Living green in your home does not require LEED certification, solar panels or a state-of-the-art geothermal heating and cooling system. In 7 simple (and inexpensive) steps you can transform your home life into one unburdened by the guilt that comes from excessive waste, wanton consumption and the use of noxious toxins. In other words, it IS easy being green!
Health experts recommend hiring a professional when renovating a home with lead, but if you need to do this work yourself, here’s how to stay safe.
Dust, mold, bacteria and organic chemicals in your home can make you sick. Here are some ways to eliminate them that will have you breathing easier.
Sound is no longer contained in our open homes. Left free to travel, sound bounces, echoes, builds up, creates stress and may impact children’s development.
Completely soundproofing anything is virtually impossible unless you want to live in a vault. But steps can be taken to deaden sounds that reflect or are transmitted via your home’s walls, ceilings, floors, doors and windows.
If you’re wondering about the lingering chemical smell, why your head hurts, or why your children have so many colds, it may be your indoor air that is making you sick.
When painting and wallpapering, homeowners need to know what is in their products if they plan to protect their indoor air.
Radon is a tasteless, odorless gas that seeps into homes through cracks and openings in the foundation or slab. Inhaling radon carries serious health risks, which is why the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recommends fixing homes with radon levels at or above 4 picocuries per liter (pCi/L).
The Centers for Disease Control have identified more than 1,000 different kinds of indoor molds, or fungi, in homes across the country. Since mold is linked to a host of health concerns, proper identification and safe eradication of mold spores is key to healthy indoor air.
Radon is tasteless, odorless and dangerous at relatively low levels in a home. The only way to determine if unsafe levels exist is to have your house tested.
