The Importance of Proper Drainage Systems for Your Home’s Health: Types of Residential Drainage Systems to Consider

A well-designed drainage system is essential to remove excess water from your house and helps in the prevention of water-related damage to a home or building. The main objective of a drainage system is to collect and remove waste matter to maintain healthy conditions in and around a building. Having a depth of knowledge about
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Keeping Your Air Quality Clean During A California Wildfire

How to Improve the Air Quality in Your Home and Car During Wildfire Season The smoke season over the past four years has kept us very busy measuring and mitigating wildfire smoke and our air quality. On top of California’s extended drought, this year has also delivered extreme heat and massive lighting storms contributing to
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Mitigating Potential COVID-19 Exposure with HVAC Systems

How HVAC Systems Help Reduce Potential COVID-19 Exposure: As the economy begins to reopen and we return to our buildings, what role do building ventilation systems play in reducing our risks of infection? Infection via inhalation or contact with droplets is well understood at this point. Another potential exposure route being discussed is exposure via
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Maintaining Healthy Indoor Air Quality During Fire Season

I’ve lived in California for over 30 years. Most of that time I never really thought about wildfires; their destructive flames seemed only possible in the movies. That has changed, not just for me, but for most Californians, who have become brutally aware of the very real threat wildfire poses. While fire itself is by
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Lead Dust Testing Outside?

Lead Testing using XRF Gun
Dust Settling on Outside Patio or Furniture? I was sitting on my porch in San Francisco watching kids play on the wooden deck and started to wonder, “is the dust on my porch contaminated with lead dust? If so, how best to clean it up?” So I did a little experiment and tested for lead
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A Clean Crawlspace is Better For You and Your Home

Clean Crawlspaces and Basements are Good for Health
Is a Clean Crawlspace Really That Important? Crawlspaces are generally not what anyone would consider “clean.” When was the last time you went into a crawlspace? It’s typically a dark, dank environment where critters and odors scare away even the bravest DIY building owners. Often old construction materials and cardboard boxes are crammed down below,
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Wildfire Smoke and Indoor Air Quality

Wildfire Smoke
Bay Area Wildfire Smoke and Indoor Air Quality I am writing this on November 13, 2018.  For the past week the state of California has been cloaked in thick, noxious smoke from the wildfires burning out of control.  Northern California is mostly affected by the Camp Fire near Chico, CA and Southern California by the
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Cleaning Up a Cannabis Grow Operation

How to Clean Up a Weed Grow Operation
With the legalization of marijuana, some black-market growers are abandoning their illegal cannabis grow operations. Grow ops, often set up in rented properties, can leave a mess for landlords to clean up. Many of these properties are put up for sale and then become the responsibility of the home buyer. Identifying a grow op is 
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Soil Testing and Contamination Top 10

Soil Testing
Top 10 things people should know about soil quality and soil contamination: Site history matters! If your lot is over an orchard, old landfill or leaking underground storage tank, there will likely be pollution indicators present. Building history matters. If there is (or was) a structure built before 1980 on the property, there have likely
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Healthy Home: Check for Lead in Plastic Toys and Painted Wood

Home Lead Testing with XRF is for Lead Inspection Expert
Home Lead Testing There are DIY home lead test kits available online and in some hardware stores, but the more reliable way of evaluating a home and its contents for lead risks is to hire a lead inspector. A lead inspector may utilize bulk sampling, which is destructive and will leave holes in materials, or
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