3 Unpublicized Dangers to Indoor Air; Part 3 – Pesticides

 Wake UP!

Termite (Pest) Control is an inescapable toxin in this world.  Every new home is required to apply termite protection in order to pass the building code inspection.  This danger does not dissipate over time without taking specific steps. International Code now allows safer solutions to this problem that do not involve residual chemical applications!

Pesticides in general are insidious, virtually every commercial and most residential buildings have a monthly treatment applied at least to the outside of the building.  The chemical is drawn in through weep holes in the walls, crawl spaces, window and door jambs.  One way to prevent this poison from being in your world 24/7 is to eliminate it from your home.  Instead tighten up your existing home and keep the moisture out of the structure and indoor air, that is what termites and other bugs are after- moisture.  Stop the moisture and you stop the problem. 

If you are building a new home, use what I call longsuffering exterior materials that are natural in origin but are able to withstand and wick away moisture and naturally deter pests.  For example, concrete block, fiber cement siding and authentic stucco.  These are all pest deterent materials as apposed to wood or any type of synthetic or natural material that attracts or soaks in moisture.

For more information on how to eliminate residual pest control from your home and life, purchase my book titled The Healthier Healthy Household, available from my website (www.shelterecology.com) or from Amazon.com. 

 

3 Unpublicized Dangers to Indoor Air; Part 2 – Mercury

Mercury poisoning is not publicized enough; resulting in central nervous sytsem, brain, endocrine system and kidney dysfunction.  Autism is blatantly linked along with insomnia, memory loss, high blood pressure and chronic redness of skin/ peeling skin and chronic rashes.

2.  Mercury vapors- Compact Fluorescent bulbs (CFL) not only offer toxic mercury if broken, but also when they are installed in your light fixture and turned on.  Personally, I continually showed low levels of mercury, even though my home (designed healthy using my healthy home methods and materials) was immaculately clean of other known indoor toxins.

Active CF Bulb

When the publicity on the dangers of broken CFL bulbs came out, we immediately took all the CFL bulbs out of our home (approximately 60 bulbs) and within days I stopped requiring DMSA (supplement to cleanse mercury from the body) on a constant basis.  This proves that mercury leaks from CF bulbs while they are operating in your light fixture as well as when they are broken.  The solution, eliminate these efficient but deadly light bulbs from your home. Where possible, switch to LED technology which is improving daily, resulting in not-toxic, long lasting, energy efficient light sources for today and our future.

Common household, food, health and body care and medicinal products that contain mercury include:  High Fructose Corn Syrup, fish, amalgams, cosmetics, fabric softener, antiseptics, cleaning solvents and disinfectants including Lysol and Comet, Prescription drugs, Flu shots, immunizations, tap water and latex paint.  I mention these particular items because you have control over eliminating these potentially deadly toxins from your life.

 

Deceptive Greenwashing; Who is to Blame?

Our World Today

Unfortunately, it is becoming harder and harder for our body and soul to fight off the onslaught of toxins that are produced by man.  It is really amazing that we are even alive at all.  If you knew or know the thousands of toxins we are bombarded by daily- some by choice, some by circumstance, you will be amazed at God’s goodness and the fact that we are even alive.

The one place that can become a respit of health and restoration from the world today is your home.  It is perhaps the only place where you have control over your environment, therefore the only place you can really begin to physically heal.  Personal experience has taught me that when I am healthy physically, my mind, soul and spirit stand a much better chance at equal health.

Common Sense?

You may think that creating or maintaining a healthy home is common sense, but it really isn’t.  While there is much to it;  much of it can be done with your own 2 hands and/or through your own wise choices.  Because God is love, God had to give us the ability to choose.  Love never forces.  Our choices daily consist of life or death. We either make choices that support life or we make choices that support death.

You would be surprised at the amount of deception there is behind our choices.  While God is always applauding us towards Life; there is an opposite, invisible angelic being that is determined to see us die.  The following is just one of many examples of deceptive choice when it comes to the health of our home and our body.

Whose Fault is It Anyway?

“Greenwashing” is big today.  One example of this lies in the  many building and design industry professionals who are calling themselves “green experts” after attending a seminar or two on green building issues.  But without really living through what is true and what is a wash in this industry; many are being deceived and creating a unhealthy (therefore not green) home as a result.

For example;  our regional building codes require exhaust fans in the kitchen and bathroom. That is what they consider “adequate ventilation” by code.  But this is not ventilation at all, it is exhaustion.  The industry does not have a good set of standards to work by which is where the deception begins.   With so many homes being built using more energy efficient strategies, the building envelope (or what I consider the blood and veins of the home) is tightening up.

Ven Mar Balanced Mechanical Ventilation System

Tight is good, that is not the problem. With a tight envelope you have total control over your indoor air.  With a leaky envelope you have little control over your indoor air.  The problem lies in the fact that a majority of these tightly built homes do not have adequate oxygen production inside because the home cannot breathe.  This is not solved by opening a window or turning on your bath fan.

The tight home needs lungs- a breathing machine or what the industry calls mechanical ventilation.  But not just ANY mechanical ventilation; appropriate mechanical ventilation, depending on the design of the home and the climate.  With this vital, but not required “organ” missing; the occupants of the home experience anywhere from blatant suffocation (death) to minor suffocation (headaches, lightheadedness, insomnia, shortness of breath, heart arithmea – sound like any common dis-eases today?).  Their home then becomes a curse thanks to inadequate design and construction measures.

In this case and in any home design or building decision; the contractors, designers and you, the homeowner, need to be more knowledgeable in order to prevent an intended healthy home from becoming a toxic home.

 

The Truth About VOC’s (Volatile Organic Compounds) Part 2

What you Don’t Know Will Hurt You

Following is a list of common toxic ingredients found in O VOC paints and standard paints that are not regulated as VOC’s:

• Ethylene Glycol- used as a wetting agent in a majority of paints.  The replacement for Ethylene Glycol that is safer is Propylene Glycol which is still a VOC but not regulated and is FDA approved as a food grade product.

• Ethanol- a form of alcohol which the body has difficulty processing

• Ammonia- EPA says it is exempt because it is not a smog-forming ingredient yet it is used in most toxic solvents.

• Acetone- causes respiratory problems including headaches and dizziness

• Biocides- added to inhibit growth of microorganisms in a finish can and on the actual surface the finish is going on.  These toxins can contribute to the formation of formaldehyde if used indoors are hazardous to your health.

• Formaldehyde (in the aldehyde family)  (see definition above) – commonly created by 2 or more mutually reactive chemicals. Formaldehyde is no longer added to paints but is commonly created when the curing process happens.  It is a human carcinogen.

Note:  There are other toxic aldehydes like Propanols which are known to cause auto immune response problems as they bind to the lungs and liver.

• Crystalline Silica- quartz that is used in many finishes and is considered a hazardous occupational dust (inhalant)

• Masking Agents- presently a very popular addition to the mainstream green industry, are added to conceal the odors of offensive chemicals – so adverse effects from NON ODOROUS “green” building materials can still be prevalent

• Pigments- refer to the pigment section below for clarification on this ingredient

The best and easiest solution to avoiding the greenwashing or dishonest feel good labeling common to this toxin is to purchase only from smaller companies that are really health minded. In other words, their focus and reason for forming their company is for the health of the consumer and the planet in general, rather than the bottom line greed that larger mainstream corporations and companies have a tendency to operate from.

There are some big names in the green products industry that create a healthier product, but they may have more mainstream products they also sell.  While most companies are pretty protective of their recipes for theft reasons, they should be able to speak with you personally about the actual ingredients in their products.  Do not be afraid to ask.  Know the truth about what you are adding to the indoor air of your home. It is your right and responsibility to know.

 

Clearing Up the Controversy over Ozone Use Indoors

Use? or Abuse?

There are ozone generator manufacturers making claims that ozone generated at low levels at all times, even when people and animals are in the space, is healthy and acceptable.  This is a lie and there has been litigation over this issue.  The body is organic.

Ozone generators are usually purchased to clean air of mold and odors.  This means that ozone must be dangerous to organisms.  If it is dangerous to something as organic as mold, why would it not be dangerous to something as organic as you?

Folks like myself who have auto immune system diseases, will experience ozone as a toxin in the body because basically it is. If it is toxic to the atmospheric conditions, then why would it be acceptable to us?  So why would I use ozone to clean my air?  Because it works. It will actually cease mold and chemically induced symptoms in the body including  joint and muscle inflammation, headaches, depression, insomnia and other neurological and endocrine system issues.  It is the least expensive and most effective remedy you can use!

The only way to appropriately use ozone as a tool is to run it when no living beings are in the space.  Through much experience, I have found that the length of time to run an ozone generator will depend on the toxin you are targeting, the size of the space you are ozonating and the air flow in that space.

• When targeting biological contaminants, I prefer to place the machine at the cold air return of the HVAC so the ozone is then dispersed throughout the house and through the ducts.  For a typical 2,600 square foot home, the running time would be approximately 5-7 hours followed by an airing time of about 2 hours. Once the smell of the ozone dissipates through the airing out process, the occupants can return to the house.  If you are trying to maintain lower levels of mold, then you would want to routinely ozonate as much as once every 3 weeks.  If you are just concerned about seasonal changes, then once every 3 months is probably adequate.
• When targeting chemical contaminants, specifically pesticides, the ozone generator should be placed more specific to the target area.  For example, if termicides were used along the crawl space foundation and piers, then placing it in the crawl space and running it for 8-12 hours more consistently, like once per week, for 3-6 months will actually work to break down these chemicals.  This is the only remedial solution I know to be effective at eliminating these typical chemical toxins.
  

It is unfortunate that the EPA and other organizations condone the use of ozone when it is truly the most effective tool for cleaning specific indoor air toxins available today.  This is not an opinion, it is a fact.

 

Appropriate Ozone Use for Indoor Air

Types of Ozone Generators

It is important to not only choose the appropriate ozone generator, but it is also essential that you use the tool correctly in order to avoid it’s toxic effects as a result of misuse.

There are 2 types of ozone generators, UV and Corona Discharge.

• UV generators create ozone similarly to how it is created in the upper atmosphere. When air is passed over the UV lamp the oxygen molecules are split apart into single oxygen atoms. The single atoms naturally try to seek stability and do so by bonding with other oxygen molecules to form ozone.  The UV rids the air of contaminants by rupturing the cells of the organisms.

• By contrast, corona discharge ozone generators create ozone somewhat like how it is created in lightening. These ozone air generators create an electrical field or corona over a dielectric surface. When dry air passes through the corona, the oxygen molecules split apart into single atoms and then seek to group into stable groups of ozone in the same way described previously. Corona discharge ozone generators come in three different types based on frequency.  The higher frequency generators are generally more efficient and reliable.

Be aware of three things before deciding to buy a corona discharge generator. First, the air must be dry, less than 10% humidity, for corona discharge ozone to be efficient. As relative humidity increases, ozone output decreases.  Second, 85%-90% of the electricity used to generate ozone also generates heat, so steps must be taken to remove excess heat or fire can result.  Third and most important: corona discharge ozone creates Nitric Acid, which is very corrosive to internal parts, rubber and plant life.  It is known as the toxic part of ozone.

 

UV Type Ozone Generator

I recommend the UV ozone generator because it does not create any nitrogen oxides (Nitric Acid), humidity does not affect the output of ozone and there is not a fire hazard from over heating.