Ask Kevin: Allergies

Dear Kevin,
I fortunately caught the tail end of an episode featuring building with straw. Being the mother of a child with extreme allergies, I have been researching the prospect of building green or at least remodeling green and living in a rural farm community, and this particularly caught my attention.

Regards,
Cindy

Cindy,

I’ll let you know that from my own experience, I used to get a cold about every other month when we lived in an old, moldy house. And I had allergies all the time. Since moving into the bale house, I’ve not had any allergies and only one cold in two and a half years.

Straw bale building is perfect for a location like yours. You probably have easy access to bales in your area. The first US bale homes were in Nebraska, where I imagine some rancher woke up freezing and told his wife he was going to feed the animals in the barn. Bracing himself against the cold, he made his way to the barn, only to find that it was warm and cozy in there. The light bulb went on, and that day he probably surrounded the house, much to his wife’s dismay, with bales. The rest of that winter they were happy in their toasty straw bale house.

Another great thing for eliminating allergies is radiant floor heating. It is water pumped through tubes in the floor, heating people and furniture from the ground up, without dust and allergens blowing around the house.

Also, paints, stains, carpets, fabrics, and even cleaning products can add to allergy problems. We will cover all of those things in future episodes.
We’re going to help you make a great environment that heals your child.

Greenest Regards,
Kevin