Avoiding and controlling indoor pollutants

Building a new home according to green standards may be good for the environment, but it might not be good for a person’s health, according to some building experts. And maintaining good air quality in both new and existing homes should be a major priority when it comes to staying healthy.

Bob Morsch, president of Bridgehampton-based Telemark, a custom home building company, explained that unless properly engineered, some sustainable houses built today might not take basics such as air filtration and flow into account, which can lead to allergies and illness.

“We build tighter and tighter houses, that decreases the air infiltration of the house,” he said. “That reduces the natural way the house breathes.”

Unless the house is built to exchange stale air inside the house with fresh air from outside, toxins from paints and other chemicals in everyday products and other allergens like mold and dust, can make a person sick.

Mr. Morsch recalled one woman who built a green home on the North Fork. As soon as she moved in, she got sick and her doctors couldn’t figure out what was wrong. It was later found that the paint in the house had a volatile organic compound, which infiltrated the air, he said.

Not only is indoor air pollution serious, it’s also a growing problem, said Doug Matz, the owner of Flanders Heating and Air Conditioning.

“We’re seeing polluted air in homes more often,” he said.

There are other pollutants besides toxic paint lurking inside homes. The most common is dust, but mold is dominant on the East End where many homes are near the water.

“All you need is moisture,” said Dr. Anthony Szeme, head of the allergy diagnostic unit at Stony Brook University Medical Center in Stony Brook. “The closer to the shore, the worse it is.”

Mold is an airborne spore and it needs moisture and heat to grow and colonize, said William Giambone, a project manger at Servpro in Calverton. His company specializes in water cleanup and mold mitigation and remediation.

“Anything that holds moisture can get spores to grow,” Mr. Giambone reported.

Mold is mostly found in basements, but growth could also be the result of neglected cleaning in certain areas, such as the bottom of garbage pails.

There are thousands of types of mold that can grow in homes. The allergen is categorized into 20 categories, and five or six are toxic, said Michelle Ferguson, the owner of Centereach-based Blue Skies, a company that tests air quality in homes. She said her company predominantly tests for mold, and she services many homes on the East End.

Mold infiltration is usually visible in homes, but homeowners can sometimes tell if the air quality of their home is compromised if they feel constantly sick with a drippy throat, sneezing, coughing, headaches or burning eyes, Ms. Ferguson said.

Not everyone is affected by mold in the home, Ms. Ferguson said, adding that usually people with compromised immune systems feel intensified symptoms. “Anyone with allergies can feel the effects of mold,” she said.

A person can avoid mold growth in his or her home by keeping it dry. Ms. Ferguson suggested using a dehumidifier in the moist summer months and keeping a clean and dry home year-round.

“If there is a pipe burst, or if there is some sort of flood or leak, clean it up as soon as possible,” she said.

According to Mr. Giambone, just going to the doctor to treat the symptoms stemming from mold infestation is not enough. He said that unless the growth is killed, the symptoms will persist indefinitely.

“Sometimes people go to the doctor and are treated with an antibiotic,” Mr. Giambone said. “Once they are done with the antibiotic, they feel sick again.”

If a person finds mold growth, or if they suspect mold is making them sick, the best thing to do is to get the air quality tested by an indoor air quality specialist, according to Mr. Giambone.

But mold is not the only thing that affects indoor air quality. As the owner of a heating and air conditioning company, Mr. Matz said that the biggest problems for many in the fall season is starting up heating systems.

Mr. Matz reported that common problems which contribute to poor air quality are a cracked heat exchanger, a bird’s nest built in a duct, or a system which leaks carbon monoxide. But there is a simple solution to ensuring that the heating system isn’t polluting a home.

“The most important thing to do is to change batteries in the carbon monoxide detector,” he said.

Other allergens and pollutants, like aerosol sprays, pollens, dust mites, smoke and pet hair, are naturally occurring, according to Mr. Matz.

“Those get in someone’s home from everyday products you bring into homes ... Pollens are coming in from outside air, dust grows in carpets and bedding,” he said.

Other common allergens are insect carcasses and insect waste, said Stephen Flanigan, the owner of Advanced Air Flow in Cutchogue.

“People are more allergic to insect carcasses and waste than to pollen,” he said. “Mostly what we find on duct systems is skin flakes, insects, pet hair and carpet fiber.”

A certified air cleaning specialist, Mr. Flanigan said that the heating, ventilating and air conditioning system (HVAC) is key to maintaining a clean home air environment. He explained that an HVAC system is like a vacuum cleaner; one part takes air in, and another part redistributes air around the home. There is a filter in the HVAC system which traps all the dirt and other allergens, and prevents dirty air from being blown through a home.

“People don’t regularly maintain HVAC filters, which is a very important part of the system,” Mr. Flanigan said. “If they don’t keep up, dirt goes past the filter, gets sucked into the system, then it gets into the duct, then stays in there, and then gets blown through the house.”

The American Lung association recommends that an air duct system be cleaned every five years. However, Mr. Flanigan said the machine that moves the air, either the furnace or air handler, should be inspected once a year.

“We want to know if any dirt got past the filter and into the machine,” he said. “That’s when we recommend cleaning.”

Cleaning costs vary depending on the size of a home and the extent of the contamination. In general for a 1,600- to 2,000-square-foot home, cleaning costs between $500 and $700, Mr. Flanigan said. He said if it’s done properly, the grill, outsets, machine and main trunk line all have to be cleaned in order to ensure the best air quality.

“Anything the air touched that you breathe has to be cleaned,” he said.