Living in today’s world is full of challenges. It gets hotter every year, grocery store prices are rising, and you’re not even sure if the items in your home are safe. As a black family, it’s even more challenging, and not being comfortable or safe in your home adds more stress. Read on to learn which dangerous household items you’ll need to be careful around.

Different Cleaners

You want your home to be clean, so you use a variety of air fresheners, bathroom cleaners, and other cleaning solutions to keep away grease, germs, and foul odors. You may even know that many of these cleaners aren’t suitable for you to ingest or inhale directly, but the damage goes beyond that.

A lot of the chemicals in air fresheners and cleaning solutions accumulate over time. When mixed with chemicals in the other cleaners you use, it can lead to problematic effects later in life. Thankfully, you can lower your use of these products. Look into more natural cleaning solutions and scents to better protect both you and your family.

Your Water

Unfortunately, one of life’s necessities—water—isn’t the safest to drink. Water is still an essential thing that everyone needs to drink and bathe in, but there are microplastics, unsafe metals, and chemicals. Even harmful gases like radon are finding their way into it.

One of the worst things in regular drinking water is per-and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. These synthetic pollutants don’t break down and have found their way into almost everything, including water. Thankfully, you can install a home water filter to reduce the risk of consuming more of these PFAS and other contaminants, such as mercury, lead, and chlorine.

Non-Stick Pots and Pans

A lot of the PFAS didn’t randomly end up in the environment. They came from somewhere, and that source was Teflon. Teflon is a harmful chemical that manufacturers have used in various products, ranging from shaving cream to standard pots and pans. Yes, it made these pans easier to clean, but it introduced PFAS into over 99 percent of humans. However, though it’s everywhere, you can still limit your use of Teflon-based products and prevent your family from consuming more PFAS.

As a black mother, you want to do everything you can to protect your family. Be careful with these dangerous household items and find ways to lower their use or cut them out of your family’s life entirely. It may not make a difference now, but they will thank you down the line.