Bryan Johnson's Home Toxin Tour: 15 Fixes from Entryway to Bedroom
Bryan Johnson
In this video, Bryan Johnson walks through his Los Angeles house room by room and points out where he believes contaminants and health hazards come in: the entryway, the air, the water, the kitchen, the living room, and the bedroom. For each one, Johnson describes what they have changed in their own home and suggests a cheaper or simpler version for viewers. Johnson frames the tour as part of the "Don't Die" idea, which they describe as "an attempt to identify everything in your environment which potentially reduces your health and quality of life." Johnson also says plainly where they are unsure, including the reliability of product-screening apps and whether EMF matters.
The Entryway: Take Your Shoes Off
The tour starts at the front door, where a visitor is asked to remove their shoes. Johnson claims that the first four steps inside a house pick up 85% of the contaminants tracked in from outside, including lead and pesticides. Johnson's main recommendation here is to take shoes off at the door. Their reasoning is that once these substances are inside the house, they are much more likely to end up in the bodies of you and your family.
Measuring Indoor Air Before Fixing It
Johnson says toxins and carcinogens come in through windows and vents, and that a gas stove also releases harmful pollutants. Their first step is measurement, and they show two indoor air monitors. One reports particulate matter at several sizes (PM1, PM2.5, PM10) plus volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The other gives a more general air quality index (AQI) and CO2, along with outdoor data. During filming, the second monitor showed high CO2, which Johnson attributes to a recent crowd of people in the house. It also showed poor outdoor air in the neighborhood that day.
Johnson values the monitors because they record continuously. That lets them check whether the air purifiers are working and whether the HVAC filter is doing its job.
The HVAC Filter as the First Line of Defense
In the HVAC room, Johnson shows a MERV 13 filter and explains that the MERV rating indicates how much the filter captures. According to Johnson, a MERV 8 filter captures only about 30% of PM2.5, so a higher rating is better. They add a caveat: not every HVAC system can handle a MERV 13, and installing a filter rated above what the system supports "will cause problems."
Johnson considers standalone air purifiers "a nice add-on," but argues the HVAC system should be the first line of defense for indoor air. They say anyone with an air quality monitor will see the difference within minutes of upgrading the filter.
Smoke, Carbon Monoxide, and Radon Detectors
Johnson points to three sensors. For smoke alarms, they cite a figure that three in five home fire deaths involve a smoke alarm that was dead or missing, so viewers should find theirs and confirm it works. They also recommend a carbon monoxide detector.
The third is radon. Johnson describes radon as an invisible, odorless gas that comes from the earth and calls it the second leading cause of lung cancer after smoking. Their advice is to get a radon test if you haven't done one where you currently live. For the detectors in general, they suggest pressing the test button once a month and listening for the beep.
Water: Tap Versus Reverse Osmosis
In the kitchen, Johnson names water as a major source of contaminants, including heavy metals, PFAS, and microplastics. They say they have tested their Los Angeles tap water for years and that the city does "a pretty good job." After the recent fires, which Johnson says burned more than 20,000 homes and cars, their team watched for contaminants in the water and has not seen any so far. Johnson stresses that this does not mean the water is perfect.
Johnson uses a reverse osmosis system and says the household tests the water every month, so they have a data sheet on exactly what they are drinking. They report that tap water contains over 300 mg of dissolved substances and that reverse osmosis brings this down to almost nothing. Johnson estimates these systems cost from a few hundred to over a thousand dollars and says they are sold online and at hardware stores. Filters need cleaning or replacement every few months.
Plastic Is Everywhere, Even in Health Devices
Johnson calls the kitchen "kind of a death trap." Even after trying to remove plastic from the home, they point out how much remains. A VO2 max device they started using the day before is made of plastic, and so is their HBOT (hyperbaric oxygen) equipment. Johnson says the team tried hard to find non-plastic medical-grade equipment and found it very difficult. After several months of trying to clear plastics from the house, they still sometimes find items and wonder how they got in.
Johnson's advice is to notice plastic in daily routines and replace it with wood, ceramic, or food-grade stainless steel where possible, while expecting to find plastic "in everything," especially in the kitchen.
Cookware: Avoid Non-Stick
On pans, Johnson advises avoiding non-stick cookware because it can contain PFAS, which they describe as "forever chemicals" you don't want in your body. They show food-grade stainless steel as an alternative and also mention cast iron, noting that neither contains PFAS.
The Gas Stove Johnson Is Replacing
Johnson admits they have had a gas stove for years and says that is "not a good idea." They claim that running a single gas burner quickly raises nitrogen dioxide and fine particles, and that these are linked to around 13% of childhood asthma cases in the US, with exposure happening every time you cook. For a while this mattered less because their chef cooked at the chef's own house and delivered the food. The current chef cooks on-site, so Johnson plans to replace the gas stove with induction.
Cleaning Products and Distrust of Labels
Johnson argues that most people underestimate how toxic cleaning supplies can be. Scented sprays and air fresheners fill the house with VOCs, which Johnson says react with oxygen in the air to form formaldehyde, a known carcinogen.
Johnson says they have used several apps to flag potentially toxic products but are "not terribly confident" in them. Their reasoning comes from food testing: they say they have tested enough organic foods that they consider the organic label "worthless" and don't trust it. For that reason, they decline to endorse any products or apps and describe themselves as "trying just like you." Johnson's view is that the third-party lab testing their team does for food should also be done for household supplies. An ingredient label says one thing, while lab testing can reveal "an entirely other set of things." Johnson sums up the stance by saying they don't think "we know very much" yet and want to see lab data.
UV-Filtering Window Film
Joking that they are "a vampire" and sun-sensitive, Johnson shows window film that they say blocks 99% of UVA and UVB. The goal is controlled light exposure. When Johnson goes outside to feel the sun, get vitamin D, play a sport, or walk, they want to know the UV index and how long they are exposed, rather than absorbing unmeasured UV through windows all day. According to Johnson, untinted glass lets through 37% of UVA, and UVA contributes to skin aging and melanoma risk. They mention a multispectral imaging system upstairs that estimates the age of your face, and say seeing that result makes you "hyper sun aware."
Johnson makes clear they are "not anti-sun." Their point is that sun exposure involves a trade-off with skin aging. Because they are optimizing for longevity, they enjoy the sun in the morning and evening and use a hat, an umbrella, and sunscreen when the UV index is high. Their message to sun lovers is to keep enjoying it while choosing an amount that suits them.
Hard Floors and HEPA Vacuuming
The house has hard floors. After joking that this is "because we rave," Johnson claims carpet holds 10 times as much dust, allergens, and microbes. For people who have carpet, they suggest vacuuming twice a week with a HEPA-filter vacuum. Johnson says a good HEPA filter removes 99.97% of microplastic particles, which helps avoid chronic irritation and respiratory problems.
Evening Light: A $30 Red Lamp
Johnson treats light as another household factor. They say the white and blue light common in modern homes can delay sleep by suppressing melatonin. The house gets good natural light, so they rarely turn on lights during the day. At night, they use a red lamp that they estimate costs about $30. It gives enough light to move around, and Johnson describes it as soothing and a signal that bedtime is coming. They call it a low-cost, high-yield change for sleep quality and suggest using a dim red LED in the living room for the two hours before bed.
A Completely Blacked-Out Bedroom
Johnson says their own testing across hotel rooms and bedrooms showed that a blacked-out bedroom substantially improves sleep. To show how sensitive the body is, they claim that even 10 lux of light can cut melatonin production in half and fragment sleep. Their bedroom never gets any light.
Johnson acknowledges that this is a privilege, since many people's bedroom is also their workspace and living space. For anyone who can't fully black out their room, they suggest an eye mask.
The Noise Machine: Helpful but Unverified
A noise machine has been part of Johnson's routine since they lived in an apartment next to a road with loud cars and motorcycles all night. They started using it to smooth out the noise spikes, and they say it improved their sleep. The current house is much quieter, but dogs sometimes bark, so they kept the machine for what they call an incremental benefit: steadier background sound and less chance of waking.
Johnson adds that they haven't done a robust study on this and advises viewers to measure their own sleep to see whether it helps. Of white, brown, and pink noise, they say pink is best because it is less high-pitched than white noise and sounds similar to rustling leaves, rain, and wind.
Bedroom Air Purification
Johnson runs two main air purifiers in the bedroom (three counting a smaller one), including a commercial-grade unit, plus an air quality monitor. Their reasoning is that they spend about eight hours a night breathing that air and want it to be pristine. They call the setup probably "overkill" for a typical home. For most people, they say, a good MERV filter in the HVAC system may be enough, and the quick win is a portable HEPA purifier running in the bedroom overnight.
EMF: An Open Question
Johnson says people often ask about EMF and that they "don't know what we think about this." The team is about to study it. For now, they keep the router outside the bedroom and turn off Wi-Fi, cellular, and Bluetooth on the phone they keep in the room so it emits as little as possible. Johnson says they are not sure whether EMF is "a big deal, a medium deal, or not a big deal" and promises an update once the team reaches a view.
Build Systems, Not Anxiety Loops
Johnson closes with one principle: build systems. A high-MERV HVAC filter is the example, since you install it and forget about it. Their goal is to let systems and habits handle health so they don't fall into "anxiety loops" of repeating the same decisions. They describe the house as being on "autopilot," call this their "autonomous self," and say that for anything health-related they try never to make the same decision twice.
Johnson also tells viewers not to feel anxious about toxins. In their view, toxins are everywhere and part of modern life, and the basics covered in the tour take care of the biggest ones. They note that the house took five years to build out and encourage viewers to be patient and start with small steps.
Going to Bryan's house. Going to Bryan's house.
Hey, welcome. Come on in. Thanks. Oh. Oh, yeah. If you wouldn't mind. Oh, yep. Sorry about that, Bri.
Today, we're going to talk about the contaminants in your home and the things you can do to remove them. Starting with that which is in your entryway. The thing to be aware of is the first four steps inside the house tracks 85% of the outside world's contaminants includes lead and pesticides. So the big one here is remove your shoes at the door. Once this stuff is inside your house, it's far more likely to get inside you and your family's bodies.
Okay, now we're here. You're inside the home. Welcome, friend. I'm glad you're here. So, let's get started. Toxins and carcinogens drift in through your windows and vents, and even your gas stove releases harmful pollutants. To see how bad the problem is, you'll need to measure your indoor air quality with specialized sensors.
Now, I have two monitors. For example, this guy gives you something called PM2.5. That's a particular kind of toxin, and I want to know what it is. There's also PM1, PM10. I see VOCs on this one. This guy gives me a much more general number of AQI. You can see here the CO2 is high because we had a lot of people in the house recently. And also it gives me data on the outside. You can see it's not good air quality today in my neighborhood. So these are really nice in that they give me a constant recording of the air quality inside the home. That allows me to know if my air purifiers are working and, as we'll get to later, the filter in my HVAC system.
As always, a longevity therapy wherever you go, three steps at a time. Three. No hands.
All right, let's head on into the HVAC room. This is a MERV 13 filter. So, MERV is a rating of how many toxins your filter is going to capture. For this particular HVAC system, it can handle a MERV 13, but not all HVAC systems can handle that much. A MERV 8 is only going to capture about 30% of PM2.5. So, the higher you can go, the better, but don't go higher than your system is rated, otherwise it will cause problems. The air filters are a nice add-on, but really your HVAC system should be your first line of defense for air quality. If you use an air quality monitor, you'll notice the difference within minutes.
Okay, come this way. While we're talking about air quality and what could be in the air, I'm going to point you to three different sensors. One is a smoke alarm. Now, even though smoke alarms are common and standard, three in five deaths from fires in homes are caused from either dead or missing smoke alarm. So, make sure you can find yours and that it's functioning correctly. This is a carbon monoxide detector, which again is a good one to have. And then also radon. So radon is an invisible odorless gas that comes from the earth. So if you haven't had a radon test in the where you're living now, it's a good thing to do to see the data. It's actually the second most prominent cause of lung cancer behind smoking. So it really is a meaningful risk and you want to make sure you know where your radon levels are. Press that test button once a month, listen for the beep, and you'll know you're protected.
We've covered some basics of home brineomics, but keep watching for more hidden dangers in your kitchen, bedroom, and living room.
Time to look at what things in the kitchen might be damaging your health. Water is a really big source of contaminants. Things like heavy metals, PFAS, and microplastics. I've been testing the water out of my tap for years. I live in Los Angeles, and they do a pretty good job. In fact, after the fires that were here where over 20,000 homes and cars were burned, we were wondering would the contaminants show up in the water. We haven't seen it yet. Now, that is not to say things are perfect. These contaminants can still come through the water. So, this is tap water. This is filtered water. And I have a reverse osmosis water system that does a great job filtering for these contaminants. If you get a good water filtration system, these reverse osmosis systems cost between a few hundred to over a thousand, but the water's clean. We test it every month. So, we have a data sheet on what exactly you're drinking. Straight from the tap, you get over 300 mg of dissolved substances. With reverse osmosis, that drops to almost nothing. You can get these systems online or at hardware stores. They come with instructions for maintenance. Clean or replace your filters every few months.
All right. Now, since we're in the kitchen, let's explore a little bit because the kitchen is kind of a death trap. Come on, let me show you. Even though I've tried to cleanse my world from plastic, let me show you how much plastic I have everywhere. Right here, this is a brand new VO2 max device I've been using. I started using it yesterday. And guess what the materials they use to make these things? Plastic. This is for HBOT. Guess what it is? Plastic. Now, we tried very hard to find nonplastic medical grade technology. It is very hard. Even after several months of trying to remove all plastics from my house, I still occasionally find things like, how did this get in here? So, just be mindful as you go about your daily routines. Find plastic and replace it with wood, ceramic, stainless steel, a food grade stainless steel. So, you can do it, but just prepare yourself. You're going to see that plastic is in everything and especially the kitchen.
But while we're on the topic of materials, you want to be aware of the pans you're using. You want to specifically avoid non-stick pans. They can have PFAS. These are forever chemicals. They're really bad chemicals. You don't want them in your body. One way to avoid that is to use a material that does not have PFAS. This, for example, is food grade stainless steel. You could also use cast iron. None of these have PFAS. Okay, let's look at the stove.
So, for years, I have a gas burning stove, which is not a good idea. Here's why. Using just one gas burner quickly spikes nitrogen dioxide and fine particles. These are linked to around 13% of childhood asthma cases in the US. And you breathe them in every time you cook. For a while, my chef made the food at their house and they delivered it. My current chef comes here and makes the food here. So, I'm going to replace this gas stove with an induction stove.
Most people overlook how toxic cleaning supplies can be. Scented sprays and air fresheners fill your house with VOCs. These are volatile organic compounds that react with oxygen in the air and turn into formaldehyde, which is known to cause cancer.
I've done my best using various apps to identify the things that potentially are toxic. Now I have to say I'm not terribly confident in these apps. I know from testing foods, for example, organic is worthless. I've tested enough organic foods I don't trust it at all as a label. So I don't want to go on to say I want to endorse any products or even the apps other than I'm trying just like you, and perhaps we will get into here's my general collection of things. But I do want to say that what we have done for food and testing with third party labs and being legit in the testing, I do think we want to do for this, because you of course can look at an ingredient label that includes supplies or food that tells you one set of things, but testing in a lab reveals an entirely other set of things. So, I can look at this guy and say, "What's on the label?" But if I want to send it to lab, I may discover there's a lot more things in there than I thought. So, I want to be very cautious. I don't think we know very much. I want to see data and lab results.
As a vampire, I'm sun-sensitive. So, I have here film on my windows, which filters out 99% of UVA and UVB because I want controlled light exposure. If I choose to go outside because I want to feel the sun, get vitamin D, play a sport, go for a walk, I want to know what the UV index is, what exposure I'm getting, and for how long, versus if it's just filtering through the window all day long, I could be getting more than I want. UVA is what contributes to aging skin and melanoma risk. I have upstairs a multispectral imaging system. You can look at the age of your face. Once you see that, you become hyper sun-aware. Non-tinted glass allows 37% of UVA to come through the window. So, there's a substantial amount of UVA coming through the window.
Now, I want to be clear, I'm not anti-sun. I'm trying to educate that if you're in the sun, there is a trade-off happening. It will age and deteriorate your skin. I personally am trying to optimize for longevity. So, I enjoy the sun in the morning and the evenings. If I'm out in the day when the UV index is high, I wear a hat, I have an umbrella, I put sunscreen on. So, I try to protect my skin from these high UV index times. So, again, if you love the sun, do the sun. The sun is great. I just try to have the right amount for longevity for my skin.
All right. One thing you'll notice is in this house, I have hard floors. Why? Because we rave. Also, because carpet has 10 times the amount of dust, allergens, and microbes. One thing you can do is have a vacuum with a HEPA filter. Then, vacuum twice a week. That will be a great offset to the things it will otherwise store. A good HEPA filter on your vacuum removes 99.97% of microplastic particles, which helps you avoid chronic irritation and respiratory issues.
All right. Now, one thing that's in your house that can also negatively affect your health is light. We have a lot of white and blue light in our modern environments, including our homes, that can delay sleep onset by decreasing your melatonin production. So, one thing I have is a low-cost red lamp. This guy is maybe $30. I have nice natural light in the home. So, I rarely turn on lights in the house at all. But at night, when it's getting dark, I'll turn this guy on. It's enough light to navigate the house. It's a really cool vibe. It's soothing. It's calming. I know we're getting ready for bed. So, a very low-cost solution, a high yield on sleep quality, and it's kind of cool. Try using a dim red LED in your living room and do so 2 hours before bed. It will help your body wind down and prepare for sleep.
All right. Now, on the topic of sleep and bedtime routines, let's go to my bedroom and I'm going to show you a few things I do around sleep quality which relate to toxins, contaminants. What you see in the theme here is Don't Die is an attempt to identify everything in your environment which potentially reduces your health and quality of life. With that frame, everything takes on a brand new meaning.
Welcome to my bedroom. The first thing you're going to notice is it is completely blacked out. I've noticed in my own testing of the various places I've slept, either hotel rooms or bedrooms, a blacked out bedroom substantially improves sleep quality. Now, to illustrate how sensitive your body is to light, even 10 lux of light can halve your melatonin production and fragment your sleep. Your body is hypersensitive to light. So you can see here this room does not see light ever. Now I am fortunate to have a bedroom where I can do that. A lot of people do not have that opportunity where they have a bedroom that's both their workspace and their living space. So do your best. If you can't block out your room for some reason, you can also use an eye mask.
One other thing I do in my room which is a staple is I have this noise machine. I started doing this because I lived in an apartment next to a road and there would be loud cars all night long, motorcycles. I started using this to see if I could smooth out the noise so I wouldn't have these spikes. It did in fact improve my sleep. So, I carried it over to this house. Even though this house is substantially more quiet, I don't have loud cars. Rarely do I, but sometimes the dogs bark. So, it has some kind of incremental improvement in terms of improving the steadiness of noises and lessens the likelihood that I wake up. Now, I haven't done a robust study on this, so just be mindful if you try it out. Try to measure your sleep, see if it actually works for you. But I would say I generally like this as a tool that helps me sleep and smooth out the environment. You can get white noise, brown noise, and pink noise. Pink noise is best. It's less high-pitched than white noise and has a similar audio signature to rustling leaves, rain, and wind.
And then finally, the other thing I do in this bedroom is I have two air filters. Actually, three, but two primarily. This is a commercial-grade IQAir system. I did this because, of course, I spend, you know, 8 hours per night in this room breathing this air. I wanted to make sure it was really clean. So, this is probably like overkill for what you need in a residential environment. Also, for this environment, we're trying to have pristine air quality. So, I have both an air purifier here, an air purifier there, and an air quality monitor. So, you just want to be mindful that you're trying to track the pollutants of air. Now, remember, you don't have to do all these things. A good MERV filter in your HVAC system could be good enough. But if you want a quick win, just grab a portable HEPA air purifier for your bedroom. Plug it in, let it run while you sleep, and enjoy your deep sleep.
Now, one final thing is people oftentimes raise the question about EMF. My team and I are about to study this. We don't know what we think about this. One thing I do is I keep my router outside the bedroom. So, I have my phone inside the room. I turn off Wi-Fi and mobile and Bluetooth. So, the phone is emitting as little as it can. But, we're going to do a study as a team. We're going to figure out what we think about it. I'm not quite sure if it's a big deal, a medium deal, or not a big deal. So, I will update you when we figure out where we're at on this topic.
All right, you guys. So, as you see, there's quite a few things you can think about as you try to make your home as toxic free as possible. I want to leave you with this thought, okay? Build systems. So, that's why, for example, putting a high MERV filter in your HVAC system is really good. You put it in and you forget about it. So most of these things, you're trying to say systems and habits solve for health. That way it avoids you going through anxiety loops of having to do the same thing again and again. You see throughout the house I've tried to put this house on autopilot. I think about this as my autonomous self. All things I do for health, I try to never make a decision twice. Once system solved.
Try to avoid feeling anxious about toxins. They are everywhere. They're just a part of modern life. You can knock out the big ones with the basic things we talked about today. It's a step-by-step journey. What you're seeing here, it took me 5 years to build this. So, be patient with yourself. Take baby steps today, and you'll learn more and more, and in time, we will get your house to be just as pristine as this one.
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