Creating a Healthy Home

If you were to lie face down on your carpet and take a deep snort, chances are you'd be inhaling--in addition to whatever Fluffy didn't swallow when she last licked her butt as part of routine maintenance--as many as 200 volatile organic compounds. Carpet is but one of the many offenders in the modern home, both for the materials used in its manufacture and for its ability to harbor all kinds of nasty stuff. Fortunately, homeowners can take environmentally friendly arms against this toxic sea of troubles and thereby end, or at least alleviate, them. Host Tom Virtue (no joke) walks viewers through the hot spots in the house and outside, offering suggestions on more economical lighting, conserving water and electricity, using safer solvents and cleaners, and checking for radon, lead, and carbon monoxide levels in the home. As contemporary homeowners become more conscious of drinking water impurities, toxic lawn treatments, and indoor pollutants, they are discarding the outdated ‘50s motto "better living through chemistry" for the simpler, plainer philosophy "no more dust mites up my nose." Eco-enthusiasts (that's eco-logic and eco-nomic) will undoubtedly find one or two new ideas here for making their homes healthier and more cost-effective to maintain. Recommended. Aud: P. (R. Pitman)