What do you do when you test for mold, don’t find any, and still think the air quality indoor has a problem or you don’t feel good indoors? Trust that there is something responsible in the building - we just haven’t figured it out yet.
My experience and research has lead to a list of top 10 things that might be responsible. This list isn’t all inclusive of every building. It does represent what’s responsible in a majority of buildings.
#10 Stress.
Studies have found physiological and psychosocial conditions effect people’s perception of indoor air quality and health. Poor job satisfaction and poor stress management are factors. Stress lowers the immune system.
How do you know when stress is a factor? Stress is always a factor. The question is how much stress the body can tolerate.
This can also work the opposite way. Consider the placebo effect. The air quality might be bad but people might think it’s good. This is probably what’s going for those people that swear by filter-less air purifiers. Technically, the use of these machines do not results in measurable differences in the level of air-borne particles indoors; yet some people swear the feel better using them. Some produce ozone or ions which diminishes the sense of smell.
#9Mystery Toxins
Let’s assume it’s a perfect environment and there are no psychosocial problems. You walk into a building and can feel the bad air quality but it’s not mold. What do you do after you test for mold, don’t find any, and the occupants still complain about the air quality? Often it’s a combination of things in the air coming from places we can’t see.
A big culprit is ceiling or wall cavities or being used as return air plenums.
Building cavities should never be used as return air plenums. Don’t pull supply air from anywhere but the actual living space. Return air ducts should be run between the return vents and the air handlers. All ducts fitting should be sealed with mastic. Don’t put duct work in crawlspaces or embed them in the concrete floors.
#8 Wiring
Electromagnetic fields (EMF) are induced on the body from electrical power lines, wiring and things that are plugged in. Most people remember hearing of how power lines can the potentially cause caner. Power lines right next to the bedroom or office are not ideal; most elevated magnetic fields indoors are caused by wiring errors the electrician makes or the builder during remodeling.
Besides being possibly carcinogenic (NIEHS, Assessment of Health Effects from Exposure to Power-line Frequency electric and Magnetic Fields, pp. 396), They also affect the body biologically. A decrease in the hormone melatonin, alteration in immune system, and changes in biorhythms, brain activity and heart rate are just a few of the non-cancer biological affects (Questions and Answers about Electric and Magnetic Fields Associated with the use of electric power – by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, page 23).
It’s usually simple to fix these problems. The ambient magnetic field in a properly wired building will be nearly zero. We don’t need any new products or shielding devices to protect us from EMF due to wiring. If a building is wired properly there won’t be an elevated magnetic field.
#7 Gas
The gas company tells us there are no health risks from breathing natural gas or propane other than suffocation. This is based on the assumption that the only negative health affect from methane is asphyxiation: get enough of it and you can’t breath. Gas is 98% methane and 2% other ingredients. It may be the other, 2% ingredients that bother people. Many people are sensitive to small amounts of gas.
Like unfiltered tap water, unfiltered gas has impurities from the ground and from the gas supply lines. These include lead, mercury, and arsenic, PCBs, dioxins, tars, oils and waxes. When gas is burned formaldehyde is produced along with a long list of other chemicals from incomplete combustion.
A void gas altogether. Sealed combustion systems are not as sealed as they appear. The best solution is a tank-less, on-demand type, electric water heater. These produce hot water indefinitely and only use power when hot water is needed.
#6 Dust
We can test the air and dust to identify the major particulate constituents but often nothing special is identified. The offending particles may be so small that the lab doesn’t notice. Maybe it’s just a matter of a lot of small particles. We can use particle counters to quantify levels of particles as small as 0.3 microns. Some say that 95% of particles are smaller than 0.3 microns. In essence, even when our instruments do not indicate a dust problem, the particles in dust may be irritating the occupants and causing bad air quality.
The big culprits are dirty filters and ducts that have never been cleaned. Sometimes you find the air filters have never been changed. The typical frequency that maintenance changes filters is three months. Often they are dirty before that.
Change the air filters when they are dirty. Upgrade them to allergy reduction types.
#5 Remodeling
Many people do a good job of building a “green” building then furnish then in a manner that introduces a lot of chemicals (VOCs). The most common culprits are paint, carpet, floor coverings and cabinets.
Low-voc paint can affect air quality.
Most brands carry a health-spec line of zero-VOC paint that when dry, does not off-gass. You can’t tell by reading the ingredients. Buy the most expensive health line from Benjamin Moore or Dunn Edwards.
Avoid carpet. Use ceramic tile or hard surface flooring. It’s easier to clean, easier to dry if it gets wet, and doesn’t harbor dust like carpet.
Use real wood or at least high grade plywood for cabinets. Avoid particle board cabinets and furniture.
#4 Cleaning Supplies
Use cleaning supplies that list all of the ingredients on the label, contain no added fragrance and do not contain harmful chemicals. Avoid ammonia, bleach. Pick something from a reputable company such as Seventh Generation
Consider what you’re cleaning. A different strategy is needed to clean carpet stains than general house keeping for dust. Often simply a damp rag will work for dust.
#3 Fragrance
According to the FDA, fragrances cause 30% of all allergic reactions. The healthy school handbook states that school attendance can improve and academic achievement increase if all perfumed products are removed from the classroom.
What’s in a fragrance that causes such a reaction? The most common ingredient is toluene. There’s no way to tell by looking at the word “fragrance” on the label. As many as 600 different chemicals can be in a fragrance blend.
Fragrance is typically found in air fresheners, candles, carpet shampoo, cleaning products, perfume and cologne. If it smells it’s probably got fragrance. Read the label. Use your nose. Figure out why there’s an odor and eliminate what’s causing the odor. Increase the ventilation . Only buy cleaning products that do not have any fragrance. Don’t clean the carpet using shampoo with fragrance.
#2 Pesticides
A recent study reports that women who live near California farm fields sprayed with organochlorine pesticides may be more likely to give birth to children with autism. Pesticides are a major contributor to breast cancer.
The bug man may tell you that new pesticides do not have these toxic ingredients. They might tell you the newer, pryethin-based ones are not harmful. This is not true.
In one case, the prythin based product used had for inert (other) ingredients 60% PBO and 34% petroleum distillates. Not a healthy combination. Fortunately PBO was listed on the label. Often the ingredients are not on the label.
- Read the label. All of the ingredients should be listed on the label. There should be no inert ingredients
- Do not contract an exterminator to routinely apply pesticides. Consider what is the bug you are trying to kill and when was the last time you saw it?
- When you see bugs - why they are coming. Ants, roaches and termites are often found where there are sources of moisture. This may be plumbing leaks or dripping faucets or the sprinklers spraying the outside of the building.
- Eliminate the habitat and dry things. See the website pesticide.org for fact sheets on alternatives to pesticides for different bugs. If that doesn’t deter them Implement what’s called IPM Integrated Pest Management. This is a sequential process. First you identify what exactly the bug is. Then you eliminate what’s attracting them. Then you use non-toxic methods such as traps and baits. And finally, if after reassessing it they still come you use a pesticide, starting with the least toxic one.
Insects are often associated with mold growth. If you see ants going into a wall cavity in the bathroom there a good chance there’s a plumbing leak inside the wall.
If you need to use pesticides, how do you choose the least toxic? A green bottle or the word green in the product label does not mean safe. If there’s any inert ingredients don’t buy it. It’s that simple. Chances are that if you buy a product with all the ingredients listed it will be least-toxic due to the current formulation of pesticides and the secrecy by manufactures that make products with inert ingredients that are unhealthy.
Apply them sparingly and in strict accordance with the manufactures recommendations for application.
#1 Mold
You probably guessed that mold is number one. Statistics suggest that mold is often responsible for health complaints due to the indoor environment. How do you prevent mold? Simple. Prevent moisture problems. If things get wet dry them quickly. Since this is often difficult to effectively do, try and prevent moisture problem from occurring in the first place.
Attempting to prevent mold by using anti-microbial coatings may be futile. When dust settles on the surfaces treated with anti-microbial coatings, mold will grow on the dust.
How do you prevent moisture problems? Big hat and Big boots. Make sure the roof is good and water does not collect next to the building when it rains.
- On a regular basis inspect for plumbing leaks: under sinks, around hot water heaters, under doors and windows.
- When there is a leak or sudden flood, dry things out immediately. As most of you know, the first 48 hours are critical.
- Figure out why condensation is occurring and stop it. Condensation happens when there’s too much humidity or cold surfaces. When air-conditioning was invented and installed in humid climates the chances for mold growth increased. Cold surfaces are avoided with proper insulation.
How do you clean up mold? Bleach does not kill mold. If the mold is physically removed there is nothing left to kill? Bio-cides including Mico-ban are not necessary if the mold is removed. Removing mold is beyond the scope of this article. If you build it right and keep things dry you won’t have to worry about mold.
#0 Florescent lighting.
Florescent lighting. Compacts CFLs contain mercury. Normal fluorescents flicker and cause stress and headaches. Compacts also a flicker, as do LEDS - so fast we can’t consciously see the flicker. This can affect mood and concentration. Florescent light is a poor replication of natural light.
Design and build with natural light by skylights and windows. Use full-spectrum fluorescents or regular incandescent bulbs. When the florescent lights in the class rooms were substituted for incandescent lights, hyperactive and disruptive behavior decreased by over 32%. (Healthy School Handbook, p. 205). Use technology such as motion detectors to turn off the lights when people aren’t in the rooms. Lets’ not suffer indoors just to save a few dollars on utility bills.
USE LOWER WATTAGE BULBS such as 45W and 60W in place of 100W bulbs. For light fixtures where there are sockets for more than one bulb, just install one.
SUMMARY
If we strive to create healthy indoor living environments using nature as the role model, we will find ourselves living in environments that are healthy for both our bodies and the planet.
For more information pick up a copy of Healthy Living Spaces: Top 10 Hazards Affecting Your Health.