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A healthy home is key to maintaining a healthy lifestyle for you and your family. But for a growing number of homeowners, drains don’t tend to rank highly on their list of priorities. By familiarising yourself with a number of common health hazards associated with household drains, you can learn how to tackle them before they worsen. Continue reading to find out what they are.

Damp

If a drain is blocked, water may be leaking and accumulating where it shouldn’t be. As well as saturating the interior of your home, it can be costly and time-consuming to remedy. Over time, this can damage the structural integrity of your property. Rising damp is a particularly hazardous problem that can arise as a result of a blocked drain. It is a relatively rare form of damp that occurs when moisture travels in a vertical fashion from the ground upwards through permeable wall structures. To prevent damp, invest in a dehumidifier and ensure your home is sufficiently ventilated throughout the year. Damp-proof paint may also prevent damp from occurring in the first place or returning with a vengeance.

Pests

Water, and stagnant water, in particular, are a breeding ground for harmful pests to grow and multiply. These creatures can carry dangerous germs and diseases which can have a negative impact on the health and wellbeing of you and your family over time. Drain flies are another commonly reported pest found in household drains. Knowing how to get rid of drain flies, however, can be a simple fix. To find out what they are and how to deter them from setting up camp in your drain, this article contains everything you need to know. As well as drain flies, you may also be forced to contend with cockroaches, fruit flies, phorid flies, and centipedes. Inspecting your drains on a regular basis and installing drain covers can prevent pests from laying eggs in your pipes. If you are struggling to get rid of stubborn drain pests, a professional pest control company should be able to help.

Bad odours

A bad odour emanating from a drain can be an indication of a larger problem at hand. This can include a bacteria build-up, trapped food, a full or partial blockage, decaying pipe accessories, or sewage issues. One of the best ways to get rid of a bad odour is to fill your sink with a combination of hot water and bleach before allowing it to drain through your pipes. This can dislodge any trapped dirt or debris and leave your drain smelling sweet again. Alternatively, if you are looking for a natural solution, a mixture of baking soda and vinegar can effectively eliminate any bad odours radiating from your drains. By familiarising yourself with a number of leading causes, you can take steps to prevent your drains from kicking up a stink.

Water contamination

If you ignore a drain problem for a prolonged period of time, excess water can become contaminated. This can present a wide range of health problems for you and your family and invite harmful bacteria responsible for diarrhoea, cholera, typhoid, polio, and even hepatitis to flourish. It can also lead to water flowing backwards, picking up additional waste on the way. If this water ends up in your sink or bath, it can negatively impact the health and wellbeing of you and your loved ones.

To prevent water contamination from occurring in the first place, tend to your drain as soon as you become aware of any underlying problems or warning signs. To safely dispose of contaminated water in your drain, contact a professional drain cleaning company in your local area.

Leaks

Drain leaks can materialise as a result of poor upkeep and maintenance or just general wear and tear. Over time, damaged pipes will eventually succumb to the pressure of stagnant water and begin to seep dirty water. Further neglect can force this water to enter your home’s foundations and damage the structural integrity of your property. As well as triggering the onset of a number of health hazards, leaks can also be costly and time-consuming to fix.

Tackling the problem ahead of time is the only way to prevent it from worsening. A drain leak, however, can also be caused by a loose bolt or screw in your piping. By inspecting your drains on a regular basis or enlisting the services of a professional drain cleaning company or plumber, you can get to the root of the problem and find a suitable solution.

Black spot mould

Black spot mould is a particular type of mould that arises due to leaks, poor ventilation, and moisture in the air. As well as its unsightly appearance, it can also permanently damage the interior of your home and lead to a wide range of health hazards for anyone unlucky enough to ingest its spores. It can materialise anywhere in the home with the potential for dampness and is typically found near burst or broken pipes. As with any other airborne spores, black spot mould can exacerbate a number of pre-existing health issues such as asthma, respiratory or pulmonary conditions. To prevent black spot mould from growing, you must fully ventilate each room in your home throughout the year and carry out furniture inspections on a regular basis.

Pay close attention to furniture that has been positioned against internal or external walls as this can be one of the most common sites for excess humidity and poor insulation. Kitchen and bathroom drains, in particular, should be subjected to regular upkeep and maintenance to prevent moisture leakage and to safeguard your home from the health hazards associated with black spot mould.

Poorly maintained drains can trigger a number of dangerous health hazards for you and your family. By knowing which threats to look out for, you can take steps to avoid them from materialising in the first place. Examples include damp, pests, bad odours, water contamination, leaks, and black spot mould.

The plethora of beauty and care products available in the market today promise a whole lot of extraordinary benefits for skin, hair as well our nails.

Most of us try everything possible from chemical-laden creams to organic gels, plant-based lotions etc.

Unfortunately though, we learn the hard way once none of these products make any significant long-term difference to focus on the root cause of the issue we are facing. This could be anything from damaged hair, acne-prone skin to brittle nails amongst others.

When established care routines and well-acknowledged products fail to deliver real results, it’s time to find out the problem’s origin, which can quite probably be linked to your diet and gut health.

You must have probably heard the phrase you’re what you eat, and it’s more than relevant to the topic at hand right now.

This article will focus on gut health’s connection to the strength and wellness of hair, skin, and our nails.

How is Gut Health Related to Skin, Hair and Nail Health?

Notably, the skin is widely acknowledged as an indicator of your gut health.

A proper question that might arise in your mind is why these three parts of our body get affected first.

Well, it is actually quite simple. When our body lacks supplies of proper nutrients, it preserves all the “good stuff” for organs like the brain and liver. Thus hair, skin, and nails experience insufficiency and start to lose their quality.

Most people associate the word bacteria with something terrible, but in the scope of this subject, it’s essential to understand that the human gut incorporates both good and bad bacteria.

In fact, there is a specific ratio of those, which should not be altered in any way because once it changes, it starts causing a bunch of problems.

To keep that balance, you need to get rid of a diet centered around processed foods, alcohol, refined sugars, and instead focus on consuming food, which is rich in probiotics.

Once you focus on having a healthy diet, your organism will get a sufficient amount of all nutrients and nourishments. Thereby you will no longer suffer from issues such as dry and damaged hair, blemish-prone skin, or fragile nails.

Poor Gut Health And Its Effects On The Skin

Several studies done in this field recorded findings linking gut health to mental health, the immune system of our organism, skin status, etc.

Eczema, for example, is a skin condition, which makes the appearance of the skin inflamed, and it can possibly be a result of poor gut health.

Diet with an insufficient amount of nutrients may lead to an excessive amount of protein particles released to the body, which in its place causes skin irritation.

Recently, another study found that people suffering from rosacea were ten times more likely to be carriers of small intestinal bacterial overgrowth or SIBO, which is a gut disorder.

These are just two examples of skin conditions influenced by the organism’s gut health, but there is actually more to this.

Connection of Gut Health To Strong Hair And Nails

Even though the connection between a functioning healthy gut and hair health is yet to be proven, there are several facts and indicators that make us believe this relation.

As it was already mentioned, getting proper nutrients is a must. Studies have shown that the gut’s microbiome has the capability to support some of the nutrients that the hair needs to grow. But all this again comes to the idea of having a healthy and balanced gut, both with good and bad bacteria.

Recent studies including experiments on mice have shown us that gut imbalance can sometimes lead to skin, hair, and nail problems.

During the research, laboratory mice were given altered diets, including biotin and antibiotics. Once the latter was added to the diet, mice started to experience visible hair loss.

Continuing the experiments, scientists concluded that a particular type of bacteria was developed due to the usage of antibiotics, which caused biotin deficiency and hair loss.

It is evident that the human gut can indeed lead and influence hair growth and even the phases and transitions of hair, as long as the balance of the microbiome is stabilized.

When it comes to nails, not much is different.

Doctors say that whenever a person experiences brittle and weak nails, most of the time, insufficient nutrients intake is the reason behind the problem.

To solve the issue of peeling and fragile nails, you might want to examine your lifestyle and diet to ensure that you’re consuming enough fruits and vegetables. If you are unable to do so, then you can alternatively buy biotin supplements and take those although nothing beats the nutrient absorption from fresh produce.

Takeaway

First and foremost, remember that your gut health plays a significant role in your system as a whole.

What we conclude from all of this is that once you notice damaged hair strands, skin conditions, and nails that leave you unsatisfied, don’t rush to buy any high-end products or several treating masks and liquids, but instead look closely into your diet.

Do not take the easy way out and opt for processed food and other convenience that could harm you in the long-run. Always remember the amount of influence eating habits and daily intake of healthy food have on your gut and overall health.

It is never too late to change habits. Alter your diet now, and enjoy the benefits coming your way.