How to Create a Healthy Nursery for Your Baby

Open windows for 10 to 15 minutes on good air quality days to refresh your nursery.

Take your shoes off at the door. Our shoes track in all kinds of outdoor contaminants: pesticides from parks and lawns, contaminants from industrial areas, PFAS from turf playing fields, and more. Leaving our shoes at the door is a small tip that can make a big impact by reducing the harmful substances we find in our home. This is especially important when your little one is crawling, lying, and playing on the floor.

Dust frequently. Indoor dust is a source of numerous unhealthy contaminants like PFAS. Use a reusable cloth dampened with water or nontoxic cleaner to capture dust, especially in the nursery and other areas baby plays, sleeps, or eats. Fancy dusting wipes aren’t necessary (nor recommended).

Limit use of plastic. This tip is true for every room in our house! Plastic can off-gas and shed harmful substances into our household air and environment, can leach chemicals into our food and drinks, and is a source of pollution. This is especially true for food and drink prep, serving, and storage. We know that plastic isn’t totally avoidable at this moment in time, but curbing use is key.  

Keep the nursery fragrance-free. Skip air fresheners, diffusers, scented personal care, and other fragranced products. This will reduce baby’s exposure to VOCs, as well as other harmful substances that can be found in fragranced products.

Check out Made Safe for certified baby personal care, linens, clothing, and other nursery essentials. Made Safe certified products are screened for known and suspected toxic substances, meaning they’re safer choices for use on our bodies, with our families, and in our homes. For more healthy nursery tips, read Made Safe’s Healthy Pregnancy Guide.