Keeping families healthy through winter

A warm and dry home is the best way to keep the family healthy. Supplied image.

As the weather gets colder help keep your family healthy with a warm and dry home.

Homes that are warm, dry, uncrowded and smokefree can help protect you and your family from illnesses such as asthma, respiratory infections and rheumatic fever.

'We know this is often more easily said than done. Overcrowding is sometimes unavoidable, not all houses are in good repair and heating can be expensive. However, there are key things that you can think about to help keep your home healthy - keep heat in, keep moisture out, and keep the air clean,” says Toi Te Ora Public Medical Officer of Health, Dr Jim Miller.

To help keep heat in your home, it helps to have thick curtains and to open your curtains during the day and close them at night.

Stop draughts under doors and around windows where you can. Find out if your home is insulated, if not you may qualify to have insulation installed for free.

Keep moisture out of your home by opening windows to let steam out of the laundry, kitchen and bathroom areas or by using an extractor fan if you have one.

It also helps to put lids on pots when cooking meals. Dry your clothes washing outside or in the garage/carport and if you have a clothes dryer vent it to the outside.

Wipe off any water that has collected on walls or windows. Check for water leaks from guttering or plumbing and repair them, or let your landlord know.

'To help keep the air clean in your home, make your home smokefree,” says Jim. Also avoid using unflued portable LPG gas heaters, as they produce moisture and may pollute the air. Opening your windows for a few minutes each day lets in fresh air.

For more information visit the Toi Te Ora website.

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2 comments

The bottom line is.....

Posted on 06-04-2018 10:43 | By Bruja

that even though these ideas are all very good and MOST can be carried out by anyone, UNTIL the POWER BALANCE shifts to be equal between landlords and tenants, MOST of the problems will continue as MOST tenants are FORCED to live in cold, damp, draughty tenancies and have NO POWER to change that as there is such a shortage of rental accommodation. It is also the reason for the, beyond DISGRACEFUL, GREEDY rents being charged. How one Kiwi can live off another Kiwi's misery is beyond me. How you greedy b...........s sleep at night is also beyond me. :(The ONLY way that anything will change is if the market is flooded with affordable rental accommodation to force huge price reductions and force reasonable, decent living conditions. That and bringing back 'state rentals' and 'state advances' type cheap loans.


Bruja

Posted on 06-04-2018 16:45 | By NZer

If you are unhappy renting why dont you go buy your own house then an you will realise exactly how hard your landlord has slogged it out to by that house. Next you will think that supermarkets are greedy for charging for food. You sound like you think you are entitled. Who do you think is going to pay for your cheap rental house? Santa Claus? With Cindy in government trying to introduce more taxes on landlords and compliance costs etc no one wants to build more rentals as people like you describe them as greedy. Hence why there is a shortage of rental. You cant have it both ways.


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