The term “dust bunny” sounds so darn cute! So very innocent!  Spying one of these little fuzzy furry fellows scampering by, projected elf-like through the air and provoked by the slightest indoor wind current, is kind of adorably funny…right!? Well think again, as these seemingly harmless balls-of-dust may be the cause of the havoc-raising that can occur to your endocrine system (we all know what this does [FIBROIDS]) as well as your immune system.
The Silent Spring Institute studied the dust load of  “ordinary” homes. Every home’s dust makeup is unique, and is based on a few factors: where you live, cooking preparation style, if you smoke, how many people live in your home, types of pets, etc. Ordinary house dust is a crazy stewy mix of ~~ pet dander, guck tracked in from your feet/shoes, fungal spores, fibers of every sort (carpeting,) human hair and skin, and products found inside your home that shed chemicals over time (furniture, electronics, shoes, plastics, food etc)!!!
The study revealed, that once inside, these contaminated dusty-devils (no longer bunnies!) breakdown and degrade much more slowly than they would if they were outdoors and had the moisture and sunlight to speed the disintegration process. The Silent Spring Institute identified 66 endocrine-disrupting compounds in ”ordinary” household dust evaluations! SIXTY-SIX endocrine-disrupting compounds: ie; flame retardants, pesticides (home-use and others) and phthalates. Thinking that our homes are our safe-havens, or are a cocoon-like environment that, once inside, we are able to escape these body-disrupting compounds, was quite unnerving and revealing when I read  the results of this dust-study! YIKES!
But there are some practical measures that you can take to keep the everyday “good” dust from becoming a brew-ha of  PBDEs, phthalates and such, that will disrupt your endocrine system in awful and harmful ways. I suggest a few very simple remedies for keeping YOUR dust (relatively) chemical free…
1. Leave your shoes at the entry door (even Martha Stewart does this!)
2. Inspect your foam products made between 1970 and 2005…they are likely to contain flame retardants (PBDEs). Make sure there are no rips or foam exposure.
3. Choose home electronics that DO NOT contain PBDEs. There are many companies that are commited to following a PBDE-free manufacturing method ~~ Acer, Apple, Eizo Nanoa, LG Electronics, Lenovo , Matsushita, Microsoft, Nokia, Phillips, Samsung, Sharp, Sony, and Toshiba.
4. Vacuum frequently and always use a high efficiency particulate air filter (HEPA).
5. Wet mop, as dry-moping just moves the dust to resettle.
6. Buy wooden furniture filled with down, cloth, wool and polyester…no fire-retardant chemicals here.
7. Wipe furniture with a wet microfiber cloth…not a dry cloth.
8.Keep your forced air heating/cooling systems with high-quality air filters…change them often.
9. Keep electronic equipment dust-free by damp-dusting often.

Now that spring is about to “spring” back into our lives, this might be a great time to shed your endocrine-riddled cocoon of dust and transform your home into a butterfly of chemical-free beauty! Happy dusting!!