Healthful Homes Need More than a Huge Hood Fan
October 12th, 2011 in Blogs
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Photo: Brian Pontolilo
Market-based solution
As you can see, designers and builders can make choices to build healthful homes without sacrificing performance. It may be impractical, though, to expect all designers and builders to do the necessary research to understand the dangers of certain products and find viable alternatives, and regulations rarely work. The overarching solution is to create market conditions where people routinely ask for full material-safety disclosure from manufacturers. Before people started asking for low-VOC paints, Sherwin-Williams ProMar 200 flat latex was 260 grams/liter VOC and Duron Builder Masterpiece was 50 g/l. Now that low-VOC is a marketable advantage, Sherwin-Williams has acquired Duron, and its ProMar 200 is 50 g/l.
Finally, there is no point to building a healthful home only to have it polluted with fabrics, furnishings, and cleaning chemicals after the occupants move in. If you are a designer or builder, educate homeowners about toxic materials. Explain that you did everything possible to build them a healthful home, but that they have to make healthful choices now to keep it that way. This information would be perfect to add to your homeowners’ manual along with recommendations about less toxic furnishings, cleaning supplies, and other products that may be brought into the home. Also, give them a schedule for cleaning or changing air filters. They not only clean the air but also save energy.
posted in: Blogs, hvac, indoor air, ventilation
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Official Fine Homebuilding Post, editor
Photo: Brian Pontolilo
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