Types of ecological houses. Eco-friendly housing – Ecology of houses and apartments. Recommendations for creating an environmentally friendly home. Biological safety at home

For some reason, there is a stereotype that eco style in the interior is an apartment made of greenery and bamboo. Google and Yandex especially show us this when searching for “eco style” or « » . In fact, bamboo and an abundance of green may be present in eco style, but this is not what we are talking about in this direction.


What is the main difference between eco style

The “eco” direction in the interior means the use of natural materials in decoration and furniture, and materials that do not emit harmful substances for the body and the environment. Right now, this trend can be said to be at the peak of popularity, and if we look at modern interiors in magazines, we see more and more homogeneous matte surfaces and natural materials in decoration.

What is the reason for such popularity of eco style?

Nowadays there is such a trend in everything, a lot of people want to move from big cities closer to nature, eat fresh food from the farm, breathe fresh air. Cities have become larger and taller, and the amount of information we receive per day has become hundreds of times greater. We are surrounded by iPhones, cars, computers, concrete houses and glass storefronts. It’s hard to even imagine what we breathe in big cities.

Naturally, we miss Mother Nature. By doing this, we want to bring more nature and nature into our homes.

Now let's move on to specific tips.

Techniques for creating an eco-friendly apartment

Finishing materials

When choosing decoration for an apartment, you need to carefully select materials.

How to determine the harmlessness of a material and its environmental friendliness? As a rule, all packaging of environmentally friendly materials contains signs and labels of environmental friendliness. You can find out more about these signs on the Internet by searching for “eco labeling.”

Manufacturers of building materials also mark them with the following values:

  • E1 - completely safe environmentally friendly materials for any premises, including children's rooms.
  • E2 - such materials are suitable for corridors and kitchens.
  • E3 - materials for residential premises are not recommended, suitable only for finishing technical premises.

It is these designations that you should look for first on the label.

1) Wall decoration

It is worth abandoning vinyl wallpapers and replacing them with paper, textile or plant ones. If you use decorative plaster, make sure that no chemicals were used in its manufacture - you can check with the manufacturer for environmental certifications.

It is best, from an environmental point of view, to use water-based paint. You can also use board or wood panels as trim.


Image: everytic.com

2) Ceiling finishing

When decorating the ceiling, it is worth abandoning PVC stretch ceilings. This material is not recommended for use in residential premises. Even after PVC ceilings are stretched, the smell of polyvinyl chloride is present. The name alone immediately tells us that this material is not environmentally friendly. The most environmentally friendly material for ceiling decoration is water-based paint.

If the ceilings need to be lowered in order to accommodate engineering, I recommend using a metal profile and gypsum board. By international standards, plasterboard sheet is environmentally friendly, but it all depends on the manufacturer. Unfortunately, they may use low-quality materials in its production. You should not choose gypsum boards from dubious companies.


3) Floor finishing

Of course, the most environmentally friendly flooring material will be natural boards, parquet boards - everything that is created by Mother Nature. It is important to pay attention to the finishing coatings. It is best to use oil or water-based varnishes. The second favorite material of modern eco style is natural stone.

For residential premises it is worth abandoning linoleum and laminate. Linoleum is the most unsafe material, which contains a lot of chemical additives. The environmental friendliness of laminate directly depends on the quality. There is a completely eco-friendly laminate that is suitable even for children's rooms, but its cost will be approximately the same as an inexpensive parquet board.


4) Windows

If possible, it is better to use wood-aluminum windows. Their price is higher, but it is a completely environmentally friendly material with excellent sound and heat insulation. Wooden windows are naturally also environmentally friendly, but they are not entirely durable and relevant to our climate.

PVC profile, although it is artificial when manufactured on the basis of polyvinyl chloride, with modern processing methods it can be a completely environmentally friendly material. It is important to look at the notations.

Image: inmyroom.ru

Furniture and interior items

In order for the design of an apartment to be environmentally friendly, it is important not only to use environmentally friendly finishing materials, but also to use furniture in which substances harmful to the body and the environment are minimized or completely absent.


1) Cabinet furniture

The main part of the furniture of a modern apartment is cabinet furniture - cabinets, kitchen, shelves, tables.

You should avoid furniture made from chipboard (chipboard). As a rule, furniture made from chipboard is the most budget-friendly. If we delve deeper into the production process of chipboard, it is sawdust, wood shavings that are glued together with chemical resins (formaldehyde). These chemicals are harmful to the human body. When using low-quality chipboard in an apartment in large quantities, people experience headaches or even migraines. When purchasing furniture made from chipboard, it is important to look at the quality of the product and the environmental class. Chipboard is also divided into: E1 and E2, the meanings of which I described above. The highest quality chipboard is considered to be Austrian and German. In any case, formaldehyde resins are present in chipboard, and they can be released, albeit in small quantities, so I still recommend minimizing the use of this material in cabinet furniture.

If the task is to use smooth facades without wood textures, I recommend using MDF (fine fraction) - these are very fine sawdust that stick together under the influence of high temperatures due to natural wood resins that do not emit harmful substances.


2) Fabrics

The most environmentally friendly fabrics are fabrics of natural origin: cotton, silk, linen, hemp (hemp fabric), ramie (a type of nettle). Natural fabrics in the interior do not cause allergic reactions and are completely safe for the body, but only on the condition that when growing cotton, flax and other things, the plants were not treated with harmful chemicals and pesticides, and this, unfortunately, is quite rare. It is easier to harvest the crop by machine by watering the plants with chemicals.

The most popular are mixed fibers - synthetic and natural. This is the golden mean between environmental friendliness and practicality. And, as a rule, such fabrics are of good quality. They do not cause allergies and do not emit harmful substances. Fabric dyes and dyes: natural dyes are not so bright, so most often in eco-interiors fabrics are neutral gray or beige shades.


2) Decor items

Decor still does not significantly affect the microecology of the apartment, in my opinion. Its main purpose is that by decorating and selecting individual elements, you can add a sense of nature and visual environmental friendliness to the interior. For example, as a coffee table or bedside table, you can use a stump made of valuable wood as an accent item.

Modern eco-friendly style - this does not mean using a large number of details, it is when each detail has its own role. Therefore, you need to carefully choose decor for eco style.

Let's sum it up

Modern eco style is not about bamboo and an abundance of “nature” in the room.

The basic rule of eco-style interior design is the choice of natural or safe materials for humans and the environment in decoration. It is also important to carefully choose the material for cabinet and upholstered furniture, focusing on the class and eco-friendly labeling. When choosing fabrics, it is better to choose quality manufacturers and strive for neutral colors in upholstery.

When choosing interior details, I recommend focusing on some natural art objects, for example, on the texture and structure of unusual wood. There should not be many such elements; it is important not to overload the modern interior with details.

At the end of the article, I want to say the following: it is worth paying attention to natural materials in the interior, and do not forget to treat them with special compounds. To prevent the formation of mold and other microelements, care is needed. It's not as scary as it seems. For some reason, many people are afraid to use natural materials precisely because they need to be looked after. Believe me, it is not so difficult to wipe the material with a product once every six months.

I hope you found the article useful.

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Gerasimov Pavel

Ecology of consumption. Technology: These houses look wonderful and are a pleasure to live in. If you're looking for a more affordable and eco-friendly home, look no further than one of these options, sourced from around the world.

Many people dream of building their own home, but the financial cost of starting from scratch usually seems prohibitive. But it doesn't have to be that way. If you look at it another way, using natural methods, almost anyone can build their own eco-friendly home using durable and environmentally friendly materials.

When building such eco-houses, the features of the terrain are used and natural materials such as soil, bamboo, wood and clay are used to equip the space without much impact on the environment. These houses are very well insulated thanks to thick walls made from environmentally friendly materials, and are therefore cooler in summer and warmer than ordinary houses.

Naturally, this leads to less use of cooling and heating systems and, accordingly, to reduced energy bills. Smart eco home builders are also using passive solar energy strategies to maximize efficiency. These houses look wonderful and are a pleasure to live in. If you're looking for a more affordable and eco-friendly home, look no further than one of these options, sourced from around the world.

House in Colombia in the shape of a dome, made of bags of soil, which is cool
The unusual domed shape of the house called La Casa Vergara attracts the eye, but what’s inside is even more amazing. A house in the city of Bogota, built by an architect named Jose Andres Vallejo, made from “earthbags,” bags filled with—you guessed it—soil. These bags are stacked on top of each other and lined with concrete on both sides, a combination that can withstand earthquakes and is also resistant to water damage. Raw wood beams and plenty of light make it feel a little closer to the ground, and the $28 per m2 price tag puts this home within reach of a buyer.


A Hobbit house with a green roof that can be built in just 3 days
Pre-assembled by Magic Green Homes, these adorable Hobbit Homes can be built in just 3 days. Houses with a green roof measuring 400 m2 are so easy to assemble that almost anyone can do it. To build such a house, you do not need any heavy equipment, but only long pieces with holes, twisted together and sealed. Magic Green Homes adapts these homes to any location and makes dreams come true.


Build your own resilient eco-house
For anyone who wants to build their eco-friendly home but doesn't yet know where to start, Cal-Earth's guide may be of service. A group of teachers in California are teaching others how to build tear-resistant homes using eco-friendly, durable materials using their own hands. This company specializes in reusing military materials and strengthening homes located in disaster risk areas. Bags filled with sand, soil, barbed wire for elasticity, and reinforcement materials such as cement, lime or asphalt emulsion are all components of a house that can withstand the elements.


Passive solar house built from soil bags
Orkidstudio, an organization focused on building humanitarian buildings, has opened an orphanage in Nakuru, Kenya, made entirely of soil bags. The passive solar energy system absorbs heat during the day and releases it at night, thereby creating a comfortable atmosphere for children and staff of the orphanage. The orphanage is clad in reclaimed wood and features a plumbing system that draws water from the local rainwater canal. More than just a project to create attractive and efficient amenities, it was completed in just 8 weeks by a team of British architecture students.

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A machine for building eco-houses “produces” entire houses from bags of soil
Building affordable, eco-friendly homes is a sure sign that we're moving in the right direction, and Earth Home Builder makes the process amazingly efficient. A machine with a caterpillar belt, working on the principle of a 3D printer, fills bags with sand, about 400 bags per hour. Considering that only 30 bags can be filled by hand, this machine could radically change access to affordable, secure housing. United Earth Builders, the company that pioneered the technology, is now looking for nonprofit partners to bring eco-homes to the masses.


Budget rammed house in Mexico
One family in Mexico decided to build a colorful house without spending a lot of money, with the help of the knowledge of architect Tatiana Bilbao. The rammed eco-home looks attractive inside and out thanks to the smart decision to add pigment to the material before painting the walls from the very beginning. This tangible impact only improves the thermal control needed during the hot Mexican summer. The Ajijic home features floor-to-ceiling windows and two outdoor terraces from which to admire the breathtaking coastal views. Pine wood flooring allows this family to enjoy the beautiful features of their home without having to spend a lot of money.


Luxury Villa Triksa combines rammed earth, bamboo and recycled wood
By using clay materials during construction, it is possible to create a home that can rival the most luxurious vacation spots. Chiangmai Life Construction built Triksa Villa in northern Thailand, a stunning home made partly from rammed earth and partly a mixture of clay and concrete for the foundation. The walls, constructed from mud bricks, maintain a comfortable temperature inside, while the bamboo roof, an environmentally friendly and durable material, adds prestige. Reclaimed wood and a modern outdoor pool challenge the notion that eco-friendly building materials can't create an eye-catching piece of paradise.


Rural house in Ghana built from rammed earth and recycled plastic
This unique home is located in the countryside of Ghana, made from rammed wood, recycled plastic and fortified against the elements using natural materials. This house was built on the initiative of Anna Webster, a student who won the Nka Foundation's building competition.

She states, “Our goal was to move away from the unfavorable combinations of these materials, as well as from the primitive idea of ​​applying modern design to the use of sustainable materials.” Waste plastic has now become window screens and roof coverings, and hard-packed soil walls are covered with cassava sealing material to prevent external water damage. The home cost just $7,865 to build and is an example of how a home can be built using scrap materials and a little creativity. published

Home is a place of comfort and tranquility where we spend more than 60 percent of our time. After a long trip, we always strive to get home - to a corner where we can hide from the bustle of the city. Since ancient times, people have attached special importance to their home. In the Holy Scriptures, the word “house” is one of the most frequently used. Righteous Alexy Mechev said: “Every house is a home church in honor of those saints whose names are borne by those living in it.”

A special atmosphere and home comfort is created by the things and interior items that we choose for our home together with our loved ones, bring from various trips or receive as a gift.

“What our home looks like, the room where we spend most of our lives is very important for our salvation. Because all surrounding objects should attune us to the good, saving, divine and not lead us into temptation in any way, so that it does not ruin us spiritually. So Saint Nikon says: “Throw away everything that tempts you in your cell.” (Archpriest Valentin Mordasov)

In modern conditions, home often becomes a place of work. There are people whose professions involve remote activities - so we can say that they spend most of their time in the house and feel safe in it.

When we go outside, we often pay attention to the environmental conditions around us - exhaust fumes, the level of air pollution in the city or the cleanliness of local water bodies. At the same time, we forget that the climate in our home is often also environmentally unsafe. Moreover, we consciously bring sources of pollution into our home, or create them in the process of life.

Recent air studies in cities have shown that the air in an apartment is often more polluted than outside the window, so doctors It is recommended to ventilate living spaces at least twice a day to reduce the concentration of harmful substances.

In this article we will look at what are the sources of hazardous substances in apartments and houses.

As a rule, when moving into a new home, the first thing residents encounter is repairs. And at this stage, the most important thing is to set a goal - to “create” a safe home, to make its microclimate environmentally friendly. To do this, it is necessary to choose safe finishing materials so that their fumes do not lead to allergies and other chronic diseases over time.

What do you need to know when choosing environmentally friendly finishing materials?

When purchasing any building material for interior decoration, make it a rule to check its hygienic certificate. Any large store should give it to you the first time you ask.

Remember that any hygiene certificate has a validity period, which you also need to pay attention to.

Important:

  • purchase materials only from large manufacturers;
  • carefully read the composition of the material, the most dangerous components are PVC, phenol, solvents, phenol-formaldehyde resin, lead, toluene, formaldehyde, chlorine-containing components, acetone;
  • follow the technology of applying the material and the drying time;
  • remember that it is better to move into a renovated apartment a month after the renovation, so the most dangerous substances will have time to be neutralized and evaporated.

How to safely decorate walls?

The safest for wall decoration are considered to be ordinary paper wallpaper or non-woven wallpaper. In the production of non-woven fabric, paper pulp is used, which is then compressed many times. Non-woven fabric is biologically inert and is even used in medicine as a biosoluble inert dressing material.

If you decide to paint the walls, then in this case you need to be more vigilant. Paints may contain potentially hazardous substances, such as volatile solvents or lead-based pigments.
Solvents used in the production of paints are highly volatile compounds that are harmful to humans if inhaled. Such unsafe paints, for example, are alkyd. Their distinctive feature is a pungent chemical smell.

How to determine whether paint is safe for health?

Water-soluble paints are safe. The most common of them are imported and quite expensive. Whether it is worth saving on your health, everyone decides for themselves.
Modern water-soluble paints contain practically no volatile organic substances, are persistent, durable and environmentally friendly.
In Russia, the content of solvents in paints is not regulated. However, before the paint hits store shelves, it must pass sanitaryepidemiological study, which Maybe identify her allergenic action.

The manufacturer indicates this information on the label, which must also contain:
- name of the paint;
— purpose and method of application (not all paints can be used for interior work);
— rules and conditions for safe storage;
— precautions during work;
— expiration date, batch number, release date, weight;
— contact details of the manufacturer;

- compound;

— the more natural components (vegetable oils, resins, mineral pigments) and the fewer organic solvents in the composition, the safer the product.

In accordance with new European regulations, interior paints are considered safe, If content highly volatile components Not exceeds 30 grams on liter;

What documents for paint can be requested in the store?

There are three documents that must be kept by sellers.

1. Certificate of state registration of Rospotrebnadzor
2. Declarations of conformity in the Russian GOST system - issued only for enamels, anti-corrosion primers and drying oils
3. Voluntary certificate of compliance with the requirements of 123-FZ “On Fire Safety Requirements”.

For modern paints, the criterion for paint safety may be the presence of quality certificates ISO 9001And/ orISO 14001, which the manufacturer indicates on the label. This is a kind of guarantee of paint quality. Almost all imported paints have these certificates.

What is the safest way to cover the floor during renovation?

Floor coverings often release toxic substances or contain allergens. There are environmental requirements for such coatings. According to the latest data, the safest materials for human health are:

  • natural wood
  • cork floor
  • laminate class E1
  • natural linoleum
  • parquet

At the same time, parquet and natural wood are often varnished to give a beautiful appearance and durability. When buying varnish, give preference to expensive and well-known brands.

Choosing high-quality linoleum

If you have chosen a relatively inexpensive linoleum for flooring, then you should remember that you need to require a hygienic certificate for it.

Certificate compliance

When considering an environmental certificate, you should pay attention to the labeling of the material, namely the emission class.
Emission classes determine the degree of formaldehyde emission from finishing materials. There are classes E1, E2 and E3, where E1 is the lowest level of formaldehyde emission. The safest class is E1. Class E2 and E3 linoleum can only be used in non-residential premises. When choosing linoleum, you should also pay attention to its smell. Safe linoleum has virtually no odor.

In general, linoleum is currently considered a non-ecological material. Initially, linoleum was patented based on natural vegetable oils. However, their high cost led to a change in production technology. The basis for it is currently unsafe polyvinyl chloride, which emits phenol and formaldehyde. Such substances are very harmful to health and can cause allergies and infertility.

Fortunately, many manufacturers are returning to the roots of producing linoleum based on natural ingredients for a safe home. This linoleum does not emit hazardous substances into the air, but it is also more expensive.

Choosing a quality laminate

Laminate consists of 80 percent wood chips and paper, and 20 percent synthetic resins, and we can say that it is practically safe for health. However, its surface is coated with resins, the production of which uses dangerous formaldehyde. Therefore, when choosing a high-quality laminate, you should also look at its emission class in the hygiene certificate.

Remember:

1. Laminate belonging to safety class E1 can be used in residential premises. Classes E2 and E3 only in non-residential premises.
2. When choosing a laminate, it is necessary to check the conclusion of the sanitary and epidemiological inspection so that the level of formaldehyde does not exceed 0.12 mg per cubic meter.
3. Laminate made from acrylic resins is safer.

At first glance, everything described seems quite difficult to remember, however, it is worth remembering that we do not often come across repairs, and checking, for example, a hygiene certificate in a store is a matter of minutes, but we neglect it, thereby worsening the ecology of the house.

Purifying the air in the apartment

You can improve the environment in your home and clean the air with the help of. Of course, they will not eliminate dangerous formaldehyde and other chemicals. However, by assimilating carbon dioxide in the air, environmental plants synthesize oxygen. Such plants, for example, include chlorophytum, which purifies the air more effectively than technical air purifiers.

Biologists have found that within a day, chlorophytum is able to completely clean the air of an experimental chamber from all harmful impurities .

Chlorophytum multiplies very quickly and baby shoots appear on its stems; perhaps this fact is responsible for purifying the air.

Another such environmental plant is water hyacinth. A study of the water in the rivers where this plant grows showed a surprisingly low content of harmful substances in the water. Water hyacinth can be grown in garden plots, purifying the surrounding air.

The additional use of filters placed in the soil more effectively eliminates harmful impurities in the air. For example, activated carbon can be placed in a pot of soil, which enhances the cleansing properties of the plant as a whole.

Electrical appliances are dangerous sources of pollution

One of the sources of pollution in the house is also electrical appliances that emit electromagnetic waves.

Action electrical appliances on organism person

Electromagnetic waves are a stream of charged particles that affect the cells of our body. Under the influence of an electromagnetic field, phospholipids of cell membranes and proteins that have their own charge begin to oscillate, this causes the destruction of cellular structures.

Russian scientists have found that embryos are most susceptible to such radiation. It turned out that electromagnetic fields also affect nervous and muscle tissue and can provoke neurological disorders and insomnia, as well as disruptions in the gastrointestinal tract.

The largest number of electrical appliances are located in the kitchen. In a residential building, the most powerful radiation was recorded from microwave ovens, refrigerators with a “no-frost” system, electric stoves and mobile phones.

How to protect yourself from the influence of electromagnetic radiation?

“In residential premises, it is enough to arrange household appliances correctly: they should not include the bed, sofas, dining table, that is, those places where we spend a lot of time,” explains Dmitry Davydov, an expert at the independent environmental assessment company Ecostandard.

If you cannot give up technology, then try not to turn on all the devices at once and reduce the time you spend near the switched on devices to a minimum.

In a children's room, you should practically abandon the use of electrical appliances, since a growing child's body is most susceptible to the effects of a dangerous field.

When arranging sockets, you should pay attention to ensuring that they are as close to the floor as possible. Electric heated floors are a very strong emitter of electromagnetic energy, so it is better not to place them under the bed or in the nursery.

When you are not using electrical appliances, do not be lazy to unplug them, since even in standby mode they are a source of powerful radiation.

As for microwave ovens, it is very easy to check the seal quality of such an oven. If you carry a sheet of aluminum foil in front of the door of a working microwave oven, the absence of crackling noises and sparks will confirm that everything is in order.

Garbage disposal

One of the keys to good ecology in the house is proper waste disposal. The well-known saying “Think globally, act locally” is perfectly suited in this case. Think about it, have you ever handed in batteries for recycling? We all throw them into the general trash. Statistics show that 15 million batteries end up in Moscow landfills every year.

The use and improper disposal of batteries has created many environmental problems due to the contamination of soil and air with toxic metals. These include lead, mercury, and cadmium.

How dangerous metals For person?

  • Lead accumulates in the kidneys and can cause brain disease.
  • Cadmium accumulates in the thyroid gland and can cause cancer.
  • Mercury is one of the dangerous poisons of the 1st hazard class, and causes diseases of the respiratory system.

Batteries are lethal if swallowed. For example, in a child’s body they can burn esophageal tissue due to alkali leaking from the battery. Therefore, it is recommended to prevent children from playing with devices containing batteries, and to hand over used batteries for disposal and recycling. Looking at the AA battery, you will see a distinctive sign.

It means that the battery should not be thrown into general trash. You can return your used batteries absolutely free of charge to large electronics stores or special recycling companies. There are similar collection points in Moscow, Novosibirsk, Volgograd, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, St. Petersburg, Smolensk, Tula, Chelyabinsk.

The topic of separate waste is especially relevant now all over the world. In Russia there are still very few containers with separate waste collection. By the way, we all throw away garbage and don’t think about what happens to it in the future.

Garbage dumps have filled all suburban areas of large cities. For example, in the Moscow region there are 59 landfills and only two of them comply with environmental standards. Moscow and large cities are now on the verge of a garbage crisis. Separate waste collection allows you to separate recyclable materials from it. These are plastic, glass, paper, aluminum.

Products that are useful in everyday life are obtained from recycled materials. But the world, as they say, is not without kind people who are not indifferent to this problem. And today, collection companies and volunteer organizations have appeared to organize the collection of people who want to throw away garbage separately. More detailed information is available on the Internet. A map of waste collection points is now available frommovement "Separate Collection". For example, the Russian Railways company joined this movement in 2014 and introduced separate waste collection at all stations in the country. In this problem, the main thing is to start, and this can be done small. For example, if possible, do not buy a drink in a plastic bottle. If you’ve already bought it, don’t throw it away right away, but use it for something. If you decide to throw a plastic bottle into the general trash, then you need to crush it, releasing the air. Thus, they will take up less space in the garbage truck, and it will be able to transport more garbage at a time, while using less gasoline and releasing less exhaust gases into the air.

Very often we buy things in bright packaging. You can later reuse it for children's crafts, if it is cardboard or paper. Or wrap a children's gift in it, as children really like bright holiday packaging. It is very convenient to reuse bags from stores for waste collection.

Household chemistry - sourcebad ecology V home

A social survey company conducted a study on whether household chemicals are safe. Two-thirds of Russians surveyed between the ages of 20 and 65 answered that they had never thought about it. Household chemicals include washing powders, dishwashing and plumbing detergents, and various polishes. Russian scientists have found that 1.9% of the total amount that gets on the skin during washing dishes “settles” in the brain alone, and 0.6% in the liver. Surfactants have a chemical affinity for certain components of human cell membranes and accumulate on them, covering the membranes with a thin layer. Reaching a certain concentration, surfactants cause disruption of biochemical processes and the integrity of the cell itself.

Let us recall that the most dangerous are ionic surfactants (cationic and anionic). They are used as an active ingredient in detergents and cosmetics.

If possible, choose detergents containing non-ionic surfactants. If V composition contained cationic or anionic Surfactant, That content their Not should be more 5 percent. For washing dishes, you should give preference to products based on natural ingredients, such as straw and bran; they often have an environmental label on the packaging. If such products are expensive for you, you can wash dishes with natural soap, soda and citric acid. You don’t need to use dishwashing detergent if you fill the sink with water and just soak the plates, then you can just rinse them or wipe them with a sponge and laundry soap.

hazardous to the environment

Of course, it is impossible to completely abandon the use of household chemicals, because they were invented to make our lives easier. Recently the film “Habitat. Household chemicals." The filmmakers set up a simple experiment. They tried to wash the T-shirt using natural products. In this case, 1 kg of lemons and an hour and a half of hard physical effort were used.

Health issues, of course, must be taken seriously, however, in the modern world it is very difficult to give up all the benefits of civilization. There is a way out. You just need to learn to read labels on detergents. For example, when choosing a washing powder, you should give preference to phosphate-free products. Phosphates are very dangerous to human health and also pollute wastewater. Rostest advises choosing powders containing zeolites - they have replaced phosphates and are safe for health and the environment. To better remove stains, enzymes and polymers are added to modern environmentally friendly powders.

Choose washing powder For children's linen

Baby powder should not contain enzymes, phosphates and zeolites, or bleaches.

By the way, all children's washing powders sold in large stores contain dangerous phosphates, and their content is more than 5 percent. Japanese and Korean phosphate-free children's washing powders have now become available.

  • High-quality baby powder dissolves perfectly and quickly in water, it does not form lumps, does not leave marks on clothes, and practically does not foam.
  • Be sure to check the integrity of the packaging and expiration date.
  • The use of fabric softeners on newborns is prohibited.
  • If the powder is imported, the packaging should contain instructions and composition in Russian, as well as all information about the manufacturer.

_________________

Creating a safe home is an investment in the health of the whole family. Using the tips described in this article, we can help our home become eco-friendly. This means that each of us will take a step not only towards the cleanliness of our own homes, but also towards improving the ecology of our planet as a whole.

I suggest you consider the good old technology of building houses; the result is an environmentally friendly house.
Most books about construction and architecture do not even mention the well-known, almost universal construction method of building clay (clay, adobe) houses. Building houses from clay is the least industrial, safest and simplest of all natural construction methods. Clay has been used as a building material since ancient times. Even in Babylon and Ancient Rus', many thousands of years before the birth of Christ, outbuildings and houses were erected from unfired clay. The technology was simple: wet clay was stuffed into special wooden molds and then dried in the sun.
Mixing clay with straw, a natural light but durable material, reinforces the structure, makes it lighter, stronger and enhances the thermal insulation properties of walls and ceilings, turning them into a kind of heat accumulators that accumulate heat during the day, preventing heat from penetrating into the home, and at night , on the contrary, they give off heat.

So:
We build the foundation as for an ordinary frame house and build the wooden skeleton of the future house.

We will stock up on clay, coarse sand and straw (large sawdust, flax). Clay with sand can theoretically be obtained on your site:
You will need about 3 liters of clean water and 50 g of salt. Take soil samples, grind them, fill 3 liter jars with water half or one third. Add a full teaspoon of salt, it speeds up the leaching of the clay. Shake the jars long and hard. Let the hard pieces sit for an hour or two to soften, then shake again.

Once you stop shaking the jar, the soil will break down into small particles. Useful sand will fall within 3-5 seconds. Make a mark of this level on the jar. Then, within 10-20 minutes, fine silt and sand will fall out. Then the clay will gradually settle, the water will remain above it. What will remain floating is organic material. Everything below the 10-minute drop-out mark in the jar is silt, above that is clay. If you have the right soil to use, you will see a thick layer of coarse sand with a slightly less thick layer of clay, some silt and fine sand. Try digging more test holes. Even within the same area there are places with very different soil compositions, also different compositions at different depths.

We make a mixture: 1 part clay + 2 parts sand + 0.6 parts straw.
To determine the appropriate mixture, mix clay and sand in different proportions: 3:1, 2:1, 1:1, 2:3, 1:2, 1:3. After mixing, add water so that the samples stick together when you press them together with your palms. They should be relatively dry. The sample should not be homemade - it should not be wet or crumbly. When dropped from a height of a meter onto soft ground, a ball (the size of a snowball) should retain its shape. If it crumbles, there is too much sand. If it's flattened, there's too much clay.
You can mix the solution using a piece of tarpaulin or in a special pit (treading the mixture and lifting the corners of the tarpaulin). If you use a concrete mixer, place a couple of large stones in the mixture of sand, clay and water so that they spin along with the mixture. The stones, spinning, will break the clay and embed sand into it. Straw can be added to the mixture by pouring it out of the mixer using your feet.

Then we stuff the sheathing around the perimeter to secure the insulation and exterior finishing.

We make mats from straw or reeds (we tie them with linen rope or aluminum wire) for insulation and attach them to the walls

The reinforced straw mats are plastered with lime plaster (lime:sand, 1:1-2) the layer should be 25-30mm

We plaster the inside of the wall with clay plaster (clay:sand, 1:3-5).
We paint the outside of the house with lime paint - dilute lime paste in 5-6 liters of water, add table salt dissolved in 0.5 liters of water, and mix everything. Then add water to a volume of 10 liters, i.e. to working thickness. This is how white paint is obtained - whitewash. Pigments are introduced into it (mercury cinnabar, ultramarine, lead chrome green, cobalt violet, chromium oxide, umber, red lead)

We install a clay-straw roof:
This roof is cheap, easy to manufacture, fire resistant, but heavy, so it requires a roof slope of 40 to 50°. Service life - 25-30 years. Rafters under an adobe-straw roof are made more massive by stuffing them with a sheathing of sanded straight poles 5-7 cm thick. The poles rest on dowels made of hard rock, inserted into the holes of the rafters (hole diameter - 2 cm, depth - 6-7 cm). To prevent the poles from falling, their ends are secured with nails.
To protect the rafters from sagging in the attic, props are placed under them and removed only after the roof has completely dried. For the same purpose, a thrust board supported by a pole is temporarily attached to the lower plane of the cornice.
The straw should be free of grass and rot. Only fatty clay can be used, with a sand content of no more than 15%. It is better to prepare clay in advance for the winter at the rate of 1 m3 per 30-35 m2 of roofing. Frozen clay becomes looser and gets wet easily.
Not very tight sheaves with a diameter of 10-20 cm and a length of 50 to 100 cm are knitted from straw, cutting off the ears.
The loosened clay is poured into a creative pit in layers of 10-15 cm, filled with water (2 parts of water are taken for 1 volume part of clay) and kept for 5-6 or more hours. Then it is mixed or pounded until a homogeneous creamy mass is obtained. The thickness of the clay is determined by the straw placed in it. If the straw stands vertically for some time, and the solution stuck to it does not drain, the clay can be used. If the straw falls and the solution flows off it, you need to add clay (if it is too thick, add water).
The first row of roofing is laid from sheaves with evenly cut butts, which are pressed against the thrust board. Having laid the sheaf on the crate, it is untied and leveled. Another sheaf is placed next to the first one, but in such a way that it necessarily overlaps the edge of the previous one. Having laid the first row of sheaves, check the thickness of the layer with a board. The thickness of the roof is 10... 15 cm. The sheaves are laid in horizontal rows, starting from the overhang, with a gradual transition to the ridge. Two slopes should be covered at the same time, and first lay one or two rows on one slope, then on the other, so as not to overload the rafters on one side.
Having laid out three or four rows, the straw is combed with a metal rake and poured with clay mortar on top. Then the mortar is tapped and smoothed with a shovel until the roof is level. If work is carried out intermittently, then the edges of already laid sheaves usually dry out. Therefore, before laying a new layer, it is recommended to moisten them with a clay solution.
Completely covered slopes are combed with a rake, the depressions are leveled and filled with a thicker clay solution, nailing and smoothing with a shovel. If the slope is not made smooth, then water will be retained in its recesses, which will quickly destroy the roof.
A house built using this technology has antiseptic, deodorizing, cleansing properties; in addition, walls made of clay and ceilings covered with clay reliably protect the inhabitants of such a house from harmful radiation, noise, excessive solar radiation, and are also a reliable heat insulator, protecting both from the summer steppe heat and from the winter cold.

I personally saw how a house was built using this technology (photos from it). Unfortunately, I didn’t know the recipe for preparing the materials - I had to use online sources