This week we move in to our new home. We have been waiting for it to be built for months now and are very anxious to get settled. Posts may be a bit sporadic for the next week or two, and the site may even be down for a bit while our server is moved.
Since people spend a good chunk of their time inside their home, it was really important to us that our home be as healthy as possible. Especially with winter coming and us not being able to open windows, I was very concerned about VOCs and anything that might off-gas. Here are some of the health-concious and eco-friendly things we did to our home. If you’re house-hunting or remodeling or even redecorating, maybe you’ll find some of these ideas inspiring.
- We chose a builder that seemed more environmentally friendly.
- Interior paints were low VOC. Standard paints can have hundreds of grams of VOCs per liter, which can off-gas for years after the paint dries. A certified low-VOC paint has 50 grams per liter of VOCs or less. Sherwin Williams, Benjamin Moore, Restoration Hardware, and Home Depot all offer low-VOC paints. Some companies even offer a no-VOC paint (Harmony from Sherwin Williams and Freshair from Home Depot).
- All appliances are energy-star rated.
- Had a tankless water heater installed.
- Installed hardwood floors throughout the entire first floor (and would have loved to do it on the second floor if money wasn’t an issue). The wood floors were not stained and were treated with a water-based finish instead of a solvent-based one. This was a more expensive option but we are really happy with our choice because the day after the floors were finished, they hardly smelled. Floor finishes can be especially nasty–I have a friend that had allergic reactions for weeks after her floors were finished with a traditional solvent-based polyurethane finish and my father-in-law tells me that the finish Glitza is so toxic, that house plants need to be removed while it is applied. Who wants that in their home??
- Carpet is not the healthiest, nor most environmentally friendly, option (often made with petrochemicals, it off-gases, and usually ends up in a landfill). But there are healthier carpets out there. In fact, we had the option to add 100% wool carpet to our home. Unfortunately, it cost more than wood floors. So we settled on a wool blend–50% New Zealand wool and 50% nasty, petroleum-based polypropeline. The backing to the carpet is jute, a renewable resource that does not off-gas. My understanding is that no carpet glues were used in the installation. However, I know very little about the carpet pad, which is probably not the healthiest. I know there are rug pads out there though that are made with recycled materials.
- The exterior of the house is stucco and brick, which never need to be repainted, rather than siding (which is often made of PVC).
- The garage is detached. Car fumes and carbon monoxide can seep into your home from attached garages.
- We are looking into window coverings made from bamboo, reeds, grasses, jute, and other renewable resources.
- We are putting off any additional painting on the second floor where the bedrooms are until spring, when windows can be opened and we can get good ventilation.
- Water flow is low (almost disappointingly so in the shower) and toilets, like all new ones, use less water per flush.
- A passive ventilation system has been installed in the basement to let radon gas escape instead of build-up in the home. We are having the home tested for radon gas (in the basement and on our granite countertops) and if need be, will install a motorized fan to improve that ventilation system even more.
- The home is certified built-green.
When we bought our first home five years ago (also a new construction), we did not take any of these precautions and I suffered from headaches for months after we moved in. After seeing several physicians (allergist, optomitrist, etc.) one of them finally suggested that it may be the VOCs from my new home. I had never heard of such a thing but once spring came and we started opening our windows more, the headaches disappeared. I’m not the only one this has happened to–I have a friend who lives in my neighborhood that experienced vision-changing migraines after moving into a new home and was also told by her doctor that it could be related to her house. I’m curious to see if our attempts at making our new home as healthy as possible will keep me from experiencing those new-home headaches again.
