indoor air quality

After years of discussing unhealthy buildings and lecturing on the dangers of sick building syndrome I found myself growing tired of the way I present the data. I reached out to a local theatre company to develop a mock trailer that would present the information for me. They ran with it and turned out quite a nice piece of work in my opinion.

Our background is in historic preservation. Fifteen years ago we re-invented and made commercially available products that hadn't been seen for century. With these products we found ourselves providing goods and services to many of the top preservation projects in the country. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the New York Public Library, five state capitals, the White House, and Presidential homes across the country have been our clients. And in the field of historic preservation we found that in many ways traditional construction (mass walls, flexible mortars, permeable materials to allow the dissipation of moisture) could solve many of the problems we currently face in conventional construction.

So we went to the drawing board and started incorporating lime (which made many of this historic properties possible) in as many conventional applications as we could. First, we developed a mortar, then stuccoes. Our limewashes and coatings were already held in high regard as they are VOC free and do not dust like many other products. Then we developed a cement free masonry unit that would allow quick and easy construction of mass (or thick) walls and a permeable insulating grout that helped add to the thermal mass of the structure. All of this was to combat what we thought was one of the greatly overlooked problems in conventional design. Poor air quality.

But air quality, as important as it is, can sometimes get lost in delivery. I wanted to develop some way of communicating poor indoor air quality issues so that folks not only got it, but remembered. About a month ago, it hit me: a mock-movie trailer for a thriller movie. I am on the board of directors of a small theatre company that brings in actors from all over the country to our rural area to produce a summer theatre festival. After chatting with our Artistic Director, he told me he had some guys that would definitely be able to rise to the challenge. So with no budget whatsoever, these extremely talented guys at Endstation Theatre Company produced the following video which I hope will not only be of service to us at Virginia Lime Works, but to the sustainable community as a whole.

Watch the Syndrome here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wp4jyZToq1k we hope you enjoy it.

Since my son first developed asthma in 1994, indoor air quality has been a crusade of mine. Information has now become readily available for consumers and you can find all kinds of information and products to improve the indoor air quality in your home. I recently spent some time on the website of the American Lung Association, and they have a wealth of information on the topic of indoor air quality. These are their top ten tips for a healthy home:
1) Declare your home a smoke-free zone. Secondhand smoke can cause serious health problems, especially for children. Ask smokers to take it outside.
2) Good ventilation reduces indoor air pollution. Leave doors between rooms open most of the time for better air circulation. Open windows when possible to allow for a good supply of outdoor air. Install exhaust fans in bathrooms to remove moisture and chemicals from the house.
3) Keep humidity levels low with a dehumidifier or air conditioner, as needed. Clean both regularly so they don't become a source of pollutants themselves. Fix all leaks and drips in the home, as standing water and high humidity encourages the growth of mold and other biological pollutants.
4) To prevent carbon monoxide poisoning, have all fuel burning appliances inspected by a qualified technician once a year. Install a carbon monoxide detector near your sleeping rooms. 5) To keep dust mites and other allergens to a minimum, clean regularly. Wash bedding materials in hot water (at least 130°). Consider replacing carpet with area rugs that can be taken up and washed often.
6) Fit your gas range with a hood fan that exhausts the air outside. Use the fan or open a window when cooking to remove gas fumes.
7) Check commercial cleaning products and pesticides for toxic ingredients, and use according to manufacturers directions. Keep your home well ventilated when using these products. Consider switching to less toxic alternatives.
8) Test your home for radon. Use a radon test kit labeled "Meets EPA requirements".
9) Never leave a car or lawn mower running in an attached garage or shed. Avoid the use of unvented heaters or charcoal grills indoors.
10) Call you local Lung Association at 1-800-LUNG-USA for more information about avoiding indoor air hazards in the home

As we know, carpet, vinyl, ceramic, insulation all common building materials that give off harmful chemicals causing indoor air pollution. While we're in the process of getting rid of these things and replacing them with their eco-friendly counterparts, the indoor house plant has been tested and found to purify indoor air pollution at the rate of 15 plants per 1800 square feet. A study done by NASA and the ALCA, tested twelve types of indoor plants against trichloroethylene, (adhesives, paints, inks) benzene, (detergents, inks, plastic) and formaldehyde, ( foam insulation, pressed wood, grocery bags, waxed paper, facial tissue, paper towels).

The results were very specific from plant to chemical. www.humeseeds.com

THE RESULTS, FIVE TOP (in order) EFFECTIVE IN REMOVING TRICHLOROETHYLENE CONCENTRATIONS FROM THE AIR Gerbera daisy, Dracaena Marginata, Peace Lily Dracaeena 'JANET CRAIG' Bamboo Palm REMOVAL OF BENZENE CONCENTRATIONS: Gerbera Daisy Pot Mum Peace Lily Bamboo Palm Dracaena Warneckei English Ivy Mother-in-law's tongue REMOVAL OF FORMALDEHYDE Bamboo Palm Dracaena 'Janet Craig' Mother-In-Law's Tongue Dracaena Marginata, Peace Lily Green Spider Plant Golden Pathos

Other studies show great results from indoor plants citing their efficiency for increasing humidity levels and decreasing dust. This alone reduced fatigue and sore throats in people by 30 percent. For more purifying plant choices, check out 'How to Grow Fresh Air: 50 House Plants that Purify Your Home by B.C. Wolverton, at Amazon.com.

The following is taken from the Beam website. Look at our most recent blog about Beam's new Internet policy

"A Beam central vacuum system removes 100% of contacted dust, mites, dander, pollen and other allergens and carries them away from the living environment to a canister usually located in the garage or basement."

To maximize the effectiveness of a central vacuum system to improve indoor air quality, Beam offers the following cleaning tips:

"Traditional dusting: Ineffective and harmful.

Dusting your home the old fashioned way with rags and scented sprays is ineffective and can be harmful. That's because dust is recirculated, and chemicals are introduced into the living environment which can be extremely hazardous to allergy and asthma sufferers. Using dusting attachments on your central vacuum system allows you to "power" dust. Regular deep cleaning with a Beam system means you'll breathe easier and dust less often.

Carpet and upholstery: Can you live with it?

Some allergy and asthma sufferers cantollerate carpet, draperies, blinds and upholstery, others cannot. Whether you should remove these items from your home should be determined by your physician. Only 20% of the patients who are advised to remove their carpet actually do. If you decide removing these things is not for you, a central vacuum system will help control the dust and allergens in your home.

Refrigerators: Not cool for allergy sufferers.

A refrigerator acts like a powerful magnet attracting dust and allergens, which become trapped beneath and behind the unit. When the motor cycles on and off, the dirt becomes airborne creating a key source of irritation for allergy and asthma sufferers. Until now removing dust has been difficult because the refrigerator had to be moved. Now with the Beam Wonderwand Floor Hugger it is easy to clean beneath and behind refrigerators and other hard-to-move appliances and furniture. This narrow attachment slips beneath and behind the unit to remove trapped dust, dirt and allergens quickly and easily."

A central vacuum system is the best choice for cleaning if you have allergies, asthma, or just care about your indoor air quality. Click on the link below to find all the choices available to you.

http://www.vachelp.com

My hands have been on this keyboard for 100s of hours now, researching these last details of our house. Since most of the materials, applications and fixtures are not normally used in residential applications, I've had to swim through oceans of information to find these items with the help of my architect. Jan says that most of the residential norms are crap, so we HAVE to research every little corner and crevice for the ultimate THING. Most of the stuff we want has primarily been used in the commercial sector or green building, and as Ted says, it's because those things are built to last and simply are better (sigh!)... so here we go, I am freakin' tired, but am grateful that the Internet was invented in my lifetime.

First, insulation. Yes, we are using SIPs for most everything. But because our 2nd story cantilevers (overhangs) out above our pool, we have to use something other than our beloved SIPs. So, Ted suggested using batt on the floor of our 2nd story overhang to save money, but now I want to look at this natural fibre insulation that's safe, environmental because their made with post-industrial waste (recycled blue jeans!) and they are good quality for not too much money. The advantage is that even though they are more expensive per square foot ($0.39/sf batt insulation vs. $0.89-1.09/sf natural fibre insulation), you will save in labor costs because batt has to be stapled in and handled with care because of the itch and fiberglass irritation. This stuff can be put in by hand and don't need to be stapled in, so they are quickly installed and safe to handle as you can see with the baby below.

I found this company:
Bonded Logic at http://www.bondedlogic.com/

I couldn't resist posting this adorable photo:

Then on to ventilation ducts. We learned of a system that removes humidity from our bathrooms that can be planned with fewer punctures through our roof because they share the same vent to the outside. They are quieter & better designed so that you can control 2 or more bathrooms with the same ventilation duct....MORE HERE

My husband Jan found this interesting paper on using foliage plants to remove pollutants from air-tight energy efficient homes that will be useful to many of us homeowners. It is important for the house to not only be eco-friendly and energy efficient, but to also be healthy. Even though our foam SIP walls (EPS sandwiched between 2 OSB boards) won't offgas, the furniture you may have can "leak" formaldehyde and other pollutants. Plants are a beautiful and economical way to cleanse the air of your house.... MORE HERE

We've been told for years to buy flame-retardant pajamas for our children, and tuck them into flame-retardant beds. Indeed, the government has often mandated the use of fire retardant chemicals in manufacturing, with an eye toward preventing the flaming family Christmas tree from igniting your child's bedding.

Science News reports that the chemicals used to retard flames include Polybrominated diphenylethers (PBDEs), neurotoxicants that are particuarly harmful to children. Worse, the dust-borne toxins accumulate in the system and are not flushed out by the body. Even the EPA now acknowledges that there maybe a downside to fire-retardants.

What can you do at home? The Healthy Children Project lists suggestions for ways in which you can ameliorate the situation, with tips that range from avoiding buying flame-resistant children's clothing, to buying used furniture that has already off-gassed much of the harmful chemical residue.

Link via enviroblog, which should be a daily read if you have children in the house.

image sxc.hu.

Who says lighting can't be green--literally? The xDesign Environmental Clinic at New York University has developed the so-called greenlight , a solar-powered planted chandelier made from recycled and recyclable parts.

Designed to improve indoor air-quality, the greenlight features tropical indoor plants that naturally filter toxins from the room. And its low-voltage LED light system, which sits on a disc of blown recycled glass, draws power from a solar awning of Photovoltaic cells. The LEDs naturally nourish the plants.

According to San Diego-based xDesign, which stands for Experimental Design Lab, the greenlight is built to be carbon-neutral. "The photovoltaic panel sitting in a south-facing window can produce 7.5 W on an average of 3-4 hours a day in NYC," it says.

xDesign showed off the greenlight last weekend at the Wired NextFest, a two-day technology conference in Los Angeles. Representatives from xDesign said that it makes each chandelier by custom order, and the price ranges from $1,500 to $2,500. Compared to the cost of standard chandeliers, that doesn't seem like such a bad price to shine some light on your environmental consciousness.

If you're a fan of biomorphic chandeliers, have we got one for you: Green Light, as seen in this month's Design Issue of  Good Magazine, is a self-contained pendant lamp that uses an LED to feed a lovely hanging terrarium of plants that cleanse the air inside your house.

And as you can see, it would make an attractive focal point above any dining table. According to the Xdesign wiki, "Planting strategies can be specified to address particular indoor air quality issues including VOC, benzene and formaldehyde removal." The Green Light is also a prime example of a carbon-neutral system, in that it makes its own energy via its own solar panel. And, it's a work of art, made of hand-blown glass.

The Green Light is available by "perscription" from the Experimental Design Lab (xDesign) at NYU, which is "modeled after a health clinic in which community members can make one-on-one appointments to discuss 'health' as it relates to their local environment. The essential difference is that prescriptions are given for design interventions rather than prescription drugs."

When you subscribe to Good (and you should!) 100% of your subscription fee is donated to the charity of your choice.

Cross-posted from my site. Enjoy.

The 10th Annual Indoor Air Quality Association (IAQA) Meeting and Expo will take place October 14-17 in Las Vegas.

I'm super excited about the fact that Bill Nye the Science Guy is our keynote speaker and will be discussing IAQ and energy conservation. If you've ever wanted to learn more about indoor air/environmental quality, I would highly recommend this conference (and I'm not just saying that because I'm presenting...)

To read more see: IAQA Meeting & Expo

Hopefully I'll see you there!