How healthy is your home?

Connected city

A theme that runs through all my work is bringing more consciousness to people’s lives. I feel I’ve succeeded quite well in spreading more awareness about the benefits of space clearing and clutter clearing, but there still seems to be a long way to go in the area of creating a healthy home.

I am regularly shocked, for example, by how many people have little or no awareness of the level of electromagnetic radiation they are subjecting themselves to on a daily basis, and the impact this can have on their health and vitality.

One example that comes to mind is a woman I met whose computer was set up on a small table in one corner of her kitchen, where she would spend up to 4 hours per day. The computer monitor itself was fine, but she had placed the computer tower on the floor next to her knees. When I asked her if she had any problem with her legs, she rolled her eyes and began a long story about how stiff and achy they were. My electromagnetic field meter revealed that she was sitting with her lower limbs in an electric field of 40 V/m, which is about 8 times higher than many experts would consider to be safe. She followed my advice and fitted a USB cable extender so that she could move the tower away from her desk, and after a few weeks all her aches and pains were gone.

But it didn’t stop there. She also had on her desk a WiFi printer, a broadband router, and a cordless phone. These types of devices emit electromagnetic fields and also microwave radiation when the WiFi is turned on. Checking them with my meters, I discovered the combined electric field of all these devices was 180 V/m (the ideal level is no more than 5 V/m), and more worrying still, the microwave radiation was off the scale, measuring more than 6 V/m (the ideal level is no more than 0.02 V/m).

‘Do you feel tired after working at your computer for a while?’ I asked, to be met with more eye rolling and a long catalogue of woes.

Again, simple solutions could be found, such as connecting an extended cable to the printer so that it could be moved off her desk, installing home plugs so that the router could be moved to another location in the home, and changing the cordless phone to a regular landline or an Eco DECT phone that only emits microwave radiation when in use rather than 24/7 as most models do. After making these changes, she reported an immediate and very tangible improvement in the quality of her sleep and levels of vitality.

Electromagnetic fields

PF5All electrical appliances emit electric and magnetic fields when plugged into the mains. This generally is not a problem unless you spend long periods of time in close proximity to the equipment, as you do when using a computer, or if you use a laptop, tablet, or smartphone while they are plugged in and recharging. The different makes and models have widely varying levels of electromagnetic fields (EMFs), so the only sure way to measure the level you are being exposed to is with a meter that is designed to do this, such as the PF5 meter pictured here.  I always take one with me when buying a new computer or laptop.

Electric fields are measured in volts per meter (V/m), and magnetic fields in microtesla or milliGauss. Ideally you are looking for a reading of less than 5 V/m and 0.025 microtesla (0.25 milliGauss), and definitely no more than 10 V/m and 0.5 microtesla (5 milliGauss).

Some computers and laptops have electric fields that are 50 or more times in excess of these recommended levels. In one store recently I measured a laptop that gave a reading of 7 V/m when plugged into the mains, and right next to it was a similar looking model that gave a reading of a whopping 740 V/m. Manufacturers are not required to declare levels of electromagnetic radiation. The only way to check is to measure it yourself with a reliable meter.

Microwave radiation

Acoustimeter & Acousticom2A completely different type of meter is needed to check the level of microwave radiation you are being exposed to when using computers, laptops, tablets, cell phones, and other devices that operate using WiFi. For this, I recommend the Acoustimeter, or the smaller and more affordable version known as the Acousticom 2. They are both manufactured in the UK but are available to purchase or hire in other countries.

Jaw-dropping astonishment is a common reaction among my clients when I use one of these meters to show them the levels of radiation being emitted by the devices they are using each day, or the WiFi they are exposed to from external sources such as neighbours’ WiFi or nearby phone masts. Most tell me they wish they had known about this sooner.

We really have reached such a level of WiFi saturation now that, in my opinion, EMF and microwave meters are no longer a luxury items but “must-haves” for anyone who values their health and quality of life. When my husband and I were looking for a new home a few years ago, we took them with us to every home we viewed, and we still use them to test any new piece of equipment that we buy.

Related posts
Is your WiFi keeping you wired?
How to buy a new laptop that won’t fry you

Copyright © Clear Space Living Ltd, 2014


About Karen Kingston

Karen Kingston is a leading expert in clutter clearing, space clearing, feng shui, and healthy homes. Her two international bestselling books have combined sales of over three million copies in 26 languages and have established themselves as "must-read" classics in their fields. Her best-known title, Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui, is now in its fifth edition. She is best known for her perspective-changing insights and practical solutions that enable more conscious navigation of 21st-century living.
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12 Responses to How healthy is your home?

  1. Kudos to you Karen!!!!

    I love that such a famous and acclaimed person addresses these problems. Even people who are otherwise intelligent just brush off the importance of these topics. It’s because, y’know, there are no conclusive studies that show enough evidence. The ranges of radiation they use have shown no effects, y’know? *rolls eyes*

    I really want to move away from my crowded, heavily polluted city before 5G gets installed in the nearby future. I am already very sick without those evil inventions making the quality of life even worse.

    1. A CD/radio that is plugged into the mains will emit an electromagnetic field in the same way that a clock radio does, as I explain in Why the best place for a clock radio is in your bin, not on your bedside table. To assess how much of a problem this is, you will need to measure the electromagnetic field with the type of meter that I recommend here. If you wake up feeling tired every morning, you won’t need to use a meter. Just unplug the CD/radio to see how much better you feel without it (note that it can take a week or more to fully feel this effect).

  2. Hi Karen,
    a friend of mine recommended a (new?) technology to me, that claims to neutralize any type of electromagnetic radiation inside of houses, cars, on phones and electronic devices.
    the website is http://www.memon.eu.

    Have you heard of it? Tried it out? Do you know, if this is useful or just a fake as many other tools?

    thanks and warm greetings
    Gabriele

      1. Thank you, Karen. I was aware of this article of yours. I share your scepticism about that kind of technology… yet, I cannot be sure, that some day someone invents something that works.
        And Memon sounds different to everything I’ve heard of up to now.
        That’s why I was curious what you think of it. And if you have tested it.
        My friend, who has tested it, is quite happy with it, she measured the radiation in her flat with different meters and says that Memon has a profound impact on it.
        As I am still so sceptical, that I do not even trust these meters, I wished to have some broader exchange about Memon.
        So, is it, that you have not heared about it yet? Or that you know it and found out it doesn’t work?
        thx
        Gabriele

        1. Hi Gabriele

          I’ve certainly heard about Memon but haven’t tested their products personally and haven’t received any feedback from anyone about them. On their website they state that ‘impacts and effects of the products are not scientifically recognized’, so I am surprised to hear that your friend has been able to take radiation measurements. My advice is to proceed with extreme caution.

  3. Just checked my i-mac which of course has a computer in the monitor and it comes out at a whopping 200 – 220 where i am sitting in front of it (!) Amazing !

    Luckily i purchased an i-pad for traveling and am now trying to use it much more for routine e-mailing at home. And when i turn the i-mac off it stays up there at around 180 i think it was, so i need to actually unplug it to not be affected by it guess.

    Somewhat sad when you think what a hep and cool company Apple is – and sounds like Steve Jobs was a bit of a health nut – but they obviously put no effort into shielding their already quite expensive products (!)

    (Hope this is not too inflammatory a thing to post. i do love the computer but sad to see it sends out such high levels of EMFS!)

  4. Dear Karen,

    What is your experience with iPads? We use them very frequently and I would like to know what levels of radiation they emit. Thanks in advance, Claudia

    PS: you did a Space Clearing 9y ago in our flat in Munich and it felt wonderfull afterwards.

    1. Hi Claudia, Good to hear from you!

      iPads and tablets are all fine to use with the WiFi turned off and not plugged into the mains to recharge. The levels of microwave radiation they emit with the WiFi turned on are usually quite high, although this varies from model to model. I do own an iPad myself and it emits over 6 V/m with the Wifi on (in other words, it goes off the scale of my professional meter), so I only turn the WiFi on for a few minutes and then use it offline the rest of the time. This means it really isn’t much use to me except as an ebook reader, but I don’t like the glare of the screen so hardly ever use it for this (I use a Kindle paperwhite with the WiFi turned off, which is much kinder on the eyes and doesn’t disturb before sleep). Hope this information is helpful.

  5. And what can you do to external sources such as neighbours’ WiFi or nearby phone masts? If moving to another location isn’t possible (or other areas aren’t any better)?

    1. The first step is to take meter readings around your home to discover which areas have the highest and lowest readings, and make sure that you are spending as much of your time as possible in low exposure zones. If all the readings are high, there are various types of screening materials that can be used. You can find more information here.

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