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Whether you are a first time buyer or an experienced veteran, buying a house is probably the biggest investment you’ll ever make, and the decision could affect you for many years. There is always a financial risk involved with such a large purchase decision. How can you be sure that your dream home doesn’t have indoor air quality (IAQ) problems that could cost you good health and well-being? Buying a home with existing IAQ issues can subject you and your family to serious health hazards, and might require you to incur large clean-up costs, reduce your property value, and make your home hard to sell in the future. With a Home Air Check™ IAQ audit, you can make your home purchasing decision an informed decision. This simple, inexpensive test can quite literally allow you to breathe easy and confidently. Love that New Home Smell? Today's new-home construction materials contain an excessive amount of chemicals that evaporate and off-gas into VOCs, or Volatile Organic Compounds. Kitchen and bathroom cabinets, moulding and paneling, drywall, flooring and roofing materials are manufactured using toxic chemicals such as formaldehyde and phenolic resins. Paints, stains, and sealants are used extensively in just about every room in the house, and contain VOCs that can cause serious health effects. A newly-constructed house will have a significant amount of VOCs in the air because the rate of off-gassing for VOCs is highest initially. This accounts for the “new house smell” that most new home buyers experience. After several weeks the rate of VOC off-gassing from building materials will decline; however, the off-gassing will continue at a slow and continuous pace and the gases will remain in the air for many months, and possibly years. There have been many cases of homeowners who have developed mysterious health ailments shortly after moving into a new home. Products that emit VOCs in Newly Constructed
Buying a resale home? Poor IAQ is a serious health issue, and public health experts advise homeowners and prospective home buyers to take the initiative and test for indoor air pollutants. Several states have now enacted laws requiring home sellers to disclose the presence of certain air pollutants like formaldehyde and mold to the prospective buyer. Although many states still do not require home buyers or sellers to conduct IAQ tests, performing a comprehensive home IAQ audit just makes good, healthy sense. Signs of Possible Home
Source: Healthy Indoor Air, a partnership program of the Montana State University Extension Service, www.healthyindoorair.org Mold is another serious health hazard in any home. Mold is caused by excessive moisture present in a home due to leaky roofs, leaky plumbing and wet basements. Many times you can smell the presence of mold and mildew upon first entering a home, and often are able to see it growing in areas where moisture is obvious. However, sometimes the quality of the air in a home is something that cannot be determined simply by walking through the house. It is the unseen mold that can be most problematic, especially for those people who suffer from chronic respiratory diseases like asthma. Roof leaks are particularly troublesome because the water seeps into the ceiling and drywall, and mold begins to grow on those damp surfaces inside the walls – completely unseen. With Home Air Check™, mold can be detected anywhere in the house, even behind walls, allowing you to determine the source of the problem. For more on mold, click here. Buying a foreclosed home? |
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