Now that spring is right around the corner, we have been receiving a lot of phone calls about environmental inspections and testing prior to purchasing a new property. Some people have a general idea of things they want checked out per recommendations of their traditional home inspector. Examples include potential mold in an attic or
Humidity In Winter
With winter now upon us, let’s take a minute to think about humidity in your home. Maintaining proper humidity levels during the cold months is more important than just comfort. Low humidity can cause things from annoying static electricity build up to asthma attacks, but also having high humidity can cause a whole other mess
How Long for Mattress VOCs to Offgas?
In a previous blog post, I established that foam mattresses from Casper and Tuft & Needle had high VOCs in the packaging and that they should be opened outdoors. For good measure, I tested yet another manufacturer’s product… Nest Bedding’s Love Bed. I got the same results as with the other manufacturers: What do
Chemical Emissions from Mattresses
Mattress salespeople have a reputation somewhat equivalent to the iconic used car salesman. To avoid the high-pressure sales environment altogether, many people are opting to buy their mattresses online… me included. I recently bought two foam mattresses online and had them shipped to my Chicago home: a queen-size from Casper and a twin-size from Tuft
Interpretation of Mold Tests
In Chicago and beyond, there are some mold inspectors that don’t really do an inspection at all. They do basic mold testing, such as collecting a few air samples, and neglect to do a visual inspection of the home or evaluate the moisture problems leading to the growth. To make matters worse, these inspectors typically
My Top 10 Air Quality Concerns
Many people keep track of every gram of food going into their body. Yet, the very same people are often totally unaware of what they are breathing in. They would be surprised to find out that we eat about 3 pounds of food a day… and breath in over 30 pounds of air! To help
