CR Staffers' Favorite Tips (and Products) for a Healthier Home in 2026

It’s easy to normalize minor hazards at home (everyone in the house knows not to turn that tricky knob to the left if they don’t want to pinch their fingers), but it might be just as simple to fix them. Whether it’s reducing indoor air pollution or age-proofing your home, the personal satisfaction is likely worth the effort.

“My house has two steps from the driveway up to the walkway and another two steps from the walkway to the front door. For more than 25 years, we didn’t have handrails in either location,” says John Galeotafiore, who manages testing of CR’s home, health, and baby products. “You technically don’t need them for just two steps. That said, we added railings in both spots, and they’ve been great for some of our older guests with mobility issues. I’m sure we’ll appreciate them ourselves at some point as well.”

Indoor stairs can be an issue, too. Antonette Asedillo, who helps produce ratings for laptops and headphones, says, “We added grippy safety treads to our slippery wooden staircase.”

“My house turned 100 last year, so a little peace of mind goes a long way,” says Rich Handel, manager of test technicians and famed CR laundry expert. “Through State Farm Insurance, I received a Ting. It plugs in and monitors the electricity in your house, alerting you to potential fire hazards and notifying you of brownouts and power outages through an app.” It alerted Handel to a few brownouts last summer and to a recent power outage. “I’m not sure how well it can predict a fire hazard, but I do feel a bit safer having it.”

“I made my home safer by installing a video doorbell to keep track of visitors and packages being delivered,” says Matt Ferretti, who tests electronics for CR. “I can also communicate with visitors through the doorbell so my family and I don’t have to open the door for someone we don’t recognize.”

Want that same sense of security? Check out the top 10 video doorbells from our tests.

“After one of my parents had a fall in the middle of the night, I replaced all the outlets in their bedroom, hallway, and bathroom with outlets that have built-in night lights,” says Chris Regan, a CR senior engineer who has tested hundreds of different products here over the past 20 years. “It helps them navigate a little more safely and helps me sleep better!” Check out the best indoor motion sensor lights for your hallways, bedrooms, and bathrooms.

You know those once-a-year tasks that are important but can be overlooked? There’s a fix for that. “I set an annual reminder to check and clean out the dryer vent in order to make sure it doesn’t get clogged,” says Jason Holmes, who manages lab staff testing mattresses, TVs, and more. “I use an app called Todoist, but there are several ways to set an alert like this.” A calendar reminder on your phone or computer works, too. You can apply this plan to any task that might fall through the cracks.

January is a traditional time for dietary adjustments, but we’re not counting calories here. Everyone’s favorite room in the house is about food, sure, but it’s also about “ation": organization, ventilation, motivation. When it comes to food storage, cutting back on plastic, or the cookware we like best, we’ve got lots to say about upping your game.

“We upgraded to CR’s top-rated range hood,” says Paul Hope, home improvement expert, editor, and classically trained chef. “We had a crumbly hood for years, but when we ran our oven’s self-clean cycle before the holidays, the old hood just wasn’t cutting it. I swapped in the newly tested top-rated option, and it works far better!”

Who says you have to follow the rules set by your refrigerator? It’s not the boss of you. “I stopped storing perishable fruits and vegetables in my fridge’s drawers, where they’re likely to be forgotten, and started keeping them in the front at eye level,” says Courtney Lindwall, who writes about cell phones, smartwatches, fitness trackers, and more. Motivated for a full fridge reorg? We’ve got guidance.

“I replaced my coffee creamer with brands that have fewer artificial additives and less sugar,” says Allie Chilicki, who keeps a pulse on new products, trends, and innovation in categories like laundry and cleaning. “Now I’m using Califia Farms and Chobani.” Read about the health benefits of coffee over your next cup of joe.

“I swapped all my Tupperware for glass,” says Amy Keating, a registered dietician on CR’s food team. “The first day of the week, I prepare whole healthy ingredients—like chopped veggies, cooked whole grains, and diced protein—that can be combined into quick salads and sides all week. The glass containers filled with colorful fruits and veggies are really attractive, and it makes meal prep and snacking accessible and easy! Swapping to glass also minimizes my risk of any plastic contaminants.”

Mary Beth Quirk, who heads up our shopping coverage, also traded her plastic food storage for glass. She likes this Bayco set, which scores high in our ratings. Amy prefers Pyrex containers.

Along the same lines, Samantha Ostrander, who leads testing on humidifiers, dehumidifiers, space heaters, baby monitors, and air-quality monitors, says she replaced the plastic plates, bowls, and cups her kids were using with stainless steel.

Others prefer stainless steel food storage, and this Ikea set gets a near-perfect score in our tests.

Market analyst Marion Wilson-Spencer has been cutting back on meat. “I’m down to two days per week, and moving to no meat by the end of 2026,” she says. If you’re eating less meat but craving a meatlike experience, check out our picks for the best vegan hot dogs, bratwurst, and sausage.

“I air-fry instead of fry-frying,” Hope says. “In fact, my deep fryer died and I replaced it with an air fryer to see if we’d miss it. We rarely do! Now I use the air-fryer setting on my range.”

If you happen to be in the market for a toaster oven, consider one that also air-fries. And if you prefer a stand-alone appliance, check out our latest air-fryer ratings and recommendations.

“I love microwaving my food,” says writer and reporter Pang-Chieh Ho, who covers dishwashers, vacuums, and more. “But knowing that you should definitely not microwave your food in plastic containers, I purchased Anyday cookware, which is made from glass, silicone, and stainless steel. It’s great at heating up food evenly and feels like a step up from your run-of-the-mill glass food storage containers.”

There’s more to the new year than signing up for a gym you may or may not use. Even if you don’t technically have the space for a full setup, you can turn your home into a healthier, more active place.

“We keep exercise equipment—dumbbells, foam rollers, stretching sticks—all around the house so that we’re more likely to use them,” says David Schipper, who oversees new product categories at CR. “We also replaced our sofa with less comfortable seating to keep us from becoming couch potatoes and watching too much TV.”

“If you don’t want to go to a gym but want to exercise at home, one of my favorite things to use is our doorway pull-up bar,” Ho says. “Every day, when I want to take a break from work, I dead-hang on it for a few seconds. It feels great after sitting with stooped shoulders for hours in front of a computer.”

“My roommate and I like to wear wrist and arm weights while we do tasks like making coffee, cleaning, washing dishes, and laundry,” saysAlly Cooper, a lab technician for CR’s food safety and nutrition team. “It’s a great way to incorporate some movement and strength training into your everyday routine.”

Nicholas De Leon, who writes about technology and often experiments with and covers artificial intelligence, applied his skills to fitness. “I put on a little bit of weight over the past 18 months, so last fall I said, ‘Okay, this is too much.’ I researched building a home gym using Google Gemini and also had Gemini create a nutrition and exercise plan. Down about 17 pounds since Oct. 1!”

We’ve got advice for putting together a home workout area. And if you’ve got minimal space, a good set of adjustable dumbbells just might have you covered.

“I had my spinning bike in the basement and watched videos on my phone or laptop while I was riding. That was okay, but not ideal,” says Allen St. John, who writes about headphones, wireless speakers, and more for CR. “Then I bought a $300 TV (here’s a similar model) to put in front of the bike, and immediately, my riding went from a couple times a week to every day. I pedaled through every F1 race and qualifying session, and binged a re-watch of “The Wire” in its entirety.”

Sure, many of us have a water filter pitcher in the fridge or maybe have even installed an under-sink filter in the kitchen. But writer Keith Flamer, whose specialty is large appliances and knows alarming details about not washing our towels often enough, took that one step further. “I installed a ZeroWater Extremelife ZFM-400CR water filter on my bathroom faucet, for use while brushing my teeth,” he says. Need motivation? Check out our Water Safety and Quality Guide.

Joe Chin, who tests smoke detectors, coffee makers, and more in our labs, says, “We replaced many of our home cleaning products with cleaning techniques that utilize baking soda and vinegar.” A good way to kick off the new year: deodorize your mattress with nothing but baking soda, a cloth, and your vacuum.

For more, see our guide to choosing nontoxic cleaning products.

“We decided a long time ago to avoid chemicals on our lawn—especially since we have well water,” says Jerry Beilinson, who leads our content team for electronics and tech. If you’re getting itchy for spring and want to start your outdoor to-do list early, begin your mental prep with five easy steps.

You’re probably tired of hearing how important high-quality sleep is to many aspects of life—mood, metabolism, relationships, productivity. So go lie down, consider whether it’s time to update your mattress, and ponder the suggestions below. 

“I have huge windows in my bedroom and always struggled to sleep through the night because of the light that comes through them,” says Jodhaira Rodriguez, who tests and writes about everything from cleaning products to trendy gadgets. “I finally bought myself a sleep mask to block out the light. It’s improved my sleep quality so much.”

“After some skepticism about its benefits, I got a weighted blanket, and now I can’t sleep as well without it,” says Althea Cook-Chang, who writes about kitchen appliances for CR. “It’s a cooling weighted blanket, so I can still use it in the summer.” Find Althea’s YNM weighted blanket in this roundup of great sleep products.

“I finally got a humidifier that doesn’t wake me up at night with noises, which means I can actually use it—and that means I no longer have sore throats all winter long,” says Yasmeen Khan, who writes about home systems like solar panels and heat pumps and is also the voice of CR’s Bread & Butter newsletter on Substack.

Paolo Fu, who oversees the testing of car batteries, robotic vacuums, and more, gives a shoutout to his particular humidifier, which performs well, among the more than 100 humidifiers in our current ratings.