Episode 2000
Indoor Air Quality Hacks: 10 Ways to Breathe Better This Summer!
Eric G dives into the nitty-gritty of indoor air quality this summer with his top 10 tips to keep your home’s air fresh and clean. From battling high humidity to steering clear of those sneaky air fresheners that are practically just glorified vape pens, we’re on a mission to help you breathe easier. We'll break down the importance of proper ventilation—yes, that means using your kitchen and bathroom fans like they’re supposed to be used! Plus, we'll chat about the hidden dangers lurking in your cleaning supplies and furniture that could be messing with your air quality. So, grab a comfy seat and let’s get to work on sprucing up that indoor atmosphere!
Diving into the nitty-gritty of indoor air quality, Eric G. drops some serious wisdom in this landmark 2000th episode of The Around the House Show. It's a celebration of not just the milestone but also the summer season, where fresh air is on everyone's minds—well, it should be! Eric lays out his top 10 tips for improving indoor air quality, starting with the sneaky culprit: high humidity. With a cheeky grin, he explains how humidity levels above 50% can invite mold and dust mites to throw a wild party in your home. He suggests a couple of nifty gadgets like humidity monitors, which can help you keep your levels in check. And speaking of gadgets, Eric gives a nod to the high-tech world with smart carbon monoxide detectors, reminding us that safety should never go out of style.
But don't think he's stopping there! The episode takes a playful turn as Eric talks about the dangers of using plug-in air fresheners. He cheekily likens them to vaping indoors, giving us all a reason to reconsider what's really wafting through our living spaces. Instead of masking odors, he emphasizes the importance of ventilation—yes, those bathroom and kitchen fans are not just there for decoration! They play a crucial role in expelling humidity and harmful chemicals from our homes.
As we roll through Eric's list, he touches on the importance of air filtration—because let's face it, who wants to breathe in all those nasty particles? Whether you’re a fan of HEPA filters or just looking to understand your current system, Eric’s got tips to elevate your air quality game. This episode is packed with actionable advice and a sprinkle of humor, making it a must-listen for anyone looking to breathe easier this summer.
Takeaways:
- To boost your indoor air quality, keep humidity levels between 30% and 50% for optimal health.
- Using air fresheners at home can be harmful, akin to vaping toxic substances indoors.
- High humidity levels can lead to mold growth and dust mites, so monitor humidity closely.
- Ventilation is key; always use high-quality bathroom and kitchen fans to expel moisture and contaminants.
Companies mentioned in this episode:
- Monument Grills
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Transcript
Foreign.
Speaker B:The House with Eric G.
Speaker B:Your go to source for everything home improvement.
Speaker B:Whether you're a DIY enthusiast or just looking to make your space shine, Eric G.
Speaker B:Is here to guide you through the latest tips, tricks and trends coming up in this week's first hour of the show.
Speaker A:Now the next one here is going to be surprising for some people.
Speaker A:You might be shocked.
Speaker A:Using those plug in style or even spray air fresheners can be just like vapor vaping in your own home.
Speaker A:I know people that have a bunch of those.
Speaker A:Plug them into the outlet oil air fresheners out there.
Speaker A:If you look at the liquid in there, you're just vaping.
Speaker A:You're breathing that stuff in.
Speaker A:It's not healthy.
Speaker A:You're better to deal with the issue of the smell, do ventilation capturing, whatever that is.
Speaker B:So grab your toolbox, put on your thinking cap and let's get to work right here on around the House with Eric Garrett.
Speaker A:Welcome to the around the House show, the next generation of home improvement.
Speaker A:I'm Eric G.
Speaker A:Thanks for joining me today.
Speaker A:If you want to find out more about us, head over to aroundthehouse online.com this hour is brought to you by our friends at Monument Grills.
Speaker A:Check them out@monumentgrills.com I've got their brand new omniseries grill, the 405 been cooking on a little bit.
Speaker A:I love this thing.
Speaker A:As far as a portable grill that runs on propane that is good for a tight space, this is an amazing grill.
Speaker A:It is your average sized barbecue.
Speaker A:Four huge burners.
Speaker A:It's got a side searing burner on it.
Speaker A:It's got all the temperature control on the inside.
Speaker A:So it's like running an oven.
Speaker A:You can set that dial and if you want to be cooking at 400 degrees, you cook at 400 degrees.
Speaker A:If you want to cook at 700 degrees and throw a pizza on it, you can do that as well.
Speaker A:Check them out@moneymc grills.com now today we're going to be talking about my top 10 things that cause bad indoor air quality in your home.
Speaker A:If your allergies bugging you, if right now you're like man, this allergy season is bad or why are my allergies so bad?
Speaker A:Or why am I stuffy when I wake up in the morning?
Speaker A:This could be the reasons why this is happening.
Speaker A:And this is something that air quality testing in your house is really simple.
Speaker A:If you want to find out more, all you do is jump on Amazon, spend a hundred bucks or you can spend a little bit more money.
Speaker A:But you get a good indoor air quality meter, it's going to tell you all the different things going on and the important ones as well that we're not going to talk about here, like carbon monoxide.
Speaker A:That is one that you should be testing.
Speaker A:That is probably the most important out of all of these, that carbon monoxide detectors are okay in your house.
Speaker A:They are smart.
Speaker A:You should have one if you've got an attached garage and all electric appliances.
Speaker A:I would have a couple in your home just in case all it takes is somebody's car to remote start in the garage, and you could have a big issue there.
Speaker A:So just make sure that you've got those in your house.
Speaker A:Now, that's not where you start.
Speaker A:When you're starting about this, you want to have some other sensors in there as well, because when those go off, you're in danger.
Speaker A:But it's that little stuff that can really cause health hazards as well.
Speaker A:So you don't want to have really any in your house.
Speaker A:And if you got gas appliances, you just want to make sure that it's working well and your ventilation is working correctly.
Speaker A:So that is the number one here.
Speaker A:That way we can get that dialed in correctly.
Speaker A:That sounds like a good plan to me.
Speaker A:All right, guys.
Speaker A:So the number one here outside of carbon monoxide, and that's.
Speaker A:I want to put that one up there, is just everyone should be paying attention to that.
Speaker A:And those sensors, if you've got old ones, time to replace and make sure you get something with good reviews.
Speaker A:That is a good brand out there.
Speaker A:I like the ones that are smart.
Speaker A:So it'll tell you on your phone if you're having an issue and you could actually look at it and monitor it.
Speaker A:That's always a good plan.
Speaker A:So the number one here in the house, it affects about 80% of the homes across the United States, is high humidity.
Speaker A:You want to be running your house from that 30 to 50% as far as humidity in there.
Speaker A:And you should be monitoring that in a lot of different areas.
Speaker A:If you have a basement, I want to see a couple monitors down there.
Speaker A:If you're upstairs, one closer to the bathroom, one close to the kitchen.
Speaker A:Bedrooms is a good idea.
Speaker A:Have some monitors around so you can see what's going on, because many times in a basement, that's probably going to be the highest humidity area.
Speaker A:And then of course, near the bathrooms where steam and stuff is created and depending on the airflow in your house.
Speaker A:Now where it gets tougher is if you have, like electric baseboard heat and no real way to Centralize moving that air around.
Speaker A:Once you get above 50% and above 60%, you are now in the area of mold growth.
Speaker A:Mold growth can lead to dust mites.
Speaker A:It can lead to a ton of other health hazards.
Speaker A:And so you want to figure out what's going on.
Speaker A:Now, if you're keeping under, that means you've got the chance of mold is going to be more localized versus on every surface.
Speaker A:So these are things you want to take a look for and try to prevent.
Speaker A:Now, airflow is good, ventilation is good.
Speaker A:But really monitoring that humidity is a key piece of this whole thing.
Speaker A:So if you don't know, you don't know.
Speaker A:Now here's how I like to test it.
Speaker A:If you don't want to go out and spend the money on a system that's going to put in sensors around your house, I get it.
Speaker A:Money's tight.
Speaker A:All you can do is jump on Amazon or your local home improvement store and get a outdoor weather sensor with the outdoor sensor and the indoor sensor.
Speaker A:So you could put that indoor sensor in a place like your kitchen or your bedroom, someplace like that.
Speaker A:And then you can move that outdoor sensor around and measure the humidity in the other rooms and the temperature.
Speaker A:It will tell you what's going on.
Speaker A:That would be a good way to do that.
Speaker A:So that way you have it dialed in, you know where it is.
Speaker A:If you've got a crawl space and you've got a high humidity down there, that air is going to come up into your living space.
Speaker A:60, 70% of that air can make it up into that inside of the house from a crawl space.
Speaker A:Now the other issue you can have is if you're a slab on grade and you've got moist soil underneath there, and they built the house without vapor barriers and insulation underneath that, guess what?
Speaker A:That moisture can come up through the concrete into the house just like it would a basement.
Speaker A:So that's why I'm monitoring that and keeping it down is good.
Speaker A:Now you might need to add a whole house dehumidifier that is going to go ahead and go through.
Speaker A:And I don't like the little tiny ones.
Speaker A:Those are pretty pointless unless you've got a really tiny space.
Speaker A:You want to do a built in unit that's built into your H Vac or in your crawl space where you've got one in there that is plumbed up so it's draining the water out and you're not creating this circular motion of kicking the water right outside and it kicks right back into the basement or crawl space.
Speaker A:So you Want to be careful of those and make sure that pumps out into the right space.
Speaker A:That way you get that moisture completely away from everything and you'll be good to go.
Speaker A:That is one of the biggest things you can do to really help in your indoor air quality.
Speaker A:So watch your humidity.
Speaker A:Summertime in the south, you know it, that can be a big deal.
Speaker A:Arizona, not so much.
Speaker A:But you know something that does exist because you do get the monsoonal stuff.
Speaker A:You do get wet patterns, you do get humid patterns from time to time.
Speaker A:And depending on where you're at in the state, whether you're in the mountains or out in the desert, it's something you should be careful of.
Speaker A:So 80% of the homes have a humidity issue of some kind that they're either treating or not treating.
Speaker A:And if you don't have a dehumidifier, you might want to look and make sure you've got that dialed in.
Speaker A:Those little ones are kind of junk.
Speaker A:They don't do enough square footage to make a difference.
Speaker A:And if you put four, five, six or seven of those around your house, it's going to cost you way more money because you're running all those different motors and it's just not working right.
Speaker A:So you want to hook it into a system that's going to work.
Speaker A:And that's where you want to talk to your H Vac professional and make sure that you've got that dialed in.
Speaker A:So there's number one on the list.
Speaker A:Now number two is an important one.
Speaker A:This is where you should be using ventilation.
Speaker A:Your bathrooms that have a shower, even a toilet, just a powder room, should all have a high quality bath fan in.
Speaker A:And I'm not talking that builder grade 40 CFM1, that's the Newtone, little tiny ones that they put into every inexpensive builder grade home across the U.S.
Speaker A:i'm talking like a big Panasonic.
Speaker A:I'm talking something that's going to move 100, 110, 120 CFM.
Speaker A:Something that's going to move enough air to make a difference.
Speaker A:Because in your bathroom you have sitting water.
Speaker A:In a toilet you have a shower maybe or a bathtub.
Speaker A:You've got people getting ready with all these VOCs that are in all of the hair care products, all the chemicals that are in the makeup, somebody's using a spray this spray that.
Speaker A:You want to get that stuff outside of the house.
Speaker A:So one, you're controlling humidity with the bath fan.
Speaker A:Two, you're taking those chemicals out, and three, you're just getting that air outside.
Speaker A:So it's not contaminating the rest of the house.
Speaker A:So really what you want to do and code requires this in most areas, you want to have a bath fan that has either a humidity sensor and or what code requires, which is a timer on there because you want to run that fan long enough so it airs out that space at least 20 minutes after you leave it.
Speaker A:So if you take a shower, get ready, you want to make sure that fan runs for 20 minutes after the fact.
Speaker A:So we'll talk more about that when we come back just after these important messages.
Speaker A:Don't change that dial.
Speaker A:We're just getting started here on around the House.
Speaker B:To find out more information, head to aroundthehouse online.com don't change that dial.
Speaker B:Around the House will be right back after these important messages.
Speaker A:I be allowed to be so hot, so many people without.
Speaker A:Welcome back to the around the House show, the next generation of home improvement.
Speaker A:I'm Eric G.
Speaker A:This hour is brought to you by our friends at Monty McGrills.
Speaker A:Check them out at montymcgrills.com now we've been talking about my top 10 things that cause bad indoor air quality in your home.
Speaker A:Now these are important ones.
Speaker A:We were just talking about high humidity and then not using ventilation.
Speaker A:We were talking about bath fans and how important that is.
Speaker A:The bigger one almost is kitchen fans.
Speaker A:Your kitchen vent hood should or downdraft unit should be venting completely to the exterior and not ever have one of those recycling ones or what I call forehead duster fans.
Speaker A:What are those?
Speaker A:Now if you walk into your inexpensive home improvement store like your Home Depot or Lowe's many times, you'll see that bro Newtone one that calls it a air quotes recycling fan.
Speaker A:They're about as efficient as recycling toilets.
Speaker A:You're not filtering anything out of it.
Speaker A:They got a little charcoal filter.
Speaker A:It's not doing anything.
Speaker A:It is putting all of that bad air right back into the house and mixing it up inside.
Speaker A:That is a horrible thing for indoor air quality.
Speaker A:That is a useless unit.
Speaker A:So that needs to be taken out and really replaced with something that vents outside.
Speaker A:Now in my area now this goes state to state, county by county, township, whatever your local jurisdiction is for building codes in most areas now they have adopted building codes that are more current which require that kitchen vent hood to vent all the way outside.
Speaker A:Probably for 20 years in my state here in Oregon, they have required that.
Speaker A:And it doesn't matter if I go into a condo unit that's a residential condo unit and they never had one.
Speaker A:We have to Figure out a way to put one in.
Speaker A:And I appreciate that it's smart because you're getting all those bad gases, chemicals, all the stuff that comes from cooking outside.
Speaker A:Now here in humidity as well.
Speaker A:Now, I think this should be building code across the U.S.
Speaker A:the areas in states or whatever that don't have this as building code, I plead that you update this to make sure that we have safer, healthier homes outside for inside, for people, and get that stuff outside, because we want that to get out of the home so we have cleaner indoor air.
Speaker A:Now, here's the thing.
Speaker A:It doesn't matter if you're cooking on a gas stove, a gas cooktop or electric one, or an induction one.
Speaker A:That cooking still gives off all the same chemicals, humidity, VOCs, all the different stuff that you're cooking still comes off.
Speaker A:Now, with gas, you have a few extras because you've got combustion in there, which is a little more humidity sometimes.
Speaker A:And of course, you've got some carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, all that stuff that needs to get out of the house.
Speaker A:But I do not believe if you have a correctly working gas appliance in your home, that adds much of an added danger to anything.
Speaker A:But you do need to have proper ventilation for that.
Speaker A:Now, is induction cooking more efficient?
Speaker A:Yes, it is.
Speaker A:Could I boil a pot of water on an induction cooktop faster than gas one?
Speaker A:Absolutely.
Speaker A:Every time but times.
Speaker A:And they're getting cheaper.
Speaker A:But many times that induction cooktop or cooking surface is way more expensive in the upfront costs.
Speaker A:And if you don't have the pans that have iron in them, you need to get those.
Speaker A:Now, how those work is the induction cooking.
Speaker A:You'll see them in restaurants and things like that.
Speaker A:In some areas that are forcing you not to use natural gas, they're going to be more popular, even in restaurants.
Speaker A:But here's what you're seeing.
Speaker A:So these actually take the iron particles in the pan.
Speaker A:So it has to have something that has a magnet attached to it.
Speaker A:It accelerates those and it heats the pan up, not the cooktop itself.
Speaker A:So there's no flame.
Speaker A:That's not like a coil element that gets hot.
Speaker A:So it does that.
Speaker A:So the whole pan becomes a cooking surface.
Speaker A:Yes, it's a more efficient way to cook, no question.
Speaker A:But for the people that want to use gas out there, I have no problem with that.
Speaker A:So there's where you want to be.
Speaker A:Now, you still want to get that air outside.
Speaker A:So really making sure you do that and making sure that you run that fan 10 or 15 minutes after you're Done cooking is smart as well.
Speaker A:Now, here's the problem with vent fans.
Speaker A:We have those that are the microwave, over the range microwave hoods.
Speaker A:I hate those.
Speaker A:They're dangerous and they don't vent.
Speaker A:How are they dangerous?
Speaker A:Because you're leaning over a cooking surface.
Speaker A:So it's one of my biggest pet peeves as a kitchen and bath designer.
Speaker A:In a small kitchen, sometimes it's your only option.
Speaker A:I get it.
Speaker A:But there is no capture to them because they don't have a place for stuff.
Speaker A:Like you open a pan lid and it poofs off all the stuff under the lid.
Speaker A:It rolls out and goes into the room.
Speaker A:So it doesn't work as well.
Speaker A:So those are things that you really need to pay attention to.
Speaker A:Is that capture?
Speaker A:So they don't work well as hoods.
Speaker A:They don't move a lot of air.
Speaker A:Now, hoods can move too much air.
Speaker A:When you get over about 250cfm, depending on code in your area, you now have to have a makeup area that comes in.
Speaker A:That makeup air has to come in and replace that.
Speaker A:So that's where you bring in your H Vac professional.
Speaker A:They'll put in a damper, they'll probably put it into the intake of your H vac system with a filter, and they will bring in fresh air and introduce it into the home to replace that.
Speaker A:Now, there's different ways to do it, but that is definitely not a DIY project.
Speaker A:That is something that they want to do the calculations and make sure they put that makeup error.
Speaker A:But that is something important, especially when you get up into the thousand twelve hundred cfm, that gets to be a really big problem with that.
Speaker A:So something to consider.
Speaker A:So that really addresses our fans.
Speaker A:And laundry, I think is an important one as well to have that laundry in there to do that.
Speaker A:Because you've got moisture, you've got chemicals, you've got wet clothes.
Speaker A:Having something that kicks on at least to control humidity, to get that out of there is smart.
Speaker A:When you get into an uncontrolled humidity situation and no AC or no dehumidifier, that can be an issue where the fan just runs and runs and then you have to go turn it off or figure out a way to do that.
Speaker A:So be careful with that.
Speaker A:Manage that correctly.
Speaker A:The next one is lack of air filtration.
Speaker A:How is the air filter in your home?
Speaker A:Now, the biggest offenders, the people that have like the cadet heaters and the any of the radiant floor heats or ceiling heat or baseboard heat.
Speaker A:Anybody without some kind of air moving device with A filter on it.
Speaker A:You're going to have low indoor air quality with particulate matter unless you're running a HEPA filter or something else in the house.
Speaker A:So that is another one of those that I think if you're remodeling a rental unit or an apartment, I think they should be putting this in as just a matter of having healthier air and healthier homes.
Speaker A:Now the filtration is important.
Speaker A:Whether you're running that HEPA filter unit that's sitting in your room or if you've got a good air filter for your furnace, changing it, keeping it going well and making sure it is dialed in is your answer for keeping that what they call PM 2.5 down low.
Speaker A:Now with my system, when I put in my carrier Infinity system, we put in a D GAPPA air filter.
Speaker A:Now that air filter really goes in and cleans up the air.
Speaker A:It uses a, a kind of a carbon ribbon in the filter there and it negatively charges that.
Speaker A:And there's some almost like a bug zapper in there that really kills and captures anything when it hits it and it hits that drops it down into the air filter.
Speaker A:So it really cleans and captures.
Speaker A:So it takes care of dust, it takes care of viruses, it takes care of all those different things and it really leaves for a much cleaner air in the house.
Speaker A:Now I also put in a one of the space age type basically air units as well that really cleans the air, but it almost cleans the air too good.
Speaker A:And I say that because what happens is it'll sit there and kill any yeast because it's killing things on the countertops because the little particulate matter that's kind of like hydrogen peroxide comes down and you can't bake with that on.
Speaker A:The yeast won't rise.
Speaker A:So it's almost too efficient.
Speaker A:Now when you come back, we're going to dive into some other ones.
Speaker A:We'll do that just as soon as around the House returns.
Speaker A:Don't go anywhere.
Speaker B:To find out more information, head to aroundthehouse online.com don't change that dial around the House.
Speaker B:We'll be right back after these important messages.
Speaker A:Welcome back to the around the House show, the next generation of home improvement.
Speaker A:I'm Eric G.
Speaker A:Thanks for joining me today.
Speaker A:To find out more about us, head over to aroundthehouse online.com thank you to all you that are listening on the radio, on the Talk Media Network or the podcast and the podcast player or streaming us on the different streaming channels it carries around the House show around the world I appreciate all of you.
Speaker A:This hour is brought to you by our friends at Monty McGrills.
Speaker A:If you're looking for that brand new barbecue, I just got another one here that's going over to my girlfriend's place and this Omni series, it's the 405.
Speaker A:It is a great barbecue.
Speaker A:I love cooking on this.
Speaker A:And we're gonna have a segment coming up in an around the House Northwest episode in June because this is where we're gonna wrap up our season here.
Speaker A:And we've got some big stuff ahead for the show.
Speaker A:Stay tuned.
Speaker A:And if you want to find out more information about the TV show, head over to around the house online.com we've been talking about my top 10 things that cause bad indoor air quality in your home.
Speaker A:This is how you deal with that stuff to make sure that your air is solid.
Speaker A:Now, number one, we talked about, well, actually number zero on here, it's 10 plus one, of course, radon.
Speaker A:Making sure you've got the testing there and that's dialed in.
Speaker A:But really high humidity, not using ventilation and poor air filtration is what we were talking about in the first half of the show here of this hour.
Speaker A:Now, the next one here is going to be surprising for some people.
Speaker A:You might be shocked.
Speaker A:Using those plug in style or even spray air fresheners can be just like vaping in your own home.
Speaker A:I know people that have a bunch of those.
Speaker A:Plug them into the outlet oil air fresheners out there.
Speaker A:If you look at the liquid in there, you're just vaping it.
Speaker A:You're breathing that stuff in.
Speaker A:It's not healthy.
Speaker A:You're better to deal with the issue of the smell, do ventilation, capturing whatever that is, controlling whatever it is, whether it's a dog or anything else, a little more cleaning probably will do you better than to put that stuff into the air and into your lungs.
Speaker A:Take a look at the air freshener.
Speaker A:I don't want that stuff or the chemicals in it.
Speaker A:So be really careful with the air fresheners you're using.
Speaker A:That can be a big one.
Speaker A:Now, the next one is interesting and this is something my friend Caroline Blazowski, America's healthy home expert, taught me.
Speaker A:Those disinfecting wipes that come in the metal round, there's a couple different there's the blue ones, there's yellow ones, there's different colors of them.
Speaker A:But really those round canisters of disinfecting wipes those put up, those wipes put out so many VOCs and chemicals.
Speaker A:She could do an air quality test and look her up and you can find out if you want to have one of these air quality tests done.
Speaker A:She can basically tell you how many of those you have in your house by looking at the air quality test.
Speaker A:Those things are always off casting tons of chemicals inside your house if you're going to use them.
Speaker A:I get it for disinfecting, but I would store those out in the shed, not under the sink.
Speaker A:That's one of those things that those disinfecting wipes are really an air quality issue.
Speaker A:There are so many chemicals in those things that you're just introducing your home and a lot of your cleaners have these chemicals.
Speaker A:So an interesting test.
Speaker A:Take your air quality monitor, wipe down a surface next to him, but the air quality monitor there, see what happens.
Speaker A:That way you can see what's going on.
Speaker A:You'd be surprised where the VOC go, what happens there.
Speaker A:And just like when you buy a new couch or have new carpet installed, you put that air quality monitor there and you're going to go, wow, okay, that's huge.
Speaker A:You'll be shocked.
Speaker A:Do a little of your own research and see what chemicals you're using and make sure that you're getting them correct.
Speaker A:So watch out for those household cleaning products.
Speaker A:You think you're doing something better and it smells nice and clean, you might be causing more of an issue by using that.
Speaker A:Now, the next one here is big building materials and furniture.
Speaker A:Lot of formaldehydes out there.
Speaker A:Formaldehyde is also naturally occurring.
Speaker A:An apple has a lot of formaldehyde in it.
Speaker A:So that's a big issue.
Speaker A:Take control of what you're putting in your house.
Speaker A:When you go to that fast fashion website out of China and you order a couch and it shows up, be careful what's coming in.
Speaker A:The wood, the fabrics.
Speaker A:You could have a nightmare.
Speaker A:I was testing in my house and I found these super cheap pillows that my ex had bought.
Speaker A:Wow.
Speaker A:These things were kicking off tons of VOCs, tons of formaldehyde.
Speaker B:Brutal.
Speaker A:It was affecting the entire room with two pillows.
Speaker A:So be careful with what you're doing out there.
Speaker A:That stuff can be.
Speaker A:That's where that air quality monitor can really make a big difference to walk around.
Speaker A:You'll be shocked.
Speaker A:You'll be absolutely shocked.
Speaker A:So watch those building materials, flooring.
Speaker A:We had that big thing with Lumber Liquidators years ago where they had the stuff that was falsely stamped with the carb saying that the California Air Resource Board had approved them for not having any added urea.
Speaker A:Formaldehyde.
Speaker A:And they met the standard and they didn't.
Speaker A:So that's where the issues are.
Speaker A:Those glues are something you got to be very careful with because they're cheap, they work well, and they off gas a ton of formaldehyde.
Speaker A:So be careful there.
Speaker A:Now, here's the next one here that Caroline got me on too.
Speaker A:And I was shocked.
Speaker A:Storing those chemicals in the garage that's attached to the home.
Speaker A:Think about this.
Speaker A:You walked used to walk out into my garage, look on the shelf and I'd have brake clean.
Speaker A:I'd have two different kinds of that.
Speaker A:I have all this different stuff sitting there.
Speaker A:Paint strippers, paint thinners, roundup.
Speaker A:Go down the list.
Speaker A:All these chemicals in there that were on my shelf.
Speaker A:The problem is your detached garage.
Speaker A:And especially like mine, where the H vac system is located into it can easily grab the air out of there.
Speaker A:So then you're introducing that in.
Speaker A:So you're better off taking all those chemicals.
Speaker A:Mine is actually a located mine in some metal cabinets out in my carport that's outside.
Speaker A:And then made sure everything was sealed up between that and now it's out in the air out there where it's not going to be off gassing in my garage.
Speaker A:So that is a super important one to make sure that you've got that dialed in.
Speaker A:So get all those chemicals out in a garden shed, something like that.
Speaker A:If you need an excuse to build a garden shed, there's a great one.
Speaker A:Put it out there where you can store all that stuff and just keep it away from the house.
Speaker A:So it's not bringing those things inside to your home.
Speaker A:That's a huge one right there.
Speaker A:That'll make a big difference on air quality and what you could do.
Speaker A:Take that air quality monitor, go over there and take a look at it and see what's coming out of there.
Speaker A:Sometimes it's leaking out of cans you didn't think it would be coming out of, but it is.
Speaker A:So pay attention to that.
Speaker A:Now, the next one here is a big one.
Speaker A:And we're going to talk about this for a little bit.
Speaker A:And we talked a little bit about it when we were talking about humidity.
Speaker A:But that crawl space or basement, if you have a crawl space, which is that little space that's underneath the house, that's got dirt, maybe dirt with plastic if it was done right.
Speaker A:And you've got foundation vents around the house.
Speaker A:If you've got that, you go to crawl space.
Speaker A:That air down there is going to seep up into your home.
Speaker A: s: Speaker A:This gets interesting.
Speaker A:What is, you'll see that little dirty stain on the carpet.
Speaker A:What is that?
Speaker A:That's a filtration.
Speaker A:That is the dirty air that is coming through and pushing that into the carpet fibers and it's getting like a air filter.
Speaker A:So those are air leaks around the base underneath the wall.
Speaker A:So that carpet is like a filter medium.
Speaker A:And so that's how you can tell where that air is coming through and how dirty it is.
Speaker A:So what I recommend is getting underneath there.
Speaker A:If you've got a crawl space, I would go through there and really put down some heavy duty crawl space grade thick plastic, overlap it, seal it, tape it, get it sealed up as best you can and have some good foundation vents that'll air it out.
Speaker A:Now here's the thing.
Speaker A:If you encapsulate that and seal it up completely, that does work.
Speaker A:However, you now need to install either dehumidifier in that space or condition and heat and cool that space.
Speaker A:Which means you're gonna have to come in and resize your H vac system most likely.
Speaker A:So it's easier in most cases to go ahead and put in a any kind of a built in style like one Santa Fe makes or whoever you're using air filtration unit for inside your home.
Speaker A:That way you're good to go.
Speaker A:That would go in that crawl space, that's going to keep that humidity down and it's going to keep the air fresh down there.
Speaker A:And then you can keep that sealed up.
Speaker A:That's a great way to do it.
Speaker A:When you see companies come in and do it, they do a great job.
Speaker A:But it's going to be fairly expensive because you've got labor of people crawling around down there and those dehumidifier units are pretty darn expensive these days.
Speaker A:Then we come back.
Speaker A:We're going to wrap up my top 10 things that cause bad indoor air quality just as soon as around the House returns.
Speaker B:To find out more information, head to aroundthehouseonline.com don't change that.
Speaker B:Dial around the House.
Speaker B:We'll be right back after these important messages.
Speaker A:Welcome back to the around the House show.
Speaker A:The next generation of home improvement.
Speaker A:I am Eric G.
Speaker A:To find out more about us here at the show or if you want to send me a message, head over to aroundthehouse online dot com.
Speaker A:If there's a subject that you want to hear in an upcoming episode that we haven't covered.
Speaker A:Make sure you check it out over there.
Speaker A:Send me a message.
Speaker A:I'd love to talk about something for you.
Speaker A:And that would be at around the house online.com and this hour is brought to you by our friends at Monument Grills.
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Speaker A:Monument grills.com We've been talking about my top 10 things that cause bad indoor air quality issues in your home.
Speaker A:And to recap, we had radon high humidity, not using ventilation like bath fans, laundry fans or kitchen fans.
Speaker A:3 Poor air filtration not filtering your air correctly.
Speaker A:And again on that one there, just make sure you don't put too big a filter in.
Speaker A:If you put too big a filter in your H Vac system, that can freeze the system up in the summertime.
Speaker A:So always check that H Vac professional to make sure you've got that dialed in.
Speaker A:And then using those air fresheners inside your home, those are bad offenders at putting out chemicals that you don't want.
Speaker A:It might smell fresh, but that's fresh chemicals that you've got you need to be very careful with.
Speaker A:Now the next one here is household cleaning products to be careful with.
Speaker A:Number six building materials and furniture.
Speaker A:Watch out for those formaldehydes and VOCs and that storing chemicals in your attached garage.
Speaker A:All those yard care, car, automotive, whatever chemicals can be really bad.
Speaker A:And then we are just talking about a dirty crawl space or basement.
Speaker A:Now the next one here is interesting and I can be an offender at this one.
Speaker A:Candles and smoking open flame candles.
Speaker A:Beautiful.
Speaker A:Definitely puts up.
Speaker A:You're burning wax, you're burning the wick, you're burning stuff up.
Speaker A:Not the best for indoor air quality, is it?
Speaker A:Awesome?
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Do I like the battery ones?
Speaker A:Not really.
Speaker A:But those candles can be really cool and be the great mood setter for relaxation.
Speaker A:So use them with care.
Speaker A:Make sure you've got a good air filtration so that air filtration will take care of things in your home if you're using them.
Speaker A:But just use them wisely.
Speaker A:Now smoking or vaping we don't have to talk about that too much.
Speaker A:If someone's doing that in the house.
Speaker A:Yeah, you're adding a bunch of stuff inside the house that you don't want.
Speaker A:So make sure that somebody's going outside for that.
Speaker A:Don't introduce that into your home because that's going to hurt the air quality for everyone, including your pets.
Speaker A:So think about them.
Speaker A:Now, one little side note, with pets, and that's another thing, when we go back to air filtration as well, pets give off a ton and a ton of dander.
Speaker A:Pet hair, depending on the pet dogs, cats, whatever, just be very careful.
Speaker A:You will have to do more cleaning.
Speaker A:You will want to make sure, I think with Pats, having carpets a really bad idea because that hair just gets caught down in there and the dander.
Speaker A:This carpet is really the worst in your house for keeping things not clean.
Speaker A:It sucks down all of the.
Speaker A:It just hides all the hair and dander, dust mites, all that stuff.
Speaker A:And it really just is a medium for holding dirt.
Speaker A:So, like my house here, I'm putting up for sale.
Speaker A:I put all hard floor surfaces in.
Speaker A:Any rugs were just area rugs and I went with that.
Speaker A:And it really kept the air so much cleaner in there because it wasn't capturing all those things that were falling out of the air.
Speaker A:So just be careful with your pets out there.
Speaker A:I love dogs.
Speaker A:I love, love them to death.
Speaker A:Cats, not so much because I'm allergic, but just be careful that.
Speaker A:Now the next one here is an important one and it's something that many of us do all the time and it's bringing in outdoor contaminants.
Speaker A:What can that mean?
Speaker A:It's a beautiful summer day and you open up all the windows because it's 5 degrees cooler out there and you get that summer breeze.
Speaker A:Maybe it's a coastal breeze, maybe it's fresh air coming out of the mountains.
Speaker A:Maybe it's just springtime.
Speaker A:But the problem is, many times, and especially if you haven't cleaned your window screens, those can be a filter medium as well.
Speaker A:And sometimes a nice little breeze will blow that right through there and into your home.
Speaker A:So sometimes the air quality is worse outside than it is inside.
Speaker A:And you open up that windows, doors with the screens and all of a sudden you've worsened your indoor air quality.
Speaker A:Pollen, exhaust from the roadway next to you or the freeway, any of those things.
Speaker A:Maybe it's the mold and all the allergens coming out of the pond or the swamp near you, whatever it is, dust from the desert, all that Stuff can be an issue, so be careful of that.
Speaker A:Now the next one is a big one and it's something that I'm doing a better job of.
Speaker A:Now, shoes.
Speaker A:You walk in a city, especially like me in Portland.
Speaker A:Here you walk downtown.
Speaker A:That is a biohazard sidewalk.
Speaker A:Then you come home.
Speaker A:Do you take the shoes off outside and carry them in and put them in a place?
Speaker A:Do you clean those shoes up at all?
Speaker A:What's growing on those things?
Speaker A:Are you walking through your carpets of the house?
Speaker A:What are you doing?
Speaker A:Is that getting even worse?
Speaker A:So think about what you're dragging inside by wearing your shoes and boots inside the house.
Speaker A:Is it good to have an area where you walk in that's a hard surface that you can keep clean?
Speaker A:Take those off and store them away there.
Speaker A:How much sanitizing do you do of the soles of your shoes and how far do you carry them in the house?
Speaker A:Something to think about.
Speaker A:The same with your clothes.
Speaker A:I'm a huge offender at this.
Speaker A:I'll be outside working on the lawn.
Speaker A:I'll be one of those things where you're walking around the house, you're coming in, you're coming out, cooling off, you're bringing all of those allergens and even chemicals inside your house.
Speaker A:So maybe you're better off coming in, throwing a set of clothes in the laundry room, swapping those out before you go hit the shower, get yourself cleaned up, get those clothes out of the house.
Speaker A:There we're into the laundry.
Speaker A:So it's going to get it taken care of.
Speaker A:Turn on the vent fan, get it cleaned up that way.
Speaker A:So you're not bringing in all those dusts, allergens, chemicals, viruses, whatever that's out there into your home.
Speaker A:So be careful with all those.
Speaker A:Those are all things that can be an issue.
Speaker A:Other things that we have honorable mentions out there for indoor air quality.
Speaker A:Again, just making sure that you're using the right cleaners in your home, the right chemicals, that you've got good air filtration.
Speaker A:These are some of the keys there.
Speaker A:Now finishes.
Speaker A:When you're painting, pay attention or staining.
Speaker A:What's off casting.
Speaker A:I like cabinetry when they're put in.
Speaker A:We talked about it last week.
Speaker A:Even cabinetry, that is a baked on finish, that's not going to sit there for months.
Speaker A:It still has to cure, but anytime something's curing, it's off gassing.
Speaker A:So always be careful with what paints.
Speaker A:We have a paint here locally that's recycled.
Speaker A:Not going to use the name because I don't want to spare them anymore.
Speaker A:But that stuff, if you paint it, oh my gosh.
Speaker A:They have got a paint cocktail there that smells horribly and I don't know what they've got in it, but it's.
Speaker A:They recycle paint, which I love.
Speaker A:It's great.
Speaker A:I won't use it.
Speaker A:You paint it on something until that cures it.
Speaker A:Smells like 42 different chemicals.
Speaker A:It is the worst, nastiest smelling paint I've ever had.
Speaker A:Now, I'm not that sensitive to chemicals like that, but holy smokes.
Speaker A:Stay away from the recycled paint.
Speaker A:In my opinion.
Speaker A:If it's outside, that's one thing, but inside that stuff is brutal.
Speaker A:I'm gonna do some testing on it to see how it looks, how it works.
Speaker A:But I've had more viewers, more listeners, more people call me up that have used that stuff trying to be green and have really had chemical issues inside their home with it.
Speaker A:So I'm very curious to see what's going on there.
Speaker A:It is a big deal.
Speaker A:So be careful with recycled things.
Speaker A:And the same thing goes for materials.
Speaker A:If you go get that old barnwood, where did it come out of?
Speaker A:People build.
Speaker A:I'm gonna build a bat out of pallets or whatever.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Was that hauling around cancer causing chemicals?
Speaker A:What was used that I've told about this story to designer friends and of course on this show before, but up in Tacoma, Washington area called Nally Valley.
Speaker A:It's called Nally Valley because that's where they started making Nally pickles.
Speaker A:They had these redwood vats that literally made pickles for 100 years.
Speaker A:We went, oh, this is beautiful.
Speaker A:We're going to build something out of it.
Speaker A:Customer bought the material.
Speaker A:Client did.
Speaker A:Oh my gosh.
Speaker A:There was no way we were ever going to get that pickle smell.
Speaker A:And I don't like pickles, so it was even worse for me.
Speaker A:There was no way you were going to make that pickle smell go away anytime soon without ruining the look of the wood.
Speaker A:It was brutal.
Speaker A:So be careful with recycled repurposed.
Speaker A:That can be pretty crazy.
Speaker A:All right, friends, that wraps up our first hour of the around the House show.
Speaker A:If you're listening on the podcast player, our two is up right around the corner.
Speaker A:Thanks for tuning in to around the House.
Speaker B:Make sure you check out our video content on YouTube.
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Speaker B:Thank you for tuning in to the around the House show.
Speaker B:If you are on the radio, make sure you check out the podcast for additional content during the week on your favorite podcast player or at aroundthehouseonline.com we will see you next time.
Speaker A:Sam.
