Home Ventilation Should Balance Indoor Air Quality with Environmental Conditions In Western North Carolina, specific environmental conditions impact air quality, which can affect your family’s healthiness at home. These conditions – common to the southern Appalachians – include: Left unchecked, these environmental conditions can make your house – and its inhabitants – sick, complicating respiratory […]
Focus on Environmental Home Healthiness During October’s Critical Illness Awareness Month
After being diagnosed with a critical illness, patients may develop a compromised immune system. When that happens, their home must meet certain healthiness standards to place a priority on their well-being. Prioritizing home healthiness optimizes symptom management and ensures optimum quality of life. In western North Carolina, with a rapidly aging population, it’s not unusual […]
RADON is Something You Also May Not Realize You Have
You can’t see, smell or taste radon, but the gas is the leading cause of lung cancer deaths among nonsmokers in America. Radon created by the naturally occurring uranium that you would find in soil or water, normally associated with mountains, particularly areas with hot or “radium” springs. Radon could be making you sick – […]
Family Home: Evaluate the Seasons of Life at Thanksgiving and Christmas
In situations where aging is complicated by a diagnosis, adult children often find it’s time to look to the safety and comfort of the family home. Here, Rick Bayless shares what to consider when needs change. November is the season for family gatherings, celebrations, and expressions of gratitude. We reconnect with loved ones, share stories […]
The $39 Mold Assessment: Too Good to Be True? Here’s what to ask.
In WNC, one regional “clean up” service currently advertises that they’ll come to your house and conduct a comprehensive inspection for mold and water damage. They’ll look at your crawl space, soil barrier condition, moisture readings, signs of standing water, plumbing leaks, sources of moisture or leaks. Then, they’ll hand over a summary of findings […]
Whether Chronic or Acute, Mold Issues May Not Be Black or White
As a homeowner, acute problems are top of mind: a leaky roof, the broken window, your flooding basement, or the presence of mold. Quiet, chronic problems sneak up on homeowners. We’re often distracted by bigger, more obvious challenges, right? Naturally, we don’t consider ongoing situations with the same urgency we give acute problems. But with […]
Back to School?
Check out these changes to make at home for a healthier, happier home. The “Back to School” month of August in western North Carolina slips away all too quickly. One minute, we’re picking up #2 pencils and marbled composition books. The next, we’re getting the kiddos ready for senior portraits. Many of us work to usher our […]
How to Prevent Mold in Your Home
Do you know how to prevent toxic mold in your home? Wetness and dampness are the primary culprits behind mold activity. In the southeast mountain region, where rainfall is heavy and the humidity is thick, this creates a big problem. When you open up your windows to cool off the house, the outdoor air ventilation […]
Top 3 Mold Stopper Projects for Summer
Mold control is primarily about keeping control of wetness and humidity. ☺ Your friends in these efforts will be adding heat and removing dampness. ☹ Your enemies will be letting the area or objects get cool or cold, and letting the area or objects get wet or damp. ☺ Hot summer air helps. ☹ Humid summer […]
Mold in your Home Crawl Space
Join Rick as he shares root moisture issues in the crawl space and how to prevent mold and mildew problems with practical solutions. Rick Bayless is a certified air quality consultant in the Western North Carolina mountains serving Asheville, Hendersonville, Greenville and all surrounding areas.