydown Bag, 24 oz.
• Family Mix Laydown Bag, 32 oz.
• Snaps Hanging Bag, 5.5 oz.
• Snaps Theater Box, 4.5 oz.
• Snaps Tin, 12 oz.

Remember to pay attention when buying any products for your children and families and look for EHC updates and information that will help keep you safe from lead poisoning.

You can help EHC with its efforts to continue working on making neighborhoods healthy and lead-free by donating here.

EHC and the San Diego Housing Commission offer free blood-lead testing to help ensure your children are safe from lead poisoning and to let you know if you may have lead in your home.

Exposure to lead-based paint can be harmful to your children. Depending on the age of your home, you may have lead in and around it without even knowing it.

If there is lead in your home, your children may be at risk of breathing or ingesting dust as lead-based paint comes off of your interior and exterior walls, doors and windows.

Our free blood-lead tests are easy and non-invasive and provide results within minutes. If your child tests positive for lead, we’ll refer you to further medical evaluation.

At the event, we’ll have helpful information on how to eliminate lead from your home, including offering fee home inspections and other resources.

Free blood lead testing will be offered on Thursday October 25, 2012 from noon – 4 p.m. at the Neighborhood House Association, 841 41st Street, San Diego, CA 92113. Download our flier with this information. (en español)

EHC is committed to protecting our communities from harmful pollutants like lead. Our efforts in the past include passing a City of San Diego lead ordinance in 2009. We are working to improve the City’s lead ordinance to protect more homes and more families from lead poisoning. Learn more about improving the City’s lead ordinance here.