Creating a healthier, safer, and eco-friendly home doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Sometimes, the smallest shifts in daily habits or the products you use can make a dramatic difference in how your home looks, feels, and smells. To help, we reached out to cleaning, wellness, and eco-living experts for their best practical tips. Here’s what they had to say, along with our own insights as a professional carpet and upholstery cleaning service serving Avondale and the greater Phoenix Valley.
1. Keep Allergens at the Door
Expert Tip:
“Based on my experience and the habits of my Top clients over the years, there are two especially effective tips that you can apply right away. Make a shoes off rule, place a washable indoor mat in your home entrance. Toss the indoor mat in the wash weekly to remove allergens. When cleaning the house, either by yourself or if you hire a company, be sure to open the windows while cleaning to let in fresh air and sunlight.”
– Jessi Batchelor, owner of ArionClean
Our Take:
Shoes track in an average of 421,000 different bacteria and toxins per pair, according to studies published in the Journal of Applied Microbiology. These microbes and allergens (including pollen, pesticides, and E. coli) often end up ground into carpets and upholstery, where they can linger for weeks. A shoes-off rule combined with a washable entry mat significantly reduces the spread of allergens. Pairing this with a professional carpet cleaning two to four times a year helps remove the fine particles that vacuums can’t reach. Scheduling regular carpet cleaning is especially beneficial for families with pets or children who play on the floor.
2. Choose Low- or No-VOC Paint
Expert Tip:
“One of the ways I always recommend keeping your home healthier and more eco-friendly is by opting for low- or no-VOC options when it comes to interior paint. Traditional paint contains Volatile Organic Compounds that will off-gas into the air of your home as the paint dries, a process that can sometimes take weeks. This can be bad for not only the environment but also for occupants of the home, though it might be most noticeable in people with existing sensitivities or conditions. I do tend to recommend these types of low-VOC options for people with sensitivities, since it can help keep up the air quality in your home during this process of off-gassing.”
– Carr Lanphier, CEO at Improovy
Our Take:
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) notes that VOC levels indoors are often 2–5 times higher than outdoors due to paints, cleaning solutions, and other common building materials. High VOC exposure can cause headaches, dizziness, and respiratory irritation, and may worsen asthma. By choosing low- or no-VOC paints, homeowners can cut down significantly on indoor air pollution. We recommend pairing VOC-safe paint with eco-friendly cleaning products to avoid adding even more chemicals in the air, creating a healthier environment that supports long-term indoor air quality.
3. Prioritize Bedroom Air Quality for Better Sleep
Expert Tip:
“The air in your bedroom is more influential on your sleep than you probably believe, particularly if you wake up with headaches or jaw pain. Bad air causes you to breathe through your mouth at night, which dries out your mouth and causes you to clench your teeth. For example, open your bedroom windows for approximately two hours before you go to bed or use an air purifier to help you breathe through your nose while you sleep.
Sleep with your head elevated slightly on a narrow pillow so that your airways do not close. This prevents your jaw muscles from working too hard during the night and ensures that you will wake up without headaches or jaw pain. These simple changes improve your sleep without the need for expensive equipment.”
– Heike Kraemer, President and Dentist at IdeaUSA
Our Take:
Poor indoor air quality has been directly linked to sleep-disordered breathing in studies published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. Dust, pollen, and pet dander are the most common culprits and often concentrate in bedrooms where fabrics like carpets, mattresses, and upholstered furniture trap them. Using HEPA air purifiers and maintaining open-air circulation improves your quality of rest, but pairing those with regular deep carpet and upholstery cleanings further reduces allergens in your home. For sensitive sleepers, this layered approach can significantly reduce nighttime congestion and morning fatigue.
4. Organize with Eco-Friendly Swaps
Expert Tip:
“Tidy, well-organized spaces are naturally cleaner and healthier. Avoid Teflon and plastics—opt instead for cast iron or stainless steel cookware, and use glass for storage. An easy way to transition is by recycling fun glass jars from items like jellies, pickles, or pasta sauce. These jars are perfect for storing rice, beans, or baking goods in the pantry, leftover food in the fridge, and even milk or cold coffee in a lunchbox—keeping your home both eco-friendly and organized.”
– Amanda Hull, Nutrition Expert at HullHealth
Our Take:
Organization doesn’t just simplify life, it also reduces unseen dust and dirt. A 2021 study published in Environmental Science & Technology found that cluttered homes had up to 30% higher concentrations of dust-borne chemicals compared to tidy ones (source). Repurposing glass jars is not only eco-friendly but also reduces reliance on plastics, which can leach microplastics into food. In living areas, clutter-free spaces mean fewer surfaces for dust to settle on and easier cleaning of carpets and upholstery, leading to a consistently healthier environment.
5. Read Labels Before You Buy Cleaning Products
Expert Tip:
“A healthier home starts with reading the label. Many conventional cleaners are filled with ingredients like fragrance blends, optical brighteners, chlorine bleach, and formaldehyde-releasing preservatives that don’t make your home safer, just more toxic. These chemicals can linger on surfaces and in the air, especially in enclosed spaces. Look for products with short, transparent ingredient lists and skip anything you wouldn’t want on your skin or in your water supply.”
– Bree Uebergang, Co-Founder at FilthyClean
Our Take:
According to the Environmental Working Group (EWG), more than 53% of household cleaning products tested contained ingredients known to harm human lungs. Some products were proven to leave behind residues that continued emitting chemicals for days after use. Reading labels helps consumers avoid these long-term exposures. That’s why we use organic, plant-based carpet and upholstery cleaning solutions for all of our services. They remove dirt, stains, and odors effectively without introducing toxic residues, keeping homes safe for kids, pets, and allergy-prone family members.
6. Turn Cleaning Into an Experience
Expert Tip:
“Invest in natural cleaning products that are already beautifully blended with essential oils. They could transform your cleaning routine from a tedious chore into an “experience” you genuinely look forward to weekyly. these harsh chemical free cleaners create an uplifting atmosphere that makes tidying feel more like aromatherapy than housework, encouraging you to maintain your home more regularly because the experience is actually enjoyable.”
– Danny Leung, Founder of Detoorp
Our Take:
Scent has a measurable impact on mood and motivation! Research in the Journal of Environmental Psychology shows that pleasant fragrances can increase cleaning enjoyment by up to 40%. Essential oils like citrus and lavender don’t just smell good; they also contain natural antibacterial properties. We often finish carpet and upholstery cleanings with light, natural scents that leave a fresh, inviting feel, helping homeowners maintain that “just-cleaned” motivation longer.
