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Easy Steps to a Healthier Home

Are there toxins in your water, linens, and toys? 18 ways to protect your family by Celeste Perron

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In the backyard

POTENTIAL DANGER: Arsenic-treated wood decks and play sets

The scoop: It's hard to fathom, but for decades, arsenic was added to outdoor wood as a preservative. After evidence emerged that it could cause cancer in humans, the EPA banned the manufacture and sale of arsenic-treated wood for most uses. However, wood decks and kids' play sets built before 2004 usually contain arsenic. So if you've got any wood in your yard that's more than four years old, you can take some simple precautions to protect your kids, who can ingest arsenic when they touch the wood or the soil underneath it and then put their hands in their mouths. (If you want to know for sure whether wood in your backyard contains arsenic, you can buy a simple but reliable test kit, priced from $25 to $40, at ewg.org.)

Healthy-home fixes:

Have your kids scrub up as soon as they come inside. "One study showed that washing with soap and water removes arsenic from hands and greatly reduces risk," says Dr. Greene.

Don't have your wood structures professionally cleaned with pressurized water. The force of the water can release arsenic from the wood.

If you remove the deck or play set, don't burn it or you'll release arsenic into the air.

Reseal outdoor wood at least once a year with latex paint or polyurethane, recommends the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit organization devoted to reducing levels of harmful chemicals in the environment. You can do this yourself or hire a pro, but either way, you'll be taking just one more important step toward making your home as healthy as it can be.

Celeste Perron writes about health, style, and green living, and is the author of Playing House: A Starter Guide to Being a Grown-Up.

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