[Logo: Homes and Communities: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development]
[Vea la versión en español de esta página] [Contact Us] [Display the text version of this page] [Search/Index]
 
HUD News
Newsroom
Priorities
About HUD

Homes
Buying
Owning
Selling
Renting
Homeless
Home improvements
HUD homes
Fair housing
FHA refunds
Foreclosure
Consumer info

Communities
About communities
Volunteering
Organizing
Economic development

Working with HUD
Grants
Programs
Contracts
Work online
HUD jobs
Complaints

Resources
Library
Handbooks/ forms
Common questions

Tools
Webcasts
Mailing lists
RSS Feeds
Help

[The U.S. government's official web portal]  

All Living Areas

- -
 Information by State
 Esta página en español
 Print version
 
-
Is Your Home a Healthy Home?
-
 -   Index
 -   In the bedroom
 -   In the bathroom
 -   In the kitchen
 -   All living areas
 -   More Information

 -   To prevent asthma attacks, eliminate sources of mold, dust, and insects, such as cockroaches. If you have a pet, keep it and its bedding clean and keep the pet off the furniture.

 -   If you must smoke, avoid smoking in the house, and especially around children.

 -   Make sure furnaces, fireplaces, wood-burning stoves, space heaters, and gas appliances are vented properly and inspected annually.

 -   Use safety gates to block stairways (and other danger areas), safety plugs to cover electrical outlets, and safety latches for drawers and cabinets.

 -   Keep children — and the furniture they can climb on — away from windows.

 -   Install window guards (on windows that are not fire emergency exits).

 -   To prevent falls, keep hallways and stairways well-lit and use non-slip backing for area rugs.

 -   Keep cleaning solutions, pesticides, and other potentially dangerous substances in their original, labeled containers, and out of the reach of children.

 -   Test homes built before 1978 for lead paint. Call 1-888-LEADLIST for certified inspectors. Ask your doctor or health department if your child should be tested for lead.

 -   If you have guns or rifles in your home, store the firearms and ammunition in separate containers and lock them out of the reach of children.

 -   Learn First Aid and Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation(CPR).

 -   Keep an updated list of emergency telephone numbers, including your local poison control center, physician and hospital emergency room, next to every phone in your home.

 -   Have your home tested for radon. If levels are above EPA’s recommended level, call 1-800-557-2366 to find out about ways to reduce the levels.

 -   Make sure your family knows what to do during a natural disaster. In an earthquake, drop to the floor and get under something sturdy for cover; during a tornado, take shelter in a basement or an interior room without windows; and during a hurricane stay away from windows. Have handy supplies of food, flashlights, and water.

 
  Follow this link to go  Back to top   
----------
FOIA Privacy Web Policies and Important Links  Home [logo: Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity]
[Logo: HUD seal] U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
451 7th Street S.W., Washington, DC 20410
Telephone: (202) 708-1112   TTY: (202) 708-1455
Find the address of a HUD office near you