General Resources

Seven Tips for Keeping a Healthy Home
This one-pager from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) outlines and provides a brief description of the “Seven Principles of Healthy Homes”: Keep It Dry, Keep It Clean, Keep It Safe, Keep It Well-Ventilated, Keep It Pest-Free, Keep It Contaminant-Free, and Keep It Well-Maintained. (Note that NCHH recognizes additional healthy homes principles that are not reflected in HUD’s list.) [url; HUD]

Help Yourself to a Healthy Home
HUD’s Help Yourself book employs a question-and-answer process to provide information about the most prevalent hazards found in homes and how to address them. It covers issues related to indoor air and water quality in the home and features information about hazardous household products. [pdf; HUD, 2002]

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) – Healthy Homes, Lead Poisoning Prevention, and Asthma Control
CDC’s Healthy Homes site includes tips by topic and audience, publications, videos, and more to provide consumers with information about how to keep homes safe and healthy. [url; CDC]

  •  A Healthy Home for Everyone: The Guide for Families and Individuals
    This CDC guide provides specific cause, effect, and‎ – in some cases‎ – treatment for home health hazards. It also features a glossary of terms related to healthy housing and an extensive list of helpful links to specific information and agencies. [pdf; CDC]
  • National Asthma Control Program
    CDC’s National Asthma Control Program provides tips for controlling asthma triggers, state contacts for asthma control programs, and much more. [url; CDC]

HUD’s Healthy Homes Information for Consumers
[url; HUD]

National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Brochures and Fact Sheets
The following fact sheets from NIEHS provide helpful information about how the environment impacts your health. [url; NIEHS]

  • Asthma and Its Environmental Triggers
    This document explains what asthma is, what role genetics plays in its prevalence, and its relationship with allergies. Offers what individuals and families basic mechanisms to reduce asthma attack occurrences. [pdf, NIEHS]
  • Lead and Your Health
    This document explains what lead is, where it’s often found, and its impact on the human body, especially children, when exposed to lead particles and dust. [pdf, NIEHS]
  • Mold
    This document provides a description of mold and how and where individuals can be exposed to it. It outlines some of the research currently being conducted to determine mold’s impact on health. [pdf, NIEHS]

Green and Healthy Homes Initiative (GHHI) Consumer Education Materials
GHHI offers families information on numerous home health hazards and a green and healthy homes quiz.
[url; GHHI]

Lead – Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
EPA’s lead site provides extension information about lead, where it’s found, its health effects, and who’s at risk from lead exposure. The site provides information for both residents and contractors, including a list of lead-certified contractors for homeowners, and Lead Renovation, Repair, and Painting program trainings for contractors. Lead outreach materials, such as posters and brochures, are also available through the site as are specific ways to Protect Your Family from Exposures to Lead. [url; EPA]

Facts about Mold and Dampness
This site from the CDC provides clear information about where mold is found in the home and how it impacts health. It also provides information about how to control and prevent mold. Information on the site is also available in Spanish. [url; CDC]