Healthy Home Resources

Every family deserves a safe and healthy home. Recognize hidden hazards and learn how to prepare for severe storms with the CDC resources below. Lightning: Lightning Safety Tips Click here to view Keep Children Safe During Disaster Clean Up Carbon Monoxide Poisoning  

A Healthy Home is in Good Repair

Our Healthy Homes program offers the following tips on keeping your home in good repair. You can download the document or print it for easy reference.

A Healthy Home is Well Ventilated

Our Healthy Homes program offers the following tips on keeping your home well ventilated. You can download the document or print it for easy reference.

A Healthy Home is Safe

Our Healthy Homes program offers the following tips on keeping your home safe. You can download the document or print it for easy reference.

A Healthy Home is Free of Pests

Our Healthy Homes program offers the following tips on keeping your home free of pests. You can download the document or print it for easy reference.

A Healthy Home is Dry

Our Healthy Homes program offers the following tips on keeping your home dry. You can download the document or print it for easy reference.

A Healthy Home is Free of Chemicals

Our Healthy Homes program offers the following tips on keeping your home free of chemicals. You can download the document or print it for easy reference.

A Healthy Home is Clean

Our Healthy Homes program offers the following tips on keeping your home clean and healthy. You can download the document or print it for easy reference.

8 Principles of a Healthy Home

1. Keep your home DRY. 2. Keep your home CLEAN. 3. Keep your home SAFE. 4. Keep your home WELL-MAINTAINED. 5. Keep your home PEST-FREE. 6. Keep your home CONTAMINANT-FREE. 7. Keep your home WELL-VENTILATED  8. Keep your home GREEN AND ENERGY EFFICIENT. For more information please visit https://healthyhomes.uconn.edu

Healthy Homes News

The Healthy Homes Partnership is a national effort to provide information on how to keep your home safe and healthy. A healthy home supports the health and safety of the people who live there. Research indicates that there is a relationship between your health and the health of your home. CT Healthy Homes Partnership team […]

Principles of a Healthy Home…in ASL!

  UConn Student Hailee Parenteau posted a Healthy Homes Principles video in American Sign Language on the national HHP Facebook page as part of our Healthy Homes Partnership social media project. Watch the video at: http://s.uconn.edu/40u 

Healthy Homes an International Conversation

Dr. Hyun-Jeong Lee, Associate Professor, Department of Housing and Interior Design, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju, South Korea, and Sohee Moon, Graduate Student, visited the University of Connecticut on August 24, and will be visiting University of Georgia and NIFA in Washington, D.C. to learn about the Department of Extension housing programs. Team members of the […]

8 Tips for Keeping a Healthy Home

Is your home well ventilated? Visit the Healthy Homes Partnership for more information and tips.

Learning About a Healthy Home

Joan Bothell and Mary-Margaret Gaudio, from the Healthy Environments for Children Initiative at UConn Extension, have written a children’s book. Using text along with illustrations by Kevin Noonan from the UConn College of Agriculture, the book teaches children ways to maintain a healthy living environment. Photo by Sean Flynn, UConn

Stay Healthy and Safe in Your Home Using CDC Guidelines

We are all doing our best to stay safe and healthy during COVID-19. We recommend using these guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to help keep you, your family, and home healthy and safe. Know the difference between cleaning and disinfecting!  “Cleaning refers to the removal of germs, dirt, and impurities […]

Healthy and Homemade Meals in Fairfield County

Healthy and homemade meals and seasonal vegetables were part of nutrition education outreach conducted by Extension educator Heather Peracchio in September. Heather works with the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-Ed) and is based in the Fairfield County Extension Center. She reports on her programming for […]

Healthy Interactions with Animals at Fairs and Other Animal Events

Fairs and other events involving animals can be memory-makers for the whole family. However, understanding how to keep everyone healthy while attending is important, especially when engaging with the animals and their handlers. This fact sheet is for people interested in learning proper hygiene practices for interacting with animals in public settings.

Online Gardening Course for Home Gardeners Available

UConn Extension is excited to announce that the Fundamentals of Home Gardening online course, designed to help gardening enthusiasts of all levels cultivate thriving home gardens, is available for home gardeners who want to expand their knowledge and skills. The course is divided into four modules covering essential gardening topics: CORE – Water, Soils, and […]

Backyard Poultry: A Quick Look at Raising Healthy Birds

Raising backyard poultry is an increasingly popular endeavor, providing fresh eggs, meat, and companionship, while contributing to a sustainable food system. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced poultry owner, it is essential to understand the fundamental aspects of poultry selection, housing, health management, and biosecurity to ensure a healthy, and productive, flock. 

Cleaning and Removing Mold in Your Home

Mold grows in wet, damp conditions, and in homes can form after flooding or water leaks. Mold in the home can cause health issues, and it is important to remove it quickly and carefully. Mold can grow on many surfaces, including walls, clothing, carpets, and in the spaces under carpets, between walls, attics, and basements, damaging building materials and furnishings. Look for discolored patches, including red, black, blue and green; it can also appear slimy or fuzzy.  Negative health impacts from mold are common and are another reason it is crucial to avoid mold in homes, offices, and other locations.

Cleaning and Removing Mold in Your Home

Mold grows in wet, damp conditions and this can happen in homes after floods or water leaks. Humid areas are another prime location for mold. It is important to remove mold quickly and carefully from homes because it causes health issues and once it is present, will continue to grow faster. Kitchens and bathrooms are […]

UConn 4-H New Haven County: Here to Be Healthy!

Do you need some tips on how to maintain a healthy lifestyle? Do you have a project that you are passionate about, but haven’t shown it off? Are you looking for a place to both learn and enjoy what you learn about? My name is Genesis Rosario and I’m the Summer 2022 Intern for UConn […]

Healthy Family Connecticut

Interested in more nutrition information for you and your family? The Healthy Family Connecticut website from the UConn Department of Allied Health Sciences offers many science-based and nutrition resources for you and your family to stay healthy that are offered in both English and Spanish. Resources are offered for Parents of Toddlers, Preschool Aged Children, […]

Children Home From School: Advice for Parents

Children and their friends Limit Social Interactions: The key to slowing the spread of COVID-19 is to limit social interactions as much as possible. Parents should minimize play dates, and if held, parents should keep the groups small. Advise older children to hang out in a small group and to meet up outside rather than inside. […]

5 Ways to Keep Kids Engaged and Learning at Home

Article by Kittrina Thompson for National 4-H As communities across America experience the impact of school closures it can be stressful for parents and families to find resources available to maintain a sense of normalcy and make sure kids don’t get off track in their daily development. And while some schools are implementing a virtual […]

Basic Food Safety Practices at Home

What made you sick? Is it food you cooked at home? By Diane Wright Hirsch, MPH, Senior Extension Educator/Food Safety   As winter wanes and we begin to eat more seasonally—perhaps eat more salads, raw fruits and veggies, using the barbecue—it may be a good time to take stock of our safe food preparation skills. […]

Tools for Healthy Living Receives National 4-H Award

The purpose of the Excellence in Urban 4-H Programming Award is to recognize outstanding efforts by members in urban programming and to strengthen the commitment to urban programming curriculum. The National Association of Extension 4-H Agents Member Recognition Committee selected the Tools for Healthy Living program as the national award winner for the competition. This afterschool program, […]

Making Healthier Homes

What do we mean by a healthy home? According to housing and public health experts, it is a home that is designed and maintained to support the health and safety of its residents. In his 2009 Call to Action to Promote Healthy Homes, the U.S. Surgeon General stated that by improving housing conditions—for example, by […]

Is Your Home Safe?

Is your home well safe? Visit the Healthy Homes Partnership for more information on keeping your home safe.

Energy Efficient Homes are Green

Energy efficient homes are green? Visit the Healthy Homes Partnership for more information on making your home energy efficient.

Is Your Home Well Ventilated?

Is your home well ventilated? Visit the Healthy Homes Partnership for more information on keeping your home safe.

Tools for Healthy Living

“Tools for Healthy Living,” a curriculum about healthy homes and food safety, has been accepted as a national peer-reviewed curriculum by the National 4-H Council. The curriculum, designed for students in grades four through six who are in afterschool 4-H programs, was developed by UConn Extension as part of a 5-year Sustainable Community Project grant […]

Plant Diseases & Sustainably Healthy Plants

By Joan Allen – Assistant Extension Educator – UConn Home & Garden Center Plant diseases can have a devastating effect on your garden or landscape, and on your wallet! You may have invested in new cultivars of a favorite plant, only to watch them wilt away. A large tree can add thousands of dollars in […]

April Showers Awards on Healthy Environments for Children Initiative

April has brought not only showers (rain and snow) to Connecticut but also a bouquet of awards to the Healthy Environments for Children Initiative (HEC, www.hec.uconn.edu), staffed by Joan Bothell and Mary-Margaret Gaudio, of UConn Extension.   First, the National Association of Environmental Professionals awarded HEC its 2014 Environmental Excellence Award in Education for the initiative’s Susie […]

Sustainable Pest Control in Home Gardens

By Joan Allen – Assistant Extension Educator, UConn Home & Garden Center Insects and pests are a fact of life in the home vegetable garden, but sustainable practices can keep them at tolerable levels. Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is the use of a combination of tools to manage pests while minimizing the use of chemicals. […]

Flooding and Hurricane Resources

Continuing rain and extreme weather events, including impacts from hurricanes, are saturating our Connecticut communities. UConn Extension has the following resources to support agricultural producers, consumers, residents, and others affected. You can also sign up for mobile weather alerts by visiting weather.gov and CT Alerts. Anyone in a Disaster area can use the Ready.gov disaster […]

Flooding Resources

Updated on July 24, 2023 Many of our communities are affected by the statewide flooding from the Connecticut River after heavy rains in New York and Vermont. Flooding conditions continued after more rain arrived. UConn Extension has the following resources to support agricultural producers, consumers, residents, and others affected. You can also sign up for […]

Indoor Air Quality Interactive Tour

Indoor air quality is important to a healthy home, especially during these cold winter months! Use this interactive home tour to identify ways to protect your indoor air quality. This tour is also available in Spanish! http://bit.ly/IAQTour

National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week Webinars

This is a message from the Healthy Homes Partnership Welcome! Each year, the National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week (NLPPW) outreach campaign is aimed at awareness, action, and prevention. We bring together individuals, diverse organizations, industry, and state, tribal, and local governments nationwide. NLPPW is held this year from October 25‐31, 2020. NLPPW highlights the many […]

UConn 4-H Global Handwashing Day Media Contest

UConn 4-H and the Healthy Homes Partnership are sponsoring a media contest for Global Handwashing Day. Youth are invited to submit their media creations by October 7, 2020.