Book Review: Home Detox

I should admit from the outset that I only skimmed Home Detox by Daniella Chace. The horror was too great to go in-depth with these terrifying discussions. The amount of toxicity in our homes is staggering. How can we even still be alive? I joke, but it is only because I lack the will-power, the financial investment, or the patience to overhaul our whole living spaces to follow these tips and pointers. It was an exhausting skim. 

For example, the top kitchen toxins include: aluminum, coffee pods (guilty), plastic cutting boards (guilty), food packaging, food storage containers, teflon and nonstick cookware (guilty), plastic utensils (I should just put myself in the dock because I'm guilty of all of them). Then there's my memory foam in the bedroom (the thing that saved me from my uncomfortable mattress and made sleep possible again). Is it giving me illness and allergic reactions? Yikes! 

I checked this book out from the library because I battle a chronic need to clear my throat (for four or five years now). Despite doctor visits and an ultrasound on my throat, we found no answers. Now, my husband is experiencing the same thing, and the boys occasionally struggle, too. With legions of toxins, which do I blame? I'd love to have someone come in and overhaul our living areas. Yet, I think I'm going to turn the book back in and stick my head in the sand (or should I say plastic).

Since this book released on January 31, 2023, it cannot give any recommendations for our more current and pressing dilemma. Days later, on February 3, 2023, 38 train cars carrying hazardous materials derailed in East Palestine, Ohio. The powers that be decided the best action would be to burn off the chemicals involved. An accident? In November 2022, Netflix released a movie called White Noise, with a story line about a train derailment of toxic chemicals in an Ohio town. In January 2023, the CDC released an updated toxicology report for vinyl chloride, increasing the amounts of acceptable exposure. And now, the powers that be also transported the toxic waste from that derailment to Roachdale, Indiana, a town less than 25 miles from us. This waste material, now deemed "safe" by "authorities" is deep in the ground. Will it contaminate water tables that feed into our well? Who can say? This toxicity concerns me far more than the plastic wrap on my counter or the memory foam in my bedroom.