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5 Ways to Remove Indoor Air Pollution

Apr19
2010
Leave a Comment Written by Alicia

While you’re trying to sell your home, you know that it’s important for the indoor air to feel fresh and unstuffy. Hence, you might open your windows during an open house held on a warm spring day. However, selling your home with a high quality of indoor air goes further than that.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), indoor air can be two to five times more polluted than outdoor air. There are surprising sources of indoor air pollution all over your house. The sooner you know about these sources, the sooner you can clean up the air quality of your home for your future buyer and, in the mean time, for you and your family.

  • Some of the most common types of indoor air pollution include cigarette smoke, carbon monoxide and radon. To prevent these producers of pollution, always step outside to smoke, and try even stepping away from the doors to your house. Design a backyard patio or shed away from the house for you to smoke in. Make sure your house also has one or two carbon dioxide detectors, which are as important as smoke detectors.
  • Some air purifiers, unfortunately, create more pollution than they destroy. Air purifiers kill mold and bacteria in your home by releasing ozone into the air, which is what the EPA has been working to decrease in outdoor air. Ozone causes lung tissue scarring, asthma attacks and more. TheDailyGreen.com provides a list of potentially dangerous air purifiers here.
  • Paint has been a leading cause of indoor air pollution for decades, with lead paint being banned about 30 years ago. Still, many older houses still contain lead paint, so make sure to maintain paint in old houses well so that cracking or peeling pieces of lead paint aren’t touched and lead isn’t spread. New paints also contain high levels of volatile organic compounds (VOC) that can be damaging when breathed even in low doses, so use low or no-VOC paint, and ventilate well when painting.
  • Carpets are often made with chemicals that could cause asthma attacks or lung damage, such as formaldehyde. Your best bet is to purchase carpeting that is made with nontoxic materials, or better yet, to replace carpeting with hardwood, ceramic, bamboo or other types of flooring that don’t collect dirt, dust mites, fungus and other unhealthy pollutants. If you have carpets, vacuum often, preferably with a high efficiency particle air (HEPA) vacuum.
  • Cleaning supplies trigger air pollutants that, if mixed incorrectly, could even be deadly. Mixing cleansers with chlorine and acid-based cleaners, such as vinegar, create chlorine gas that is deadly. Many other cleansers contain toxic pesticides and chemicals that are dangerous to our health. Mixing a spray bottle of vinegar and water, or wiping a surface with baking soda and water, works just as well.

To learn more about indoor air quality, read this article from TheDailyGreen.com. By removing these five sources of indoor air pollution, you can make your home’s air quality more safe and desirable for you and your future buyers. During open houses and tours, explain the changes you made to your potential buyers so that they know how clean the air is at the home that might soon be theirs.

Posted in Selling Tips, Tips and Ideas - Tagged air pollution, eco-friendly, environmental, home selling
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Converting Porches

Nov21
2008
Leave a Comment Written by Carrie

Picture yourself in hot and sunny Orlando. You’re sitting on a spacious, open patio during a peaceful evening. Suddenly, you feel little mosquitoes pecking at your legs and you have to rush into the house!

Now imagine relaxing on your partially covered patio while enjoying the crisp, fall weather Chicago has to offer. Without a moment’s notice, the wind picks up, it starts raining, and you are soaked from head to toe.

Wouldn’t you like to get away from all of this? These two examples demonstrate exactly why it makes sense to enclose your porch. Enjoy maximum usability, year-round!

An existing porch that boasts a well-constructed ceiling and roof offers a ton of potential for the space to be enclosed into a sunroom. The advantage of having a sunroom allows homeowners to enjoy the outdoors without the hassle of being bothered by pesky insects, light rain and varying hot/cold temperatures.

The four components you must consider when constructing an enclosed porch are insulation, temperature, electrical power and lighting.

Insulation & Temperature
In order to determine how much insulation is needed, you must decide the purpose your enclosed patio will serve. If you would like this space to function as a home office, the walls and the ceiling should be fully insulated for temperature control. If you would like to construct a sunroom, the space should be screened-in, or walls (with very little insulation) should boast wall-to-wall glass windows. You may even want to add a sliding glass door for extra ventilation and access to the backyard. It is possible to extend your existing heating and cooling systems from the main house into the converted sunroom. Another option is to add ceiling fans, air-conditioning wall units or baseboards heaters.

Electrical Power & Lighting
Your existing electrical system can be extended into the sunroom. However, the best part about having a sunroom is taking advantage of the natural lighting. Walls of windows not only offer breathtaking nature views, but they also allow streams of sunlight to pour into the space. Consider building skylights into the ceiling! Additional lights allow you to enjoy peaceful nights inside the sunroom, and surround sound speakers are great for parties!

Once you have converted your porch, it needs some spice! Stay tuned for a future post, giving you tips from Buy Owner on decorating your sunroom.

Posted in Home Improvement, Tips and Ideas - Tagged backyard, Home Improvement, home ownership, outdoor, renovations, sunroom
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Founded in 1984, BuyOwner.com® is the leading provider of real estate marketing services. We pioneered the "For Sale by Owner" (FSBO) market, which today represents over 20 percent of all residential real estate transactions.

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