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January 27, 2008
Air Quality Specialists?
I renovated an apartment in a 90 year old, 3 family wood frame house that I recently purchased. The reno came out beautifully, but I have found that my asthma, which is environmentally set off, has been pretty bad and chronic since I've moved in. In the past I have gone years without an asthma attack and now they are daily. The house has been professionally cleaned since reno. When my girlfriend, who has no asthma or allergies, sleeps over, she has been getting a stuffy and runny nose. This all seems isolated to my bedroom. I have hypo allergenic pillows, sheets, no rugs etc. and have been vacuuming.
I'm wondering if there is some kind of air quality specialist etc. who could analyze what's going on in my apartment. I've googled a bit but haven't found anything. Any help or recommendations would be appreciated.
Comments
I had a problem like this in a frame house in connecticut. I tried to fix it for three years but ended up selling because I could not fix the problem. Good luck.
Posted by: guest at January 27, 2008 4:35 PM
This problem is not that uncommon. Which is why people need to think about using green materials in renovating, even when they don't have a history of allergic reactions.
Good luck to you.
Posted by: guest at January 27, 2008 7:25 PM
I'd try repainting the apartment with special allergy-free paint.
The only other thing I can think of that could be an issue is the chemical that was used to stain your wood floors.
What else could it be? Do you have carpets that are collecting dust?
Posted by: guest at January 27, 2008 8:03 PM
are u using a hepa vacuum .
if not ur just really blowin around the finer particles of dust & allergens.
Posted by: guest at January 27, 2008 11:25 PM
2 comments:
- is it possible you have mold in your walls?
- if not (in which case you would need to fix that problem regardless) but you cleaner air in the house consider installing air exchangers such as the Airiva which brings air in from outside, through a filter, replacing inside air... We are doing this in our brownstone
Posted by: guest at January 28, 2008 6:34 AM
A lot of ppl are very sensitive to building materials. Some of these materials have chemicals in them, such as formaldehyde, which can "offgas" into your house for years. Furniture, carpet, pressed wood board (used in cabinets), modern flooring, drapes and others can have chemicals in them which are believed to unhealthy.
There are also theories that certain cleaning chemicals are dangerous for humans and cause your symptoms.
There are some books about this, "Homes That Heal" I believe is one of them. In the mean time, open your windows a little.
-R
Posted by: RedBrooklyn at January 28, 2008 10:32 PM
It's the chemicals in the building materials, as 10:32 says. Because the other suggestions to completely re-do your renovation or sell your place are completely impractical, research what you can do to dissipate the chemicals more speedily. Even if you don't think you smell the paint, the chemicals are still being released as it's new paint. Run an air purifier in your bedroom. We use one every night. And never never use bleach. Bleach aggravates allergies.
Posted by: guest at January 29, 2008 1:53 AM
Mold could be the culprit. Black mold was found in my apartment last year. None of the occupants were sick. We had a flood and a chronic leak, so water found it's way into the walls and under the floor. When we realized this, we had the air quality tested by Raymond Lou at Mold & Mildew Testing Services:888-988-6653. He was excellent. Another company, Maxon's, did the mold clean-up.
Posted by: guest at January 30, 2008 9:39 PM
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