Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Apr 16, 2008 9:45 am What can we do to make the house more liveable (and less health risk)? I heard that the dust and the paint odour (any other problems?) could be bad for health.
To ease the paint odour I am thinking to leave the windows half-open during the day, but our area full of new houses under construction, and there is a big problem of soil excavation and dust ! Any suggestions? Re: More liveable and less health risk new house 2Apr 16, 2008 9:48 am do you have evap cooling?
use your extraction if you do! If not you could laso use your extractor fans in the bathrooms to help... Re: More liveable and less health risk new house 3Apr 16, 2008 3:11 pm You need to furnish your home with low VOC (volatile organic compound) products.
Laminex do low voc kitchens Marmoleum/linoleum/cork flooring (forbo flooring) or tiles or natural 100% wool not anti stain treated carpet, low VOC paints (porters, wattyl ID) For more information on healthy homes see www.safersolutions.org.au This is a very important issue, considering people spend about 90% of their life indoors. The government should really take a larger role in this area. Building a Jandson Espirit in Pennant Hills "What is the use of a home, if you haven't got a tolerable planet to put it on?"Henry Daniel Thereau Re: More liveable and less health risk new house 4Apr 16, 2008 3:33 pm lrhodes1 You need to furnish your home with low VOC (volatile organic compound) products. Laminex do low voc kitchens Marmoleum/linoleum/cork flooring (forbo flooring) or tiles or natural 100% wool not anti stain treated carpet, low VOC paints (porters, wattyl ID) For more information on healthy homes see www.safersolutions.org.au This is a very important issue, considering people spend about 90% of their life indoors. The government should really take a larger role in this area. Agreed, it is a very important issue. Some of the biggest risks in homes can be VOC's and also organic toxins (mould, allergens etc). However, your comment about stain resist carpets is interesting. I have studied the issue, and credible statistics show very little VOC's or environmental toxicity from these carpets. Yes, there is an initial gassing off when new, but studies have shown these to dissipate to almost nothing after just a few weeks. Can I ask what makes you think SR carpets are a risk? Ash. Re: More liveable and less health risk new house 5Apr 16, 2008 3:54 pm Hi Ash, the initial offgassing is a little ofputting (ha ha - crazy day at work sorry)
Was thinking of the bromenated flame retardant, thats the baddie Building a Jandson Espirit in Pennant Hills "What is the use of a home, if you haven't got a tolerable planet to put it on?"Henry Daniel Thereau Re: More liveable and less health risk new house 6Apr 16, 2008 4:58 pm Don't know much about the paint odour - i'll have the same problem but i'll be having security screens installed straight after handover, and leave the windows open for as long as possible.
But in terms of dust particles, etc floating around your house - INVEST in air purifier units.... There's several brands that cost a couple of hundred dollars per unit, but for someone who suffers from hayfever they have been a godsend....I used to have to sleep with my window open during the middle of winter because of that stuffy / dusty feeling... No longer have to with an air purifier in the room... Depending on your budget, you can look at a Daikin one that I've got (I actually won it as part of a promotion when I was getting air conditioning quotes)... Here's a link... http://www.daikin.com.au/products.asp?sid=4 Re: More liveable and less health risk new house 7Apr 16, 2008 5:50 pm FYI...
Looked up some manuals I have, and the following is some comparative testing reported by Wools of NZ. The data is comparing VOC emissions from carpets against other common household products. I'm afraid I don't have much info on the parameters of the testing, so read into them what you will. PRODUCT COMPARATIVE EMISSIONS Paint 100 Adhesive 72.5 Wall coverings 8.3 Plywood 1.0 Wool Carpet 0.5 To my knowledge, they do not normally incorporate fire retardant chemicals into synthetic carpets. I may be wrong, but I don't think so! Ash. Re: More liveable and less health risk new house 8Apr 18, 2008 1:55 am Another site with relevant stats about carpet and indoor air quality
http://www.carpetinstitute.com.au/good_health/index.htm Ash. at most it will have a short lintel which could be moved up just below the ceiling or even above. Above means you need to patch the cornice and might need to deal with… 2 61372 Yes well there solution is to blame everyone else while I a 65yr old woman with major medical problems have to just continue to boil water and wash myself in a bucket… 2 16004 If you make sure all taps inside and out are turned off, what does the water meter show if you leave it for a while. 2 20235 |