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OUR BLOG
Toughen security in
the home
Install
door and jamb reinforcement plates such as the ones manufactured by Armor
Concepts or Rebar Security Device. These metal plates are easy to install and
make it very difficult to break into a door. These are available starting at $
30.00, which is much less than the cost of replacing a door. Install
an alarm system for the home. www.Simplisafe.com offers a wireless security
system including motion sensors, alarm, cellular monitors and electronic notification
of events. The easy to install system is available for $ 250.00 in equipment
and from $15.00 to $ 25.00 a month for monitoring. This product does not
require any contract and can be cancelled when the home sells. It can also be moved
to another home. You may want to add a freeze alarm in cold weather at a cost
of $30.00 Install
exterior floodlights on sensors. Light
is a criminal’s enemy. If you want to make a lasting impression on a thief, use
a strobe or rotating light such as on emergency vehicles instead of using a regular
floodlight,
Install
a video camera system. If you do not want the expense of a functional system,
install a fake system with lights such as made by UniqueExceptional. These are
available for less than $20.00 Leave
sound on in the home. A loud source of music or television robs the thieves of
the ability to tell if someone is at home in another area of the house. That
uncertainty can end a criminal attempt.
For
additional information and links to the vendors mentioned in the story, go to:
www.envirospect.info/stolenpipes
Finding and Correcting Lead in the Home
Lead can be found in stain, varnish, shellac, batteries, pipe solder, lead water supply pipes, and lead solder in copper pipes. Imported cookware, toys, crayons, cosmetics and food crops can be a source of lead exposure. Lead acetate is added to many foreign paints and is used as an insecticide on crops. The evil of lead acetate is that it tastes very sweet. It was used as a wine sweetener in the Roman Empire and is credited with being the source of the physical and mental decline of the empire. Paint on a lead acetate painted toy with will taste good.
Paint, dust in the home, water in the home, and any bare soil outside the home are all items you may need to have surveyed for lead. The problem still remains that the exposure that raises a child’s lead level could be caused by contaminated toys at a day care center or other source. Without proof of that fact, the owner of an apartment may still be required to pay for alternative housing, testing and remediation of the living space.
Lead based residential paint in the United States was banned in 1978 by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. This was done after the failure to control lead dust from paint in housing.
The initial efforts at dealing with lead based paint in the home relied upon paint removal as a way to eliminate contamination. Unfortunately, the process of stripping, sanding and removing lead paint usually put more lead into the home. Sealing contaminated surfaces, dust removal, and protection of high friction surfaces such as windows, and good housekeeping were the most effective means of reducing lead exposure. Cleaning floor, wall and window surfaces will reduce lead levels.
What to do about avoiding “Touch Points”
First and foremost, you will not be able to completely avoid touch points. The message in this is to carry hand sanitizer. One person who put his hand out to me thereby putting me in the position of feeling like a dufus if I did not shake his hand told me: “ Don’t worry, I only have a cold, not the flu.”
Good manners kept me from saying “Darn it ! What on earth makes you think it is OK for you to give me a cold?” I have better manners than he has and just shook his hand. However, I did pull out the hand sanitizer. Let me share with you what I say when someone puts out their hand to shake when I have the cold:” I have a cold…and I will gladly shake your hand twice when I am not giving one to you.” I do not think that has ever offending anyone, and you should see those hands shoot back away from me…..just like they are attached to a rubber band.
When we go on a trip we carry foil wipes. We love cruises and really do not want one of those viruses. The same applies when we go to a hotel. One brand we like is “Wet Ones”. We wipe the door knobs, faucet handles, phones, spigots, TV remote, lamp switches, light switches, tables where we would place things, where we touch on chairs….if you can touch it, we wipe it. We start in opposite sides of the room. It takes us less than 15 minutes. Let’s see the math here. Trade 15 minute of time for staying healthy on a trip….Good deal !
When we get up in the morning at home, we wipe the kitchen table and counters. Then we hit random touch points since we have the wipe I tour hands anyway. It’s a habit, and takes minutes.
Here’s the trick in public restrooms. Wash your hands and grab a paper towel. If you need to touch something other than the towel, pull the towel out before washing your hands. Open the door with the paper towel in hand combined with a good old fashioned butt push, turn around and throw the towel into the waste basket, get out of Dodge, do not pass GO and do not touch somebody’s flu germs.
Touch screens, keyboards, doorknobs, microwave handles…..especially when you are around sick people….. grab one of the small foil wrapped wipes before touching food or your face. Let me tell you, breaking that “touch your face” habit is tough.
As a final thought: I noticed people wearing masks In Japanese crowd scenes. I figured that what was happening was it was socially OK for people to protect themselves from other people’s germs. Then I found out that in most instances, it was the sick people wearing masks to protect others from getting their germs. I understand that does not fly here in our culture….sad but true ! However, when you read the suggestions above to avoid getting sick, wouldn’t it be nice if you wiped the surfaces you contaminate to protect others….and while I am on a roll. PLEASE do not put out your hand for me to shake when you are sick!!!Touch Points, the Ignored Information About the Flu.
The CDC warns us of the need for a flu vaccination and the shortage of vaccine.
We are warned to wash our hands and avoid crowds. What you may be surprised to discover is the information you can use to reduce the chance of exposure to the virus. Our best defense is to understand and avoid “touch points”.
If you have never heard of the term, “touch points” are places we touch in the normal course of daily activities. These are important to you because they can transfer the flu virus onto our hands and then into our bodies.
Touch points include everyday appliances like the handle for the refrigerator, microwave, coffee pot or cabinet handles. Keyboards or touch screens are additional “touch points” where your prize for going about your normal activity is getting the flu germs left by the person who was in front of you.
The spouse that drives the kids to school when the other spouse is sick with the flu, grabs the steering wheel along with the flu germs that they thought they were avoiding. That is another example of a “touch point.”
Go to your favorite restaurant, and watch them wipe the table. You anxiously grab the touch points of the menu, the ketchup bottle or the back of the chair just before you sit down. Then you pick up the sandwich with your now virus laden hands and feed yourself the flu.
Hand wipes, sanitizer, awareness of touch points and good habits can save you and your family from sharing the flu. Look for the next blog entry for “avoidance” tips.
If you wonder how we can test to measure the biofilm supporting the growth of flu virus that lives on touch points, we can use a device called a Luminometer. Information about these testing devices can be found at: https://www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/foodsafety/processor/cfs02s138.html
January is National Radon Month.
Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer ...after smoking. Western PA has a 58% radon test failure rate, a very high rate as compared to many other areas. We will do radon testing at a discount for the month.
If you wonder why the radon level is high in this area, it is the geology deep below the ground. The same dense rocks, which were the ocean floor millennia ago and contain Marcellus oil and gas, also contain Uranium. Uranium decays into Radium, Radium decays into Radon which then comes up through the ground into our homes.
For more information about radon and your health, go to www.RadonMonth.org or www.Envirospect.info/Radon
Remember Grade School and “Find What Doesn’t Belong” pages?
As an inspector, it’s usually more difficult to see what is missing than what is wrong. Here is an example to make the point. This was a 100 year old home that was completely redone by a contractor. The potential buyer and contractor were going through the home with me. There was a high efficiency furnace installed which left the hot water tank connected to the old brick chimney. The chimney was unlined and oversized, which was a common hazard. There was a more important problem. I did not see the top of the chimney.
The roofers had torn down the brick chimney to below roof height creating the condition that the fumes for the hot water tank vented to master bedroom in the wall where the brick chimney ended. If the carbon monoxide doesn’t get the residents, the fact that the exhaust is a fire hazard will. The contractor had very honestly not put together that the hot water tank flue connection in the basement could be a hazard to a new owner.
Tips for Helping Seniors to Safely Age in Place
Hang a marked medical information bag near the front door. This can be as simple as a canvas bag labeled “Medical Information” with a magic marker in big letters hung on a hook by the front door. Medical information is critical during a medical emergency. Having this bag in plain sight can make a life or death difference in a medical emergency.
Install a keyless combination door lock at an exterior door. A code combination lock can provide access to friends, relatives or emergency personnel without the delay that usually occurs before someone is willing to break down a door.
Add an exterior blinking light for emergency personnel.This does not need to be fancy. It can be an extension cord run through a window with a colored light bulb screwed into a socket that has a built in blinker. Cost for this should be under $20.00.
Purchase a freeze alarm. Snowbirds and winter vacationers alike can avoid the possible flooding and major damage of their home if the heat goes out and pipes freeze. There are alarm units that will call out to another phone number before homes or crawl spaces freeze. Many of these are available for under $ 100.00.
Seniors should learn to Skype. This is great for seeing grandchildren. It also gives peace of mind to relatives by letting family members see that mom or dad is doing well.
Change bathroom doors to open out toward the hallway instead of into the bathroom. Many medical emergencies happen in the bathroom. If the door opens outward, help can enter a bathroom without breaking down a door over a fallen person. A quality carpenter should be able to remove a door, turn it around and reinstall it in less than 4 hours.
Change turning door knobs to lever handles. Everyday living is easier with lever handles and when trying to get through a door to call for help or escape a fire, it can make a life or death difference.
Many home accidents happen getting into or out of the bathtub. Changing from a bathtub to a shower can cost thousands of dollars, but is much less expensive than having a broken hip.
Understanding Mold at Home or at Work
The first thing to understand about mold is that there is a little mold everywhere - indoors and outdoors. It's in the air and can be found on plants, foods, dry leaves, and other organic materials. We have been testing and inspecting homes in the Pittsburgh Area and Western PA for 30 years.
It's very common to find molds in homes and buildings. After all, molds grow naturally indoors. And mold spores enter the home through doorways, windows, and heating and air conditioning systems. Spores also enter the home on animals, clothing, shoes, bags and people. King Tut's Tomb was closed for 4,000 years and 3 days after it was open, there was mold growing on the walls that had been closed for those thousands of years.
When mold spores drop where there is excessive moisture in your home, they will grow. Picture a handful of seeds dropped on wet soil. They will begin to grow. Mold is the same way. Anyplace on earth where there is food and water, something will grow.
If the area is very wet, such as a leak behind a wall, toxic mold or black molds such as Stachybotrys or Chaetomium will grow.
Common mold problem sites include humidifiers, leaky roofs and pipes, overflowing sinks, bath tubs and plant pots, steam from cooking, wet clothes drying indoors, dryers exhausting indoors, or where there has been flooding.
Many of the building materials for homes provide suitable nutrients for mold, helping it to grow. Such materials include paper and paper products, cardboard, ceiling tiles, wood, and wood products, dust, paints, wallpaper, insulation materials, drywall, carpet, fabric, and upholstery. We can reduce the chance of mold growth by selecting materials less favorable to mold
Aspergillus and Organ Transplant Patients
There are times that each of us can be in the right place at the right time. The background here is that organ transplant recipients are placed on immunosuppressant drugs. This simply means that their immune system needs to be “turned on to low” to avoid the body rejecting the organs. The good news is that with ant-rejection therapy, transplant patients can now live for decades as compared to the original outcome of many living only days after the transplant.
I was called to perform an inspection on a new, $400,000+ home. It was freshly painted and looked wonderful….except …there was the odor of mold when stepping into this beautiful home. The buyers mentioned that they were looking for a new house for health reasons.
Upon walking down the steps, there were freshly painted walls, but there was the faint green shade of green mold on the joists and sheathing. The buyers had not noticed the green tint. The mold appeared to be Aspergillus. Among the tons of information poured into this very geeky skull from sitting in tons of classes and reading geeky journals was the fact that Aspergillus is a serious, life threatening exposure for organ transplant patients.
We took the air and swab tests and confirmed that the mold was Aspergillus, was at an extremely high level for even healthy persons and had spread to the upper levels of the home. Had they moved into the home…well….it would have been unhealthy at best and potentially life threatening. No house is worth that risk. The funny thing here is that they called for a home inspection, and home inspectors are not to consider the mold by the ASHI Standards of Practice. As I said ……………..right place with the right client.
What We Do To Cause Our Homes to Have "Sick House Syndrome"
For most of human history, we lived in housing with lots of fresh air. Now we have air tight windows, caulking, insulation, high efficiency furnaces that do not bring much fresh air into a home. Energy Star rated homes that reduce fresh air infiltration into homes in the name of energy conservation are considered the “gold standard’.
"America is in the midst of a large experiment," says committee chair John D. Spengler of Harvard School of Public Health. He says that weatherization and other cost-saving measures, along with new building materials and products, have been introduced into American homes with little consideration for their effects on human health. The result, the report warns, is increased levels of indoor contaminants and humidity.
An old expression is that “dilution is the solution to pollution.” That simply means that the teaspoon of pesticide in a 50 gallon drum is less toxic than a teaspoon in a cup of water. By reducing the fresh air in a home, we are not diluting the pollutants inside of the home.
We use chemicals to clean and to add fragrance to the air. We have added new plastics and foams that can off gas chemicals. Our furnishings, floors and carpets are made with potentially toxic chemicals such as formaldehyde in their construction material. We spray pesticides in homes without a second thought that they are poisons. We still have lead paints and asbestos in homes.
According to the June 2012 issue of Consumer Reports, almost half of Americans use air fresheners at least once a week, and 34 percent use candles or incense that frequently, our nationally representative survey found. Roughly 40 percent rarely or never clean their humidifier or kitchen range hood, though they use it daily. One quarter have never cleaned or replaced their furnace filter. And almost 20 percent still smoke at home or let others smoke there. All of those things can worsen indoor air quality.
Common causes of sick homes
· Improper ventilation
· Mold
· Finished basements and crawl spaces with moisture
· Interior French drains
· Leaks from storms, plumbing, gas lines
· Improperly functioning furnace, hot water tank or other appliance
· Improperly installed gas appliances
· Previously performed pesticide application
· Cleaning chemicals
· Leaking stored chemical containers
· Artificial fragrance
· New carpet, cabinets and other materials
· Bird, pet and other dander and fecal matter
· Sewage backups and leaks
· Radon
· Asbestos
THE REASON TO CORRECT MOLD ISSUES OR OTHER HOME ODORS BEFORE YOU LIST A HOME FOR SALE
Let’s face it. A house that smells bad, is more difficult to sell. People react to bad odors on a very elementary and primal level. It stinks… the reaction is “yuck”! It is not easy to fall in love with a home you think stinks. When it does sell, it will sell for less money.
The next step is the home inspection. If the cause of the odor is found, the cost of correcting the problem will be deducted from the sales price. Bang….POW… Smack…. you get hit again for the same problem when the buyer, who bought the house at a reduced price wants you to fix the problem. The contractors that bid on the job know that the seller is on the ropes, and that they can charge more (ouch again). If the seller does not fix the problem, and the home goes back on to the market, it will have the rap of “it sold, but the deal fell through because it was a sick house”
If you have the problem identified by a proper environmental professional, the problem can be corrected before the home is on the market. This will likely result in the home selling for more money in less time.
WHAT DO I DO ABOUT MOLD IN MY CRAWLSPACE ?
- First priority is drying the crawl space. Direct roof and surface water away from the crawlspace areas of the home.
- The crawlspace has extremely high moisture. This needs addressed. The exposed soil is a food source for mold.
- The soil of the crawlspace will need covered with a moisture barrier. For information about such a system and product, visit: http://www.basementsystems.com/crawl-space/crawl-space-products/cleanspace.html
- Dehumidify the home. This is an immediate and easy to accomplish task. Install a dehumidifier connected to a drain to allow the unit to operate and drain without the need to empty a pan. As an analogy, if you do not give a tomato plant water, it makes fewer tomatoes. If you reduce the moisture in the home, the old is reduced
- The surfaces of the crawlspace and basement of the home will need decontaminated and cleaned. The crawlspace and other surfaces with high amounts of mold will require treatment with a high quality moldicide or process such as "ice blasting
- The contents and surfaces of the upper level will need handled and remediated following proper procedures with particular care for personal protection. Handling contaminated contents puts additional mold into the air and places persons at higher risk while the lold is floating in the air from being disturbed.
- Workers will need to utilize Personal Protective Equipment and air scrubbing, particularly in the crawl space. Containment will be less necessary that typically because the contamination has spread through the entire property.
Who Can Help Me if My Insurance Company Denies My Homeowners Insurance Claim ?
Public Adjusters are experts on property loss adjustment who are retained by policy holders to assist i manage every detail of the claim, working closely with the insured to provide the most equitable and prompt settlement possible. A Public Adjuster inspects the loss site immediately, analyzes the damages, assembles claim support data, reviews the insured's coverage, determines current replacement costs and exclusively serves the client, not the insurance company. You can find these professionals at http://www.napia.com preparing, filing and adjusting insurance claims. Employed exclusively by a policyholder who has sustained an insured loss, these professionals
Heating Tricks for Cold Areas of a Home
When there are areas of a home that do not properly heat or cool, there may be a simple solution. Go to the thermostat and change the fan setting from “auto” to “on”. This continuously mixes the air in the home making the temperature more uniform. This is a solution any homeowner can try today.
Other solutions can be the installation of duct booster fans in the ductwork to the area with insufficient heat, insulation of ductwork to that area, repair of any openings in ductwork, installation of additional ducts or adding supplemental heat
Many empty nesters have areas of a home that they do not want to keep as well heated as others. With new products, it has become very practical to zone heating and cooling. With the new wireless zone dampers we have seen 8 zones installed for a cost of about $ 2,400. The most economical time to have this installed is when the furnace is changed.
Radon System Installation Questions
If a system is installed, can we be sure that the radon is safe?
This has a surprising answer. Simply put, no! We have found improperly installed or modified so as to not operate. When a mitigator installs a system in PA, they are required to test the home for radon within 30 days of completion of the system. Due diligence starts with reviewing that test and make decisions based upon those results and the testing method.
Are there any additional benefits to installing a radon system?
As a matter of fact, yes. The radon system works by removing gases under the slab. That will include water vapor, thereby reducing moisture in the home. In areas over mines, there is often CO venting up through the home. That would be removed. If there is an interior French drain, mold can live in the sump area and the mold will be vented to the exterior.
The house has been shut up for a year, does that mean the radon will be much higher that if it was lived in?
No, radon is a relatively unstable element. It has a ½ life of about 3.8 days. Statistical equilibrium occurs at close to 12 hours. At 3.8 days radioactive decay is perking along and the rate of radon venting into the home are about what it is going to be a 3.8 months or 3.8 years. Because of the decay process, we do not collect a bunch of extra radon in a home because it is closed up.
Odors in the Home Can Have Many Sources and Signal Serious Health Risks
The scientific literature describes the sense of smell as a built-in warning system to alert humans and other animals of hazards that frequently cannot be seen or otherwise sensed. The American Conference of Government Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) has been a leader in the expert determination of minimum odor threshold ranges for humans for the purpose of determining whether the sensing of an odor may be associated with a worker health hazard, particularly in industrial settings. One fact that has become clear based on an extensive number of ACGIH surveys is that the minimum concentration level (odor threshold) at which an odor can be discerned is highly variable from person to person, with the range on most substances being a full order of magnitude. Some chemical vapors, such as mercury, are odorless, and therefore are absent of any odor warning properties. Carbon monoxide is also odorless; however, in many cases, other hydrocarbon combustion odors are discernible, thereby providing a good indication of the potential presence of hazardous levels of carbon monoxide.
Other chemicals, such as anhydrous ammonia, can cause almost immediate olfactory fatigue, such that a person’s ability to perceive this highly toxic chemical vapor hazard is very rapidly vanquished. Still other hazardous chemicals, such as DBCP (dioxin), are highly toxic at very low concentrations that are much lower than the minimum odor detection thresholds for humans.
Other commonly reported odor complaints that investigators have been responding to for many years include chemical vapors/odors released as a result of fuel oil spills, soil vapor intrusion problems related to hydrocarbon based solvent vapors (VOC’s) often resulting from a building’s prior use as a manufacturing or dry cleaning facility where chemicals have been spilled, rotten egg-type odors that are frequently related to damaged or infrequently used drain lines, and odors related to clandestine illicit drug production. Most people when asked acknowledge that they recognize the smell of an odor that they would characterize as musty or moldy. Such odors provide a very good warning indicator of there being mold growth conditions in the indoor environment. Mold odors are caused by the volatilization of very caustic enzymes that are secreted through the mycelia (similar to a root system) of mold, which is the process by which molds dissolve organic materials such that the nutrients can be absorbed to provide sustenance and growth. It should be noted that mold will secrete digestive enzymes only when there is sufficient moisture, and therefore, the presence of a mold-related odor strongly suggests that there is an active moisture intrusion, plumbing leak or condensation problem.
How can I tell if my radon tester or mitigator has a valid license?
The PA DEP website has a page to validate licenses. It is not silly to check that site. This inspector has discovered both testers and mitigators operating without a license. One such individual had been on a major Realtor franchise preferred list. That particular incident was discovered when the radon test revealed that the level of the radon was over 30 pCi/l in a home with a mitigation system installed by that mitigator. That website can be found on links from our websites.
That link is: http://www.dep.state.pa.us/brp/Radon_Division/Rn_Services_Directory/Directory_Mainpage.htm
If a system is installed, can we be sure that the radon is safe?
This has a surprising answer. Simply put, no! We have found improperly installed or modified so as to not operate. When a mitigator installs a system in PA, they are required to test the home for radon within 30 days of completion of the system. Due diligence starts with reviewing that test and make decisions based upon those results and the testing method.
The people have lived in the home for 50 years and never got sick. How can there be a bad mold problem?
There are kids that can eat a peanut and become deathly ill. Other children live on PB and J. We are individualized in how we react to the environment around us. We have had clients live in a home with the same condition for decades and never become sick. That is…. until those people have another illness or the aging process diminishes their immune
systems. We are the sum total of all of our exposures, and let me tell you, new exposures are being created every day with new products, systems and chemicals. A new production printer in an office has the potential to “off gas” chemicals that weaken your immune system enough that another exposure makes you ill. As the kids say today: “It’s complicated”.
Front Loading Washing Machines can be a Health Hazard
Washing machine front-loaders don’t have a spotless reputation. One issue seems unique to front-loaders: mold buildup in the rubber gasket of the door and the resulting odor on clothes. The mold problem is so widespread that class-action suits are targeting LG, Whirlpool, and Sears, whose Kenmore front-loaders are made by Whirlpool. The Maytag Neptune front-loading washer line has been part of a similar lawsuit, for which a settlement was reached.
Consumer Report Article About Mold Hazard in Washing Machines & Class Action Suit
Why does carbon monoxide only come back into the home some of the time?
Chimneys do not work as well when they are cold than when the weather is warmer. (That whole "warm air rises" and "chimneys are cold in winter" facts of physics) Also with the installation of higher efficiency furnaces that use fans to exhaust eh fumes in the furnace, these furnaces will draw fumes back from a hot water tank or clothes dryer into the home when the furnace is working
Can my gas dryer or may gas “ventless” fireplace or space heater vent CO back into the home?
Your dryer can vent back into the home. A blocked vent with lint is one cause. As mentioned above, a furnace with a direct vent system can pull the fumes back into the home
The Hot Water in the Home Smells Bad. What is the Problem?
When the hot water smalls like rotten eggs and the cold water does not small as bad, it is usually the result of organisms living in the hot water tank. Often this is Legionella which will survive up to 140.0 f, but can be other organic materials. The manufacturers offer replacement anodes that they will tell you “may” eliminate the problem, but often do not. Tank replacement is usually the answer. The bottom line is that turning your hot water tank to a low level for an extended time may be unhealthy for future residents and may create the need for tank replacement.
How can one person in a home have MCS or reactions to mold and the person not have any ill health?
The answer is that: “life is complicated.”
Exposures are considered as “time loaded” What that means is that long term low exposures can have the same effect as high short term exposures. One spouse spending an average of 20 hours a day in the home has different exposures than another with an average of 12 hours a day. A person that had an exposure to pesticide when their parents poured Chlordane around the family home when they were a child has a different exposure experience than others.
It is often the case that for the average “healthy” individual , the toxic chemical in question poses no significant health risk but that to the multiple chemical sensitivity sufferer, that same “dose” of chemical can cause all manner of unpleasant or even dangerous symptoms.
The healthy individual is not affected because:
1. they are not allergic or sensitized to that toxin
2. the toxin is present at a sufficiently low level so as not to cause the normal toxic reaction that would be experienced by all.
3. they are exposed to the toxin for a period of time which is so short as not to produce any symptoms.
The multiple chemical sensitivity sufferer, by contrast, will often react severely to a very brief exposure of an extremely low level of excitant (trigger) - [ parts per million / pp billion]. As well as a predisposition to allergy and multiple chemical sensitivity on the part of the sufferer, there is also the nature of the toxin itself to be taken into account, as some chemicals and materials have an inherent tendency to sensitize, while others are essentially inert.
Your Real Estate Professional Should be "Playing to Win", Not "Making a Sale at any Cost"
OUR ADVICE TO REAL ESTATE PROFESSIONALS
Pick your favorite sports team. What flashes into your mind if the game plan becomes “not to lose”? Yep, you expect them to get burned by the little plays and risk winning the game. Real winners just don’t do that. We hate it when the team doesn’t play to win! When the goal becomes surviving instead of winning, surviving is usually the best that happens.
There is no scoreboard standing in the end zone in business. As professionals we get to define what winning means to each of us. For real winners, the trophy is not the single commission, sale or transaction. The trophy is the trust of your client and continuity business. You want that pile of trust to be so very high that they hand some of that trust over to their family and friends while keeping enough for them that they store it in their mental closet for the next time they need your services. One potential deal can turn into dozens of deals in the future if we earn the business.
Expect your referral network to understand what winning really is and deliver what it takes to earn that client trust. If you want to win, you go with a team of winners. Your team should support each other. They should communicate to the shared client that “if this does not work out, we are still there for you until you do find the right solution for your needs.” I make sure that I tell my clients “if you lose the house, do not lose the people who have helped you get here.”
Be fearless in the pursuit of winning. Champions do lose, but they build on that loss and come back to win again. If the deal blows, and one of the referral team has made it clear that they will be unhappy if the deal falls apart, the client will not have the comfort level to come back to do the right deal with you and your team. There are inspectors that will spend an hour in the home and word things just right to make the buyer feel comfortable, but not spend the time to educate them about how to deal with the care of the home.
There are appraisers who will ask: “what number do I need to make” and mortgage brokers who will “create documents” to get a deal done. Select your team as if they were working for your child. I treat each inspection as if my own child was the client, and just so you know, I like my kids….a lot.
If the home buyer loses the home to foreclosure, has a major expense that cripples their ability to meet other desires or needs, if someone is injured in the home, or other tragedy happens, they will be angry for the rest of their lives. One mention of your name from an injured client a decade from now could cost you the largest sale of your life.
An amazing thing is after 30 years and 14,000 inspections experience, what I am about to tell you should not be true, but is. I have done many inspections on a second property for clients after a deal fell apart. Every single time that has happened, the buyer was happier about the second choice than they were about the first selection.
If they have stayed with the same professionals, they have raved about the professionals that worked with them when they lost the first property. On the other hand, the ones with new professionals were also yapping bad things about the people who tried to make them buy a “bad” house.
Is radon worth checking in Western PA?
Western PA has a 58% failure rate. Nationally there is approximately a 15% failure rate. Our varied geology and high uranium content rocks make us a high risk area. As an interesting side note, the types of rocks that allow for Marcellus oil and gas are often very high in Uranium, which becomes the radon entering our homes.
Is radon really a health risk?
Simply put, it is the second leading cause of lung cancer after the voluntary cause of smoking.
So why test when purchasing a home?
It is a deadline and people tend to only do things when there is a deadline. It is also an opportunity to negotiate with current owners to participate in the cost of a remediation system. Conversely, if you wait until you are the seller and the next buyer has the test done, you could be the person contributing to the cost of radon mitigation…having already exposed yourself and family to the risks of high radon.
MOLD REMEDIATION EXPLAINED
Remediation should be conducted with concern for health conditions of occupants.
The process of killing mold is only a portion of professional "remediation" job. . The other concern that needs addressed and corrected is the cause or "source" of the mold. This is called "sourcing." If the environment that allowed the mold growth to occur in the first place is not corrected, it, or another mold will recur. That is why we suggest correcting the ventilation issues that caused the contamination.
Picture of you have a garden with weeds. If there is soil and wet conditions, even when you pull all of the weeds that are there today, new ones will grow if you do not do something to stop that from happening. Some people put plastic or a poison on the area to stop weeds, but we all know that if the conditions do not change, the weeds will be back We need to change the conditions in the property. As a guideline, we want indoor air humidity to be less than 40% to 50%, and all cavities and surfaces free of wetness.
There is a reason to hire a professional, qualified and properly equipped professional remediator
Remediation needs to be done with levels of protection.
Contaminated materials need to be wrapped and carried out of the building while enclosed so as not to allow contaminated materials to harm others.
People can be made very ill, or even "very dead" by personal mold contamination. Workers need protected with masks, gloves and suits. The area of work needs protected with an airlock, usually simple, overlapping plastic doors that appear like the scene you may remember from the movie "ET the Extraterrestrial".
There is equipment that scrubs (removes) the disturbed mold spores from the air. As the mold occurs with high moisture, there is usually dehumidification machines used in the remediation process.
At the end of the work, you should have proof that the work was effective in removing the mold. This is done by conducting a "clearance test" also known as a PRV, short for "post-remediation-verification"
Accepted procedure is that clearance testing should not be conducted by the remediator.
Some remediation firms offer a severe discount, often less in cost than the lab fees, in the testing in order to avoid being told the job needs redone. I have found that even the very best firms fail the clearance simply because we can’t see mold spores, and they can hide in areas we can’t see.
If the firm doing the remediation does the clearance, it is very similar to having the fox in the hen house count the hens left in the hen house at the end of the day.
Should you not want to have this tester perform the clearance test, still have the clearance tests done by a tester that is independent and qualified.
What can be the cause of mold contamination ?
There is obvious water intrusion such as roof and basement leaks. There are also the “not so obvious” leaks. These include the existence of crawl spaces and interior French drains. There are also the minor plumbing leaks that have gone on for a long time, but only look damp but hide lots of moisture behind walls. There are also the sneaky leaks such as from air conditioning systems, leaking windows and doors, patios or porches that touch the house wall, but are not caulked, or decks with bolts into the home that are not sealed. Sewer backups or prior flooding can be a source of mold as well as disease.
Termites Living in Asbestos Insulation
We want to "disturb" the termites......like have them be gone. On the other hand, we do not want to disturb the asbestos pipe insulation. This is a job for a very good professional.
This is the type of thing we regulary find when we inspect homes.
DIRTY A-COIL IS A SOURCE OF ASTHMA TRIGGERS, ALLERGENS AND MOLD
This is a dirty "A Coil" This is the part inside of your furnace that becomes cold when the air conditioner is operating. The blower pushes air over the cold A-Coil and the house chills. This area also collects condensation just like a glass of ice water would sitting out on the 4th of July. That water collects on and in the tray under the coil.
However, when a coil is this dirty, mold also grows on the dirt and moisture on the coil. As apart of regular furnace maintenance, this cleaning is usually ignored. Even more surprising, we often find that the A-Coil and furnace blower are not cleaned when the ductwork is cleaned. This blows the mold and dirt into the ductwork and air in the home as soon as the unit turns on. So much wasted money and effort for cleaning the ductwork....if these other areas are not also cleaned
WHEN DUCT CLEANING IS NOT ENOUGH
The owners paid over $ 800.00 to have the furnace ductwork cleaned, but take the furnace blower was not touched. This was in a Pittsburgh home where I wsa the inspector.
Imagine what happened with the clean ductwork when this blower turned on for the first time after the cleaning.
Make sure that the blower and the A-coil for the air condioner are cleaned when the ductwork is doen or you are throwing your money away. Tp check if this is clean, remove the front of the furnace and inspect the area of the blower.
Finding the best surveyor for your property
In answer to your question as to who is the best surveyor to hire:, I do know some very good surveyors, but they are not likely the best choice for these clients.
That may sound silly at first, but let me explain how a survey works. There needs to be a starting point for measuring.
It needs to be a dependable starting point. A surveyor new to an neighborhood must canvass the area and locate as many points placed by others that they can. It is sometimes pegs placed by other surveyors and sometimes points on sewers or other systems marked on drawings of the area.
Now the problem is that they depend on accuracy of the points that they find. That old "garbage in-garbage out" axiom.
To give them the best chance at accuracy, they find the many points and run each against the drawings. They then eliminate markings that can not be correct and do an overlay to see if a consistent set of points from several sources are available.
They then mark the points on the property they are surveying from that collection of most reliable points.
Back to where I started. The first time any surveyor in Pittsburgh or any other are does a neighborhood it is a very expensive and time intensive process. However, if you have done a neighborhood and have starting points, it is a much simpler and hence very much less expensive job.
The bottom line is the you need to find the surveyor whose stamp is on a plot plan of the home. Often a retired surveyor has sold their prior work to a practicing surveyor if you find that the company whose stamp is on a drawing is not longer in business. The next best surveyor is one who has done a survey as close to the lot in question as possible or the firm that has surveyed for the sewer authority or water authority on that street. If a new street or bridge project was done nearby, there is likely a firm that preformed that survey.
If you can not find a neighbor who knows anyone who as surveyed on the street, it is a good plan to just pick up the phone and call the local professionals and ask if they have done the neighborhood.
Just because the foundation is sinking..... don't worry, the inspector won't see it.
Amazing. The only things the seller left at the home was this stack of materials, perfectly located to hide the fact that this additiona has settled mor than 4" in this corner.
JUST LOOK TWICE
The steps are pulling loose from the framing. Close inspection will show that the post of the railing is coming loose and the area under the steps is not accessible because of the plaster. Since you really do not want to have your steps or railing pull loose, this will require some expensive custom carpentry work.
68 Year Old Hot water Tank
This is a 68 year old electric hot water tank. So how does this inpector answer the question: How long should this last ? This is like asking how long a 100 year old man should live....It is amazing. The only older hot water tanks that I have seen were "Side Arm: cast iron tanks and experimental aluminum lines tanks made by Alcoa Aluminum Reasearch. Alcoa "grew up" in Pittsburgh, and the reasearch center was very near the inspection where the Aluminum tank was found.
CSST GAS LINE and BOND CLAMP The yellow coated gas line is Coated Stainless Steel Tubing (CSST) This was a great idea. The flexible pipe means that far fewer fittings are needed than with the traditional solid black iron pipe. The problem with this pipe is the when a home is hit with lightening, well, the pipe gets a big hole and blows up the home. To protect this from happening, a ground bond such as this is required. Almost 1/2 of the homes with this line that I have inspected do nbot have this simply, low cost, safety feature than can prevent a home from blowing up.
March 18, 2011
This is the EPA's booklet on cleaning up after a flood. It is few on words, high on pictures, but when you are faced with the mud in your home, technical reading is not easy to do. It is missing important information like how to save the family bible. More on this later
December 16, 2010
December 16th, 2010 8:34 AM
This house did not have any visible mold. There was an odor of mold, but nothing visible on the exposed walls. This video shows the toxic mold and where it was hiding, waiting to make people sick.
February 22nd, 2010
Why Is There Mold In Homes?
By Dan Howard, Founder of Home Inspections By Dan Howard
There is no place on earth where there is food and water without something growing. That something can range from fish to algae to redwood trees and elephants, but where there is food and water, things grow. The life that lives in any particular set of conditions, or climate is the best suited for that set of conditions. The homes environment is why there is mold in some homes.
In the mold world, different molds live in different conditions. Some of these molds affect the health of people. The molds that tend to live in the wet areas, tend to be more toxic to the health of people, particularly those persons with poor health.
Climates differ within even a small area inside of a home. A moderate moisture mold can live on the exposed wall surfaces such as paneling or drywall, while “wet” molds can be living inside of that very same wall. A wall covered with the white fuzzy mold known as Penicillium, can have a potentially toxic mold living on the interior side of the wall. The difference between those two areas is that while an exposed surface can dry out between the leaks that are the source of the moisture causing the mold, the interior of the wall can’t dry out. This is similar to having grass and trees on a hillside and the pond plants such as cat of nine tails living in the soggy marsh at the bottom of the hill.
There are many types of mold and these are not easily identified using the naked eye.
Because we can’t see on a microscopic level, we need to test for types any quantities of mold inside of a living area. Identifying the type of mold is considered a qualitative test. These are done using air testing and swab testing. Air testing consists of pulling a measured amount of room air thought a small cassette containing a glass microscope slide that collects the spores on a sticky surface. The swab test is a cotton swab that is the same product as you may have has used to swab your throat to test for Strep Throat. “Tape lifts” are glass slides used in the same manner as the cotton swab to “lift” the spores so that they can be placed under a microscope.
The limitation in swab or tape lift test is that it is not “quantitative” or “all inclusive.” The air test has a measured volume of air, with a predictable method to calculate the amount of mold in the air we breath in a particular room. The air test can capture spores from mold living in the areas we do not touch with the swab. The carpet or drapes, or windows could have mold that is not on the area we swabbed. These are molds that are missed or not included. It also can’t tell us anything about how much mold is in the air we breath.
The air test is not an absolute test. The air tests are measuring spores, and not the total number of mold plants inside of a building. This is like counting the number of tomatoes that a garden produces to calculate the number of tomato plants. With the moderate size and weather tomato plants, that can be a fairly accurate method. However, we need to adjust for the type of tomatoes. We know that “grape tomatoes” make lots of tomatoes per plant. When we see those, we need to adjust the number for that factor. We also know that Beefsteak tomatoes are huge and wonderful tomatoes, but you do not get as many of those per plant. Knowing these differences is important in interpreting your mold test results, and reason to have a very qualified professional. Is is one thing to understand why there is mold in your home and another to k now how to keep I from returning.
February 19th, 2010
The Missing Link In Senior Care Services
By Dan Howard, Founder of Home Inspections By Dan Howard
When we think of senior care services for parents, we usually start with the most obvious questions. Should they stay at home with help from caring providers, or should they go to a long term care facility? How will we know when it is time for them to go to a long term care facility? These questions are important in considering senior care services, but they’re not the only ones to be addressed.
Many seniors have lost their savings with the current economy. Staying at home as long as possible is not just a luxury of maintaining an independent quality of life, it is sometimes an economic necessity.
It takes a trained eye to be able to evaluate an entire home for potential safety hazards. This should be the first step in your process in adding senior care services to keep parents safe in their homes as long as possible . Even the best traditional in home senior care services only inspect for issues such as access, railings and tripping hazards.
The Senior Home Safety Network is a service skilled and dedicated to looking at the systems of the home for safety. This network provides inspection services that check for hazards such as carbon monoxide, electrical hazards, plumbing defects and many other basic safety hazards for clients needing Senior Care Services.
Traditional Senior Care Service companies do not have specialized tools such as carbon monoxide or combustible gas detectors, nor do they have the training required to use this equipment. The traditional service providers are involved with the people who they care for, the Senior Home Safety Network inspectors are focused on the home.
As an example of how important the distinction can be, consider that a Senior Care Service health care provider orders “in home” respiratory care. This is important as respiratory issues can be the cause of a senior’s decline in health. Very often, the trigger or cause for the respiratory illness can be mold or a water intrusion problem. No matter how many “in home” respiratory sessions are performed, the senior can’t get well until the cause of the illness is removed from the home. This situation is where the Senior Home Safety Network Inspector can find the cause of the problem and suggest the best way to correct the cause of the health problem.
The Senior Home Safety Network brings the experience of the best home inspectors into the team of caring professionals that can keep them in their homes as long as possible. The Network is teamed with the American Society of Home Inspectors, also known as ASHI help bring the best in experienced home inspectors into the senior’s homes. The network checks all inspectors for state police clearances for the protection of its clients and provides each inspector with photo identification badges to add the level of security and safety that should be a part of Senior Care Services.
Make your parents’ golden years safe as possible while protecting their financial position. They may need their nest egg for more serious health issues than they are facing today. Keep them at home. They deserve the quality of life it provides.
February 17th, 2010
Aging In Place Is A Right
By Dan Howard, Founder of Home Inspections By Dan Howard
Nursing Homes are quite often a scary place to your parents. While they are now much less “institutional,” they still often represent a loss of freedom and quality of life to a senior. More people are opting for “aging in place”. While in their homes, they can be surrounded with their possessions and memories and choose the simple things like when have lunch or retire for the evening.
Before most of us were born, it was simply a matter of course that the aging population was cared for by the younger generation. As time moved on, this became less the norm, and the older generation came to expect to live in nursing facilities.
Aging in place is a concept born out of necessity. With the baby boomer generation hitting retirement, nursing home populations threaten to exceed our resources. New ways of thinking about caring for our aging population are necessary.
Thus was born the Home Health industry. This went a long way toward enabling the aging population to stay at home. Aging in place became a real option, as home health care services were brought to the patients’ homes. However, this doesn’t effectively deal with all the needs of the at-home elderly.
After retirement, too few of the senior population are able to maintain their homes. They often have to scale back in their living expenses, and that sometimes even includes living in less expensive homes. The aging in place seniors may have to rely their children who are often living in another part of the country.
The senior may not notice that the wiring may be old and worn. Plumbing or heating issues may be a problem. These and many other hazards are potential issues that the aging in place often face that are serious health risks
Whether they manage to stay in their homes or live with their children, the aging in place still have increased safety issues to consider. As people age, their body is more frail than it once was. Immune systems fail. Skin tears, broken bones and infections are much more serious issues as MRSA or Legionella and other exposures can harm seniors.
To this end, Senior Home Safety Network inspections can be a godsend. Even the most conscientious children do not have the experience, tools or time to check all of the potential problems in a parent’s home. Safety problems can fall through the cracks. You see it all the time in the news.
The benefit Senior Home Safety Network Inspections provide is that they specialize in helping the aging in place. The senior home safety inspector’s attention is in providing the information on home safety, not trying to sell the construction services that are needed. Contractors not properly identifying what is needed to keep the seniors home safe is a major consumer complaint in our nation.
Children of seniors living away from their parents can have peace of mind knowing that their parents are safe. When each of us were children, our parents kept us safe. Now it is our turn to keep our parents safe.
February 14th, 2010
Hire An Honest Inspector: Buyers Asking Their Inspector To "Adjust" The Report
By Dan Howard, Founder of Home Inspections By Dan Howard
There is a related set of issues. Imagine the “buyer” client who wants a report or findings adjusted to benefit them in the negotiations. Attempts with me have ranged from the flat out “I need to have the price adjusted $10,000 and need you to say it is a bad roof” to the other end of the spectrum which is “I really want this house and need a passing test on the septic system”. The rationale used by clients is nothing short of amazing. One approach is the simple “that is why I hired you”. I personally take that approach as fairly insulting, I assume, which is not appropriate for an inspector to do about anything that I am hired because I am trustworthy and a highly skilled and trained professional at inspecting a home. The concept that I am hired to benefit my client by misrepresenting the truth does not work for me. You should hire an honest inspector. If an inspector will cheat for a client, they will also cheat a client.
I do share with a client a number of thoughts. The first is that I make a very good living because I tell the truth, and am not willing to change that business plan. I also observe that if I adjusted my opinion for them and a few years down the road, I inspected a home they were selling, what would that do to the sales process ? If I had been adjusting my opinions of fact to serve my client’s interests, my words and opinions would not have meaning for the negotiation they were involved in today. Again, the best policy is to hire an honest inspector.
Then there s the “just for fun” answer. I mention a local inspection company that will adjust any findings. They have never disappointed anyone, so to speak. They will report anything you want, at a discounted price. Hiring an honest inspector usually costs more than hiring a cheat.
The “write your own report results company” is the only competition that has been around more than 15 years. Agents tell other agents to get that company for the “difficult to sell” properties. They are busy, busy, and busy. However, they are also on the verge of going out of business due to the lawsuits. It seems that the buyers who will do anything to get a home through the mortgage process so that they can live in the dream home, sometimes ( only sometimes) loose the gleam off the new toy and decide that someone other than them should pay for the needed, but undone repairs, that they now live with as owners. Oh well, at least that inspection company is busy, even if they are spending their money on attorneys. The legal system needs a stimulus too. The best policy is hire an honest and thorough inspector.
January 10th, 2010
Home Warranty Insurance Fraud
By Dan Howard, Founder of Home Inspections By Dan Howard
The furnace has several cracks in each of the four chambers of the heat exchanger. This was verified using a video boroscope.
The buyer was able to see the cracks and the agent was offered the opportunity to view them. That offer was declined. You have heard the expression….”see no evil, know no evil….even if you heard the evil”
Other than the fact that the heat exchanger was cracked, there was little else wrong with the 80year old house, There were some minor electrical issues, live termites and carpenter ants, but not much else. This was an estate and the deal was easily going forward even with the furnace and wood destroying insect issues
The report was near done and the buyer’s father came in to speak with me. He had just gotten off the phone with the agent and she had told him how she wanted the furnace issue handled. Her suggestion was to have the buyer purchase a home warranty on the house. The plan was to wait until closing and then have a furnace technician come to the home and THEN “discover” that the heat exchanger had cracks. This is Home Warranty Insurance fraud.
The buyer and his father wanted to know what I thought of the plan. I had three major thoughts, but only shared two with them.
The first thought was simply the words “ Home Warranty Insurance fraud”. Pretty simple, to get the claim paid, the insurance company would need to be defrauded. That is a crime throughout the country, but where we are at, Pennsylvania, it is not only a crime, it’s an aggressively prosecuted crime. Now I also have a strong ethical objection to the plan, but he was asking if he could get away with it, and that was probably the most compelling argument.
The second thought was even more practical than the argument that being put in jail and having your reputation and life ruined is an experience to be avoided. Many of the home warranty insurance companies will reject claims for heat exchangers. Cracks in heat exchangers are usually the result of wear and tear and can be inferred to be pre-existing conditions.
The third argument was kept to myself. The Realtor was putting the buyer in the position of, at the very least lying to an insurance company and several other parties to the transaction. She was also putting herself in the position of convincing other parties to join the fraud in order to get the house to “close” and thereby provide her with a commission. Here is the lesson: this agent will lie to obtain her commission. If she will lie to the insurance company, she will lie to the buyers. She can’t be trusted. People are who they are. If they are unethical, they are unethical.
Almost every home inspection or realtor skill can be taught. Integrity can’t be taught and is very difficult to reclaim if it is lost. The buyer wanted the report to reflect that the furnace did not have a problem, just to help the plan. Nothing big here, just do not say anything about the furnace, be a good guy and help everybody out. If I had agreed to provide the documentation to support “the plan”, I too would be untrustworthy and not referable. That is a very bad business plan in addition to the whole soul part of standing for the truth.
No, I will not participate in such schemes. It was not the first time and will not be the last time I am asked such a question. Each time, it is the same answer. End of that story.
January 5th, 2010
When Caring For Parents, Don't Forget The Senior Home Safety Inspection
By Dan Howard, Founder of Home Inspections By Dan Howard
An issue that we will all probably face in our lives is caring for our parent’s needs as they age. Our parents cared for us when we were children and we should care for them as they face declining health and loss of independence. Eventually, as parents, we will come to rely on our children to assist us with our needs, as they in turn may need to care for us, their parents.
Caring for parents as they get older can take its toll physically and emotionally. as once independent persons need more and more help. Their memory may be slipping. Those creaky bones may not carry them as well as they used to. They may become more susceptible to illness making it difficult, if not impossible for them to care for their own, home.. As children, we are often kept away from helping them by competing time commitments, or by geographic distance. A child in California can’t easily care for parents a few states away.
When caring for parents as they get older, denial is the enemy. They may often believe that they are better or worse than they actually are. They often work hard to cover their problems to spare their children. You have to often be the realist.
A parent can stay in their home with dignity, their memories and independence with the help of family and professionals when you need to.
All the same, when caring for parents, you should aim for as much independence as possible. Staying at home isn’t usually just a pipe dream; it can be done, and it’s better for their dignity to do so.
Home Health Agencies can often be called in to take care of their personal needs such as medication management, exercise and hygiene. Of course, this will require a lot of adaptation.
One often overlooked aspect in caring for parents is the home environment itself. As the body ages, it becomes more susceptible to injury, illness and infection. Bones and skin become more brittle, the healing process often takes longer, and their immunity is usually decreased. Prevention, as they say, is the best medicine.
Typical features in a home can become dangerous. When caring for parents, you have to be able to take into consideration all health and safety hazards. Many of these aren’t as obvious threats as others. Rugs, for instance, can provide a tripping hazard, which can lead to bruising, abrasions and broken bones. If your parent is living alone, this can spell disaster.
It is a proven fact that medication errors and environmental hazards are top dangers of the at-home elderly, and are a top concern when caring for parents. Home Health Agencies can address the first issue readily, but they often lack the training to handle the second.
To answer the demand for home safety, Senior Home Safety Inspection services are beginning to appear. Leaving the caring for parent’s personal needs to you and the Home Health Agencies, they focus on how to make the home safe for them to stay there. If you are faced with caring for your parent, it is in your best interest to include them in your list of agencies.
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