The Incredibly Green Home Blog

Merry Christmas Everyone! Hope you had the chance to spend time with family and friends. I am fortunate to have most of my family right here in the DC area, and my older brother brought his two children down from Montreal for the weekend. We spent Christmas day at my folks house in Olney, and had a great time as usual.

My younger brother, Steve, and his wife Karen live in DC in an older building and they are in the midst of a major kitchen renovation. Their son Benjamin is now two, and like so many kids these days, he suffers from asthma. He had an attack on Christmas Eve that nearly sent him to the hospital. That got me thinking about the "healthy home" features of The Incredibly Green Home and how I wish Steve's family lived there. I truly believe that Ben would be a happier, healthier boy if that were the case.

Just to review, here's a list of the major features of the home that make it a "healthy home".

1. Central Vac with main unit in garage and vented to outdoors.
2. The only carpet is in the home theater. Allergens such as dust mites, pollen and other contaminants cannot get trapped on wood and bamboo floors.
3. Entire home has Certainteed ProRoc mold-resistant drywall
4. Super tight envelope ensures that the vast majority of air coming into home is first filtered by MERV 13 filters.
5. All finishes, sealants and adhesives are VOC compliant.
6. All engineered wood products are made with no-urea added formaldahyde.
7. Ductwork was sealed with mastic during construction. This prevents any unwanted construction debris from contaminating the system.
8. Multiple redundant systems designed to ensure that moisture is kept out of home, minimizing the chance of mold and mildew.
9. All bathrooms have humidstats, again to reduce chance of mold and mildew.
10. Programmable thermostat has humidity monitoring and control. Too much humidity leads to mold, too little leads to dry nasal passages, chapped lips, and gaps in your hardwood floor.
11. All cracks and seams caulked and sealed.  Outlet and switch boxes are caulked.
12. Sealed sump crocks with active radon control systems.
13. All combustion appliances externally vented, eliminating carbon monoxide and other toxins.
14. Garage fan connected to motion sensor, so when the vehicle pulls into the garage, exhaust is removed from home.

Finally, the home passed final inspection for the EPA Indoor AirPLUS certification on Wednesday the 23rd. Halleluliah!

So, with the soaring rates of asthma in this country, it would seem that the public would start demanding these features in their new homes. As usual, Bethesda Bungalows is leading the charge, and everyone else is going to have to catch up. Lets hope the future owner of The Incredibly Green Home values all of the extra attention to detail we have given this home. Going into the Spring '10 market, it will probably be the only home in the area with these features, and we hope that helps to sell it.

Here's to the end of the decade that is the Zeroes - bring on the Tens!

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The skies are thick these days from the massive onslaught of tree and grass pollens. For many people, this is a difficult time of the year, with swollen and itchy eyes, throat and noses. I have discovered a not-so-secret remedy for these symptoms, which I will tell you about in a moment.

But first, I'd like to mention that The Incredibly Green Home would be a perfect place to live for someone with seasonal allergies. Why? Because the home will have an insulation package and HVAC system that will provide outstanding indoor air quality. A multiphase filtration process ensures that any pollen that comes in through the fresh air supply will be filtered a Honeywell Electronic Air Filter, one in each zone. The Icynene insulation provides a super tight house that allows very little outside air infiltration, great for when the trees are in bloom.

My remedy for pollen allergies? Graminex PollenAid flower pollen extract. Thats right, you fight fire with fire. PollenAid contains the extracted miniscule kernels of pollen, but none of the outer husks of the pollen which makes you sneeze. Flower pollen is far superior to bee pollen because the harvesting process of the flowers is mechanized and eliminates contaminates. Bees, as wonderful as they are, collect dust and other foreign substances on their way back to the hive. Flower pollen has been taken by Europeans for decades for all sorts of medicinal purposes, but has only been readily available here in the US for about 10 years.

It just so happens that I met my wife while working at a small company in Laguna Hills CA that distributed flower pollen products. We are still taking pollen on a regular basis, and our symptoms are greatly reduced.  Now, I've got Peter and his wife Liz hooked, too.

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