Something in My Home is Making Me Sick: General Testing Protocols

The process of performing a building inspection to address a client’s concerns is much more than taking instrument readings and reporting on the findings. A good building inspectorshould be part building scientist, part investigative journalist, part psychologist, and part building contractor. A nickname for the home inspector is"house doc­tor," which makes sense since the process of diag­nosing and curing a sick home has many parallels to diagnosing and curing an ailing person.

The homeowner perceives a need and con­tacts the inspector to help address it. The building inspector’s job is to understand how a building is affecting the client or how environmental condi­tions are affecting the building. It is critical to ask the right questions. There is a pollutant affecting the client or the building; this pollutant has a res­ervoir within the building or an adjacent area of in­fluence; and there is a pathway and a driving force
allowing the pollutant to come in contact with the person or building. This is true for everything from electromagnetic fields to moisture and mold to pesticides, a whole range of building pollutants that can be investigated and measured if one has the necessary tools and skills to make this invisible world visible.

Typically your first contact with the inspec­tor will be a phone interview during which you explain in detail the history of your home, any changes you have made to it, and any changes you have observed in its feel, smell, and appear­ance overtime. A seasoned inspector, like a doctor, will beabletotakea good case history, askyou the right questions, and offer insights based on your experience and your concerns. This interview is critical to laying thefoundation for the inspection. Has remodeling, a recent pesticide application, or the installation of a new wireless phone or internet

Design for Responsiveness to the Natural Climate

In all but the most hostile environments, a home that is designed to be responsive to its surroundings will provide a wide range of op­portunities for its residents to reap the health benefits of nature while reducing dependency on energy-consuming mechanical space con­ditioning.

• Good window design can greatly reduce dependence on mechanical heating and cooling. Placing windows to prevent over­heating and to facilitate cross ventilation and solar gain when needed can result in both energy savings and a higher level of comfort. Proper window placement, the right type of window design, and glass

coating, used in conjunction with over­hangs and trellises, can contribute to a suc­cessful home design.

• Proper room layout and window place­ment can also provide good natural light­ing and a sense of well-being while reduc­ing dependence on electrical lighting.

• Screened porches, overhangs, trellises, and patios can provide opportunities for extended outdoor living while acting as climatic buffer zones around the home.

• A paved entry path, covered entry porch, and foyer will reduce the amount of tracked-in dirt and provide a convenient place for shoe removal or cleaning, result­ing in a cleaner home.

• An extension of the design process to

service occurred? All these conditions and more can affect sensitive individuals.

Even the most obscure building symptoms can be reduced by improving the environment.

An inspector is trained to treat buildings, not diagnose people, but improvements in the envi­ronment often lead to the improved well-being of a building’s occupants. Many autoimmune — type diseases find their beginnings in a sensitizing event. The focus of the inspector’s investigation will be attempting to discover the onset of this event and, based on the inspection and test re­sults, recommending a means to minimize your exposure to whatever has made you ill and/or is making your building deteriorate.

Nature is the measuring stickfor a Building Bi­ologist’s inspection. The baseline for elevated lev­els will be the natural surroundings. The interior of your home should have lower levels of dust, par­ticulate matter, and mold than the surrounding outdoors. Your electromagnetic fields, especially in your sleeping area, should be minimal. During the course of the investigation the inspector may uncover other conditions of which you had no pre­vious awareness but that can affect your health.

In my work as an inspector, my intention is to understand what is happening in the home or of­fice and be able to present this information to my client in a supportive way. In other words, I culti­vate a good "bedside manner."This is a critical as­pect of the client/inspector relationship. The last thing I want is for the information I present to over­whelm my client or leave them feeling that condi­tions are outside their control. Remember, there is a natural or least toxic alternative to all our build­ing challenges. Little changes built up over time can lead to big improvements. You can start by simply removing all the plug-in airfresheners and

Something in My Home is Making Me Sick: General Testing Protocols

This entryway is designed for "tracking off" dirt and for shoe removal. It features a covered paved entry way and a sunken vestibule with easily mopped stone floors, that effectively keeps outside mud and dirt from finding its way into the home.

Photo: Paula Baker-Laporte.

installing pleated filters on the air conditioning system or letting more fresh air into your home.

After the client interview and building history, it is time to begin the physical investigation. The inspector will have formed a hypothesis of what is occurring within the building and will attempt to prove or disprove this hypothesis by taking the appropriate measurements with the appropriate instruments and testing devices. A typical base­line investigation targets a building’s systems and measures the operational conditions for a num­ber of parameters, depending on the focus Just as the doctor will take your vital signs during a gen­eral checkup, the building inspector will begin the general investigation with measurements for temperature, humidity, moisture content, mold, airborne particulates, air exchange, chemical com­ponents, and electromagnetic fields, the build­ing’s "vital signs" Further testing can be expensive
and is indicated only when the building inspector has cause for concern based on the results of the case history and initial inspection.

A Building Biology inspector will use Build­ing Biology standards, which are based closely on a natural and healthy environment. Deviations from these standards indicate a departure from a healthy environment. The farther we progress away from a natural baseline, the unhealthier a building becomes. Building health is a measurable phenomenon when your inspector has the skills and tools.

Making positive changes to unhealthy build­ing conditions will result in an improvement and a move toward the goal of a healthy building. Re­ductions in moisture intrusion will result in a drier building and prevent damage to building materi­als and also possible mold growth. Improvements in the temperature and humidity performance

Something in My Home is Making Me Sick: General Testing Protocols

Deep roof overhangs and a covered entry help protect the natural wall elements of this straw — clay timber frame home. Architect: Paula Baker-Laporte; Builder: Econest Building Co.

Photo: Paula Baker-Laporte.

and filtration of an air conditioning system can be the difference needed to prevent a proliferation of dust mites (a prime allergen for asthmatics). Elim­inating chemical pesticides and using common — sense natural pest control in their place will reduce exposure to neurotoxins that challenge immune systems. In short, Building Biologists are looking for ways to make buildings as healthy as possible. Build tight, ventilate right, and make conscious decisions about the materials you bring into your home. This is the house doctor’s equivalent of "eat right and get plenty of exercise and good rest" Maintaining a healthy home, like maintaining a healthy body, requires preventive "medicine." It is the homeowner’s job to become knowledgeable about and perform the necessary maintenance for the systems that keep the home healthy. This in­cludes regular mechanical system maintenance, regular home cleaning with a good HEPA vacuum,
periodic changing ofwaterandairfilters, and min­imizing exposure to electromagnetic fields and chemicals through prudent avoidance.

Will Spates has been practicing Building Biol­ogy for over 15 years and has been involved in the design, construction, and maintenance of en­vironmental systems for over 30 years. He is the founder and president of Indoor Environmental Technologies, a testing and consulting firm that has performed over 4,000 inspections. He can be reached at wspates@IETbuildinghealth. com and at IETbuildinghealth. com.

Updated: 12 ноября, 2015 — 6:12 дп