Comments on: Why Portland’s air (and my home) stinks

By: The Lastest Allergies Tree Pollen Remedies News | Allergies Tree Pollen Remedies Best Super Tips

Fri, 02 Nov 2012 08:20:26 +0000

[…] Why Portland's air (and my home) stinks I can't wait to hear what steps you take to remedy your stinky situation. I have no problem with the smell of my own home (though I do worry that others will smell the salmon I cooked last night … There are however also many toxins and allergens that … Read more on Daily Journal of Commerce (blog) […]

By: Mold Remediation Toronto

Mold Remediation Toronto — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 02:45:09 +0000

I think part of the reason that the indoor air is so toxic is because of poor ventilation. That, and the fact that many of our air fresheners and cleaning agents contain chemicals that are harmful to our health. Top that off with fungal or mold infections, and we definitely have a huge problem.

By: Why Portland’s Air Stinks (Part 2) | Green Hammer

Why Portland’s Air Stinks (Part 2) | Green Hammer — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 15:40:26 +0000

[…] last 91��Ƶ blog post probably had you wondering what to do about your stinky indoor air. Here’s the follow up post […]

By: Why Portland’s Air Stinks (Part 1) | Green Hammer

Why Portland’s Air Stinks (Part 1) | Green Hammer — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 15:34:37 +0000

[…] Read about why indoor air is such a problem over at the Daily Journal of Commerce in Stephen’s latest blog post here. […]

By: Stephen Aiguier

Stephen Aiguier — Thu, 12 Jul 2012 23:25:56 +0000

You are correct a drafty house, (when testing we often 15-30+ ACH50 before weatherization), has increased air circulation and tends to move relative humidity (RH) towards the dry side of 50%, which is certainly better for the building and generally the occupants than an insulated tighter home (for a vintage home we often see 4-9 ACH50 after weatherization) that trends towards the 60%+ RH IF not ventilated properly. That does not mean that a drafty house with structure adjacent to crawl spaces, basements, exterior grade, with poorly ventilated bathrooms, with closets adjacent to exterior walls, beds placed against exterior walls, or small buildings with high occupancy or with chronic bulk water intrusion (water leaks) do not have moisture degradation issues due to constant high moisture outputs and steep indoor vs. outdoor temperature deltas that negatively impact indoor air. Having remodeled hundreds of homes in my career I would actually say that yes there are wet areas in the structure of vintage homes that essentially contribute mold, mildew and bacteria to the indoor air. Certainly there is mold remediation work being done on a multitude of uninsulated vintage homes throughout the Pacific Northwest for these very reasons. Granted less than those poorly detailed and built insulated homes of recent decades. There are however also many toxins and allergens that get into, or are a part of the vintage building shell that contaminate indoor air during negative pressure situations like lead, asbestos, ash, dust and pollens. Again tighter buildings that are insulated do generally have more moisture related issues, but there are also health impacts of having too dry air. Our immune systems become compromised when RH gets below 30% as our mucus membranes (our defense against poor air quality) start drying up, so even though there is less bacteria, mold, pathogens etc. our ability to defend ourselves goes down so our health is negatively impacted. In a short BLOG with a broad audience it’s a challenge to get too specific and I apologize to you for not doing so, but it’s actually a combination of both really high RH and really low RH that plagues my home and impacts my asthma considerably. Because of poor ventilation and a small master bedroom where my wife, myself, sometimes our dog and sometimes our 3 year old daughter sleep we actually in our uninsulated gas furnace home had seen RH at the 70%+ level in the bedroom. This dramatically increased the number of dust mites (I’m allergic to dust mites along with millions of other Americans) and had created a mold issue at the window frames due to heavy condensation. I’ve since corrected these issues, but that was a reality for us. At the same time we also saw RH down at 19% in our living area when we had a wood stove and we would get plagued with sinus related issues. I agree there is a general lack of understanding about how buildings work as a system, especially by the end occupants and unfortunately the majority of design and build professionals, but that is changing and I am actively advocating this change. To properly detail a home to be energy efficient, healthy, durable and consistently comfortable does take a high level of understanding the details from design through implementation. This is exactly why Green Hammer is a vertically integrated design build firm, so we can ensure strong building science knowledge and implementation during the entire build process from our architects to our field staff all of which get building science training continuously as part of our integrated business model. Old drafty houses do not rot out nearly as much as a modern code constructed building, you are absolutely correct and unfortunately the building industry as a whole builds to a lower standard of craftsmanship relative to much of the building in the 1920s, but that does not mean that as a rule a drafty house is healthy for occupants. I am not advocating to tear down beautiful historic architecture, I want to empower people to generally understand how homes work as a system and how they can improve indoor air quality if you execute the details properly whether you are in a vintage or a contemporary home. A properly detailed home with the proper checks and balances designed in can avoid issues related to moisture and even mechanical failures, but again you are correct, if the detail is not executed with knowledge of the impacts than those failures do and will happen. My company comes from a place of everything and anything could fail, so how do you design in natural passive pathways to allow diffusion without condensation, to allow for enough natural ventilation if mechanical ventilation breaks down, to allow water to drain from the buildings when it gets behind the siding or exterior roof cladding. We do hygrothermal (heat and moisture) analysis of our building shells and have traveled the world inspecting buildings and learning design and build methods that approach building science from a belt and suspenders perspective. I agree, proper consideration of thermodyanmics, design and detailed implementation with a strong base of knowledge at all levels should always be considered. You are also correct that I do tend to write passionately, or with emotion. I do however do that with a strong background in building science knowledge and experience and not to create hysteria, but to empower with information. I teach building science to professionals in a 6 month intensive at Earth Advantage Institute because I am emotional and passionate about these issues and feel that as a nation we need to better understand how the design and operation of our buildings effect our health and the health of our planet. Our company is the building science consultant on many large commercial projects in the Portland Metro area because our knowledge is tried, true and trusted by the large architecture, construction and non-profit firms that employ us. I thank you for challenging the concepts that I introduced in my latest BLOG and encourage you to continue questioning how buildings are designed and built to be healthy.

By: mrfd

mrfd — Thu, 12 Jul 2012 18:44:25 +0000

In a vintage (drafty) house, air circulates through the structure, allowing it to stay dry and therefore remain healthy. There are usually no more “mold, mildew and bacteria” inside your 1900-era walls than there are monsters under your 4-year old bed. New (airtight) houses on the other hand leave their occupants at the mercy of (a) misinformed designers and incompetent builders, and (b) mechanical failure of the very systems that are necessary to keep them healthy (ERVs/HRVs/etc.)

In short, old drafty houses are essentially self-correcting, self-healing systems. I’ll grant you that they are also energy hogs and therefore economically unsustainable. On the other end of the spectrum, tight houses are like drive-by-wire systems, they perform extremely well when designed correctly but minor failures beget catastrophic consequences. At the end of the day, mainstream housing is put together by ADD-suffering felons and non-English speakers who make $12 an hour, so there will be failures, and I am sure you know what a minor envelope failure means in a house built of spongy lumber with a 0.5 ACH.

There is a lot more to be said, including the blind reliance of local passivhaus “consultants” on models developed for harsh northern European continental climates, but I doubt any of it would be anything that you don’t already know. Which makes the general tenor of your article (all emotion, no science) objectionable.

By: Adrian J.S. Hale

Adrian J.S. Hale — Thu, 12 Jul 2012 05:01:32 +0000

I like thinking about our homes as living systems. Not many people challenge us to look at the whole of our homes as more than the sum of its parts, but your expertise in this area puts it in clear terms. When reading your post, I don’t just see a stagnant room (kitchen) with a prop (stove), but I see a million daily actions that take place in these spaces, and leave their own marks.

I can’t wait to hear what steps you take to remedy your stinky situation. I have no problem with the smell of my own home (though I do worry that others will smell the salmon I cooked last night when I’ve already become accustomed to it), but I often think about the air my kids are breathing, and I look forward to suggestions about how to make this the best air possible.

Thanks for sharing!

By: Martha Perez

Martha Perez — Wed, 11 Jul 2012 22:32:20 +0000

I love the air in my apartment, but what drives me nuts, are the smokers, standing right outside of my windows, who constantly whiff their nasty smoke, at all times of the day, and night! The smokers used to be permitted to smoke in our atrium area, but now have to smoke on the outside by the streets! I still choke at the large amounts of smoke in the air! It stinks really bad!

By: Stephen Aiguier

Stephen Aiguier — Wed, 11 Jul 2012 17:51:27 +0000

@mrfd I would also invite your reasoning as to why my post is 'so egregious and so ignorant of basic building science.' I am well versed in thermodynamics and how science relates to buildings and am concerned you might have misinterpreted what was being said. I am also open to ideas and perspectives as well and would love to get a better sense of where you are coming from. I apologize if this came off as 'hysterical alarmism', that is not my intention. I am genuinely concerned about indoor air and how that effects myself and my family. I do feel I understand many of the issues and the solutions in regards to indoor air and my intent is to share this knowledge to empower readers.

By: Stephen Aiguier

Stephen Aiguier — Wed, 11 Jul 2012 16:59:59 +0000

I am actually referring to how outdoor air picks up contaminants from the walls, crawl spaces, chimney, attic, electrical plugs etc. and carries the accumulated dust and potential mold, mildew, bacteria, that live in these areas into the indoor air. I am not saying outdoor air is more toxic, in fact as you point out, I say indoor air is 2-5 times and in some cases 100 times more toxic.