Customers are reassessing how they live in their homes. Underlying that shift is a greater emphasis on overall health and how homes impact total quality of life.
Bill Hayward has monitored this trend for 30 years, becoming a building scientist to understand how homes could be built stronger and more health-focused.
His parents previously owned a hardware store in Culver City, California, and his first job was in its lumberyard. His knowledge of better building practices and his familiarity with the needs of home improvement operators position him as a valuable resource to help you inform customers on the importance of home purification and recommend products to enhance your inventory.
Discover Hayward’s insights into maintaining a healthy home and the products retailers can suggest to customers to improve indoor air quality, purify the water they use to cook, clean and bathe, and even ensure their new victory gardens yield pure produce.
AIR
Improving indoor air quality is an important step to creating a healthy living space. Continued exposure to airborne contaminants like mold, dust and allergens can wreak havoc on everyone in your home or office.
“So much of our health is determined by what we breathe,” Hayward says. “Buying air purification products or simply reexamining how you store certain items can make a huge difference. Regularly replacing air filters with MERV-rated units is a great option.”
DIYer Reminder: Tell customers to keep potentially harmful products like paint, aerosols and gasoline outside the home, preferably in sheds to avoid contaminating indoor air.
LAND
Over the past year, many DIY customers started outdoor gardening projects, and educating them on the ways they can create healthy, organic gardens is a potential sales boost.
“The overall health of any home garden is deeply affected by the conditions in which the produce is raised,” Hayward says.
Remind customers not to put gardens, especially raised planters, directly next to exterior walls. Moisture from the garden can seep inside walls and provide a breeding ground for mold.
DIYer Reminder: Encourage customers to invest in organic soil and potting mix to safeguard their gardens.
WATER
Retailers can also help customers purify their homes by reviewing the quality of the water they use to cook, clean and bathe.
Hayward recommends retailers tell customers to review local water quality reports carefully. Those evaluations can help customers invest in water purification systems to improve the overall conditions. Hayward says some water purification systems can be expensive, but there are usually options for every budget.
DIYer Reminder: Tell customers to avoid using water from a rain barrel for their gardens. That liquid can be contaminated before it reaches the barrel, and those pollutants can end up in homegrown food.