Many people know how detrimental and toxic mercury is to human health. If you’re someone who loves consuming fish, it’s important to test for mercury. At-home strip tests for mercury involve testing your urine or saliva, as opposed to the fish itself. To be on the safer side, never consume fish more than twice a week to keep any accidental mercury levels to a minimum (Consumer Lab).
Volatile Organic Compounds, or VOCs occur in newly constructed homes with brand-new construction material. The same goes for formaldehyde, a type of toxic VOC chemical found in the air. Both can cause cancer. You can find VOCs in tobacco smoke, furniture, pesticides, adhesives, gasoline, and furniture. It’s best to collect samples with a professional pump in your home and send them to a lab for testing. These tests monitor over 170 harmful VOCs found in the air of your home (Sysco Env).
If you love wearing jewelry, then it’s important to test for harmful materials in your jewelry like nickel and lead that can cause a skin reaction. It’s even more common to have harmful materials in your jewelry if they’re vintage pieces. You can test for these harmful materials at home, or by taking them to a lab. Taking them to a lab will give you a much more accurate result than doing a DIY test kit (WikiHow).
Accidents happen. If your dog or cat makes a mistake, it might end up on your carpet or furniture. It’s not always easy to tell where urine lurks in your home, but it’s important to find out. You can reveal hidden pet stains that contain ammonia using a UV light. Exposure to ammonia causes burning of the eyes, nose, throat, and respiratory tract. Instead of putting your nose on the ground and searching for the scent of ammonia, you can purchase a UV light that’ll do the job for you. Wavelengths in the UV light will cause proteins and phosphorus in the urine to glow (Preventative Vet).
Make sure your carbon monoxide alarms are always on and working. This is essential for the safety of you and your family. The alarm will sound if it notices increased levels of carbon monoxide in your home when one of your appliances isn’t working properly. It’s recommended to test your carbon monoxide alarm once per month and replace it when it’s old (Amptec).