For Our Home, Our Health, and Our Environment: Green Cleaning Products A regular and thorough cleaning regime is important in maintaining a healthy indoor environment. The cleaning products we use, however, can have adverse health effects. Most household cleaners can contain a plethora of chemicals. Overexposure to these chemicals can cause a variety of health

Top 10 Tips to Look for Water Damage and Mold in Buildings Every year the rains return, soil dampens, leaks pop up, and mold in buildings becomes much more prevalent than during dry times. This winter’s forecast “El Niño” may bring more rain and possible flooding than California has seen in a decade. Many of

Indoor Air Quality and Brain Performance The Harvard School of Public Health recently released results of a small study that supports what green building enthusiasts have known for years – Indoor Air Quality and Brain Performance are directly connected. While small (24 real people), the double-blind study appears to have been well crafted and executed under exacting controls. The researchers

Mold, Moisture and El Nino  Now that the days are shorter and a few rain storms have come through the region, we can’t help but feel that winter is officially here. With all this talk about El Nino, some people are left wondering where is it? Mold, moisture and El Nino go together. Is your

Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ),Work Performance, and Health A peer reviewed paper on quantitative relations between indoor environmental quality (IEQ) and work performance or health from the Helsinki University of Technology and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory presents relationships between ventilation rates, temperature, and perceived air quality to short term sick leave, work performance, and sick

Sick Building Syndrome and Building Related Illness What is the Difference? Sick Building Syndrome and Building Related Illness are two distinct diagnoses. People often use the term “sick building” when referring to a property, but buildings don’t get sick – people do. I believe if there are numerous people suffering from Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) it’s okay to

5 Ways Property Managers Limit Risk From Environmental Claims A property manager is often stuck between a rock and a hard place. Environmental claims are common pitfalls that cause even the best property managers to wind up on the wrong side of the bench in a courtroom. Here are several tried and proven ways property managers

Is California’s Drought Affecting Bay Area Water Quality? Throughout 2015, Bay Area water quality has been getting worse in some areas. Along with the numerous other issues associated with the California drought, low water levels in our reservoirs and aquifers may be causing a noticeable decline in the quality and safety of our tap water.

“Stealth” Power Meters: Analog Meters with Hidden Transmitters A client recently shared their experiences regarding a stealth power meter that had been installed on their home. The following has been anonymized: We had opted out of the Smart Meter program about a year ago.  The electric company had come out and swapped in an analog

How Effective is Your Bathroom Exhaust Fan? For obvious reasons, bathrooms can be major sources of moisture in homes. And where there is moisture, there is the possibility of growing mold. A bathroom exhaust fan is essential in removing excess moisture and keeping bathrooms ventilated, but how do we know if our exhaust fans are