Indoor Air Quality

Is radon testing worth it?

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Radon Testing Devices

Is radon testing worth it? To be worthwhile, a radon test must be continued for an entire year. The common two-day radon tests that are done with a radon test kit or during real estate transactions are entirely untrustworthy. Why is a short-term radon test so unreliable? There are three reasons: The EPA states that it is your annual average of radon exposure that determines your radon lung cancer risk; not how much radon might be in the air on a given day. The EPA states that approximately 49.9 percent of all positive short-term radon tests provided false results that...

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Dust Mites and Your Health

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Dust mites contaminating indoor air

Microscopic dust mites create HUGE health issues for both humans and pets. While an inevitable part of our ecosystem, it's important to understand where dust mites thrive in our homes, and the proper strategies to eliminate dust mites from our indoor environments. In my profession, I help people who suffer from indoor air quality-related illnesses. Dust mites are a significant contributing factor to poor indoor air quality, so I thought it would be good for me to write this article and share some dust mite remedies with you. Dust mite allergy Dust mites eat, so dust mites poop. Each dust...

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Dehumidifier Mold Exposure

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Mold growth inside of a dehumidifier tank

When performing indoor environmental investigations for clients, I like to teach them how to avoid dehumidifier mold exposure. Would you like to learn how? If so, this article is for you. People purchase dehumidifiers to reduce the humidity in their homes. They often purchase dehumidifiers for basements where high humidity is most common. The hopeful outcome is to protect indoor air quality and prevent mold growth in their home and on personal property. When not used properly, as I discover in 8 out of 10 homes, dehumidifiers can be the cause of mold growth, and can actually spread mold spores...

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Fireplace Chimney Soot Explains Illness

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Soot inside of chimney explains illness

For me, looking at the patterns of fireplace chimney soot inside the chimney flue shown above is much like reading tea leaves, only scientific. The soot stains and the water streaks within the stains tell me a story. The people who owned the fireplace connected to this chimney were experiencing ill symptoms that prompted them to call me for an indoor environmental investigation of their home. When performing investigations where my clients experience symptoms with unknown causes, it’s important for me to inspect for all potential contaminants sources that could collectively contribute to their symptoms, including fireplaces. What are the...

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Do bat houses work?

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Bats in attic of a bat infested house

Do bat houses work? For many people, their house is unknowingly a bat house consisting of bats in the attic or bats in walls. Bats in attic spaces are more common than most people realize. Contaminants from bats are also an unrecognized contributor to health problems and the symptoms are often misdiagnosed by doctors who do not know that their patients are living in houses with bats. A client of mine had a bat house and didn’t even know it. She had over 650 bats in the attic of her home. Like many other people, she found an occasional bat...

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Black Mold Exposure

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Black mold growing on a wall in a home

The mold that people associate with black mold exposure is a species technically known as Stachybotrys. It just so happens to be the most toxic mold known to man. I discovered this dense growth of Stachybotrys hidden behind stored items in a basement where my client was being poisoned by black mold exposure. Black mold exposure symptoms This lady called me at the recommendation of her medical doctor. When I first arrived at her home, she looked very sickly, was in panic mode, and believed she was losing her mind. She was dangerously thin and suffering from rashes and lesions...

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Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

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Carbon monoxide poisoning from an improperly installed furnace vent pipe

Carbon monoxide poisoning can occur even when the amount of carbon monoxide gas in the air is not high enough to trigger a carbon monoxide detector. Believe it or not, this is a much more common problem in homes than people realize. Don’t trust your carbon monoxide detector Carbon monoxide detectors cannot be relied upon because most instances where carbon monoxide poisoning occurs, the levels of the gas are not sufficiently high enough to trigger a carbon monoxide alarm. The primary purpose of a carbon monoxide detector is to save lives when high, lethal levels of carbon monoxide gas are...

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Mold in Attic Spaces

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black toxic mold in a house attic

Mold in attic spaces is usually black mold. White mold and other colors are less common but can be just as consequential. Attic mold causes Mold in attic spaces is seldom the result of liquid water from a roof leak or steam from a bathroom exhaust fan inappropriately exhausting into an attic. It takes enduring and uniform moisture to grow mold in attics. Attic mold grows due to condensation of moisture vapor that escapes the house below. The attic condensation develops during cold weather. This is a common problem in cold climate regions where temperatures drop below freezing. Mold can...

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Fluorescent Light Sensitivity

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Toxic soot particles stuck on wall behind a clock originating from fixture transformers causing fluorescent light sensitivity health problems.

This photo will be explained below because it is related to fluorescent light health problems. Fluorescent light sensitivity Fluorescent light sensitivity is a serious problem for many people and it occurs from both compact and tube fluorescent bulbs. Fluorescent light headaches are perhaps the most common symptom, but fluorescent light health problems can also include EMF symptoms caused by EMF radiation. I had one client whose skin turned red because of her fluorescent light sensitivity and the EMF waves emitted from the bulbs. Most people will immediately experience fluorescent light sensitivity when trying to look at a compact fluorescent bulb....

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Mice Infestation

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Mice infestation entering a house through holes chewed through stone siding

Did you know that in homes with mice Infestation mice can chew holes through cement? I discover mice Infestation problems in almost every home I inspect. In almost every instance, the people living in those homes did not know they had a mouse infestation. Most of these homes had mice in walls and mice in attic spaces. You can’t blame mice for wanting to live indoors. And if mice want to get into your house they can do it. As you can see above, mice can even chew through cement to enter homes. Most mice live secretly in walls and...

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