Hidden Factors Hurting Your Home’s Carbon Footprint
By Jack Shaw
A sustainable lifestyle means you want every aspect of your life to support your values. Your home is a significant part of that. Each room represents who you are and shouldn’t clash with your eco-friendly goals. Learning about the hidden factors that can hurt a person’s carbon footprint will make you more confident that you’re doing everything possible to support the planet.
1. Old Insulation
Living spaces need insulation. The material hidden in your walls retains your air conditioning and heating. If your home holds onto its internal temperature effectively, your HVAC unit doesn’t need as much electricity to work as hard. Unfortunately, insulation can deteriorate over time.
Even standard materials made of fiberglass or cellulose could require replacing if you live in an older home. Schedule an inspection if you’re unsure how long your insulation has been in place to ensure you’re minimizing your home’s electricity usage as much as possible. You may only need to add new materials to specific parts of your home to maintain the temperature on your thermostat more easily.
2. Chemical Cleaning Products
When you scrub your shower or sink, cleaning products wash down the drain. If they aren’t biodegradable, they harm the environment when they reach waterways. They’re also likely made by manufacturers far away, requiring burning more fossil fuels during shipping.
Make DIY cleaning solutions with organic alternatives like white vinegar and baking soda to keep your house tidy without affecting your planetary impact. To reduce your plastic consumption, you can store your cleaning solutions in jars for future use.
3. Dryer Vent Clogs
You might assume that cleaning the lint trap in your dryer is enough to keep it efficient. Unfortunately, fabric fuzz still passes through the filter and into your vents. Experts recommend cleaning them every one to three years, but you may need to vacuum them out more often if you do laundry frequently.
Use a household vacuum with an extendable nozzle to remove lint clogs in minutes. Your dryer will work faster, which can reduce your electricity bill.
4. Air Fresheners
Spritzing an air freshener before people come over might make you feel more comfortable as a host, but those chemicals eventually float outdoors. Carbon footprint calculations include household waste, so reducing the chemicals your home emits could decrease your footprint.
Swap standard air fresheners for eco-friendly alternatives. Biodegradable sprays or homemade essential oils will give your living space a clean aroma without polluting the planet.
5. Traditional Sink Faucets
Water conservation is a big part of living sustainably. While you can shorten your showers to save five or more gallons of water, you could also upgrade your sink faucets. Standard aerators are among the many hidden factors that hurt a home’s carbon footprint.
If you install a low-flow model, you’ll use less water while washing your hands or dishes. Low-flow shower heads are also available to expand your water conservation efforts.
6. Dryer Sheets
Single-use waste can be challenging to spot. Do you always add a dryer sheet when you throw clothes in your dryer? Switching to a wool ball will still create the anti-static effect you want without adding to your household waste. This swap will also reduce the number of chemicals in your home since standard dryer sheets contain chemicals to make your clothes softer.
7. Antibacterial Soap
You might be among the many people who stock their homes with antibacterial soap. Although it may make you feel extra clean after washing your hands, it negatively affects the environment.
When those chemicals reach the ecosystem, they can feed antibiotic-resistant bacterial colonies that could threaten human health, animals, and plants if left unchecked. Get regular hand soap instead. It keeps your hands equally clean without risking the well-being of any living thing.
8. Window Sealant Leaks
If you look closely at the edges of your windows, you’ll see a clear or white substance between the hardware and the wall. This sealant prevents air from entering or leaving your home, which improves your HVAC unit’s ability to regulate your household temperature.
Sealants can crack with time, so occasionally, double-check for a slight breeze around the edges of your windows. Applying new sealant will fix the problem and prevent your HVAC unit from using excessive electricity to work overtime.
Improve Your Home’s Carbon Footprint
Shrinking your household’s carbon footprint is an ongoing process. Making even small changes to your daily routines can have a significant impact on the environment. Consider if you spray air fresheners, clean your dryer vents, or wash antibacterial soap down your drain. Easy lifestyle adjustments can make a difference for your wallet and the environment if you stick with them long-term.
Jack Shaw is the senior editor of the men’s lifestyle magazine Modded and has written extensively about electric vehicles, sustainable practices, and maintaining a green lifestyle through your everyday actions. His writing can be found in Green Living Journal, Packaging Digest, EcoHotels, and more. Connect with him via his LinkedIn.
