Imagine what it would be like to have to breath through a straw.  That is how one of my clients’ daughters, who has severe asthma, describes how she feels when she is exposed to even the slightest bit of toxins in the air…including the ingredients in popular air fresheners and scented candles.  While I was recently showing her family some Lake Norman waterfront homes, she had two serious asthma attacks triggered by just that.  Each time it took her over a day to recover from just seconds of exposure to an air freshener or lingering cigarette smoke. 

I must admit, despite my avid focus on “green” or “high performance” housing in Lake Norman  I don’t think I totally grasped the seriousness of indoor air quality until I met this family.  It is one thing to learn about the latest low or no VOC (Volatile Organic compounds) paint products and the amount of organic gases like Formaldehyde that are emitted from such solid and liquids as hardwood floors, cabinets, sealers, paints, pressed wood products…the list goes on and on.  It is quite another to watch this young woman gasping for air.

The good news is that indoor air quality is an important part of the “green” housing movement nationally and right here in Lake Norman.  So much so, that the US Environmental Protection Agency recently created Indoor airPLUS  which is designed to work in partnership with their more well known ENERGY STAR  program. Just as ENERGY STAR is an accreditation program for energy efficiency, Indoor airPLUS is a program designed to encourage home builders to “employ a variety of construction practices and technologies in their new homes to help address” such air quality issues as:

• Moisture Control
• Radon Control
• Pest Management
• HVAC
• Ventilation and Filtration
• Combustion Venting
• Building Materials

At the Indoor airPLUS’s first outreach webinar they explained that 19% of US households have a member with Asthma, 40% of households have a member with a respiratory problem and that they have found that typical indoor air chemical pollution levels may be 2-5 times higher than what is considered “safe” levels.

Including these pollutants and sources of indoor air pollution:

• Asbestos
• Biological Pollutants
• Carbon Monoxide
• Formaldehyde/Pressed Wood Products
• Household Cleaning and Maintenance, Personal Care, or Hobbies
• Lead
• Nitrogen Dioxide
• Pesticides
• Radon
• Respirable Particles
• Secondhand Smoke/Environmental Tobacco Smoke
• Stoves, Heaters, Fireplaces, and Chimneys

So, how does a home in our Lake Norman area earn the Indoor AirPlus label?  “A home must first be designed to earn the ENERGY STAR label, the government-backed symbol for energy efficiency.  By adding up to 30 additional home design and construction features, an Indoor airPLUS qualified home helps protects residents…” from indoor air pollution.  During the Lake Norman home-building process testers or “HERS” raters will visit the build site and verify the required construction specifications.  The Indoor airPLUS label will be placed on the electrical panel along with the ENERGY STAR label when it has passed the certification process.

Knowledgeable Lake Norman “green” home builders view ENERGY STAR ratings as the lowest/less stringent when compared to such “green” rating systems as North Carolina’s Healthy Built Homes, the National Association of Home Builders Green Home Building Guidelines and the very toughest LEED certified homes.  However, while ENERGY STAR and Indoor airPLUS may not be as comprehensive as these, I am excited to be an early Lake Norman supporter or “ally” of the new Indoor airPLUS program in hopes that it will lead to an increased focus on indoor air quality throughout the building industry and by consumers both here in the Lake Norman area and throughout the country. 

For more information  “The Inside Story: A Guide to Indoor Air Quality”.

By Betty Houston:

It’s time to “Green Up” the landscaping at your home. How do you achieve lush, green grass organically without spending a lot of “green”?

Myth: Organic lawns are not as green as synthetically, chemically maintained yards.

Fact: A lawn that is maintained properly using natural fertilizer and organic pest control is not only safer for the environment, but will likely have a deeper green color, better drought tolerance and will be more pest resistant (weeds are pests, too).

Myth: Organic lawns are expensive to maintain.

Fact: Any lawn that has been neglected is relatively expensive to rejuvenate (organically OR synthetically), and once an organically maintained lawn is healthy, with proper pH levels, appropriate amounts of Macro and Micro nutrients and microbial activity, it will actually SAVE you money on fertilizers, pest control and water.

You’ve Gone Green…How do you convince your Yard to Get Green without chemicals?

• Get a soil test and make sure you understand the results. Have it done by a professional landscaper or ask your extension agent for help. North Carolina Department of Agriculture Soil Test Information
• It’s almost too late to apply a winter fertilizer to your cool season grass (like Tall Fescue), but if you haven’t yet, you should do so as soon as possible.
• Use a lime to raise your pH level. Instead of Dolomitic Lime, if you have a good amount of magnesium in your soil, you may need to use calcitic lime, like Solu-cal or Verde-cal.
• Loosen your compacted clay soil with Gypsum and top dress with organic matter.
• Remove leaves and debris from your lawn during the fall and winter to keep your lawn healthy – recycle the leaves as compost or mulch for natural areas
• While the ground is wet after a rain, look around to see if you have water standing or washing. Repair right away to prevent loosing healthy organic material on the top layer of your lawn and to keep lawns and landscaping healthy and pest free.

There are many variables in creating a healthy, pest resistant landscaping, but the first thing you must do is analyze the soil and the health of the plants growing in it. Too much fertilizer or other amendments could be just as bad (or worse) than not enough. Find out what you have first before starting any new program so that you don’t waste valuable money, time, or inadvertently contaminate our water and environment.

Link to Landscapes in Harmony, your organic landscape resource in Lake Norman:

http://landscapesinharmony.net/organic.aspx

Betty Houston

Horticulturist, Landscape Designer

828-312-2238

Betty.landscaping@gmail.com

www.landscapesinharmony.net

Looking for that last minute gift or some cheerful holiday decorations for your home?  Why not make it a “green” holiday?

I have been collecting websites and ideas for the past several weeks.  Here they are:

Decorations: Check out Holiday LED for a great selection of Christmas and Holiday LED lighting

Gifts:

• Eco Fabulous offer myriad eco-friendly gifts and everyday products from Organic Hot Chocolate by Dacoba to eco-accessories for the whole family at Pottery Barn.
• Why not give a gift that keeps on giving for a whole year?  GreenDimes is a service that will get rid of 90% of your junk mail.  I have used it for almost a year and I barely got any gift catalogues in the mail this year…it works!  And, when you join, they will plant 5 trees on your behalf.  They also offer other “green” gift ideas.
• Another GREAT gift idea is from Eco Hatchery where you can get an Eco Hatchery Starter Kit complete with an Energy monitor, Compact fluorescent lightbulb, Reuseable shopping tote, Reuseable Filtered water bottle, HOme Tap Water Quality Test, Faucet Aerators, Toilet Leak Detectors, Refrigerator Coil Brush, Refrigerator Thermometer, Water-based Removeable Caulk, Outlet Sealers, Light Switch Sealers, Waterpipe Insullation Samples, Recycled Coffee Filters and a Renewable Soy  Candle for $97.50.  This website has great resources and information as well.

Finally, a great present for children:  Leave it to Dr. Seuss to write an insightful “Earth Friendly” book for children way back in 1971 called The Lorax. The message is wonderful and it is even printed on recycled paper!  I got my copy on Amazon.com but I’m sure it is available in bookstores everywhere.

Have a happy, “Green” holiday season and a very “Green” New Year!

Have you ever walked in a brand new home and felt…ahhh, it smells so new?

Well, what you may not know is that that “new” smell is most likely toxic.  That is because the majority of house paints have various levels of Volatile Organic Chemicals or VOCs.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, “Volatile organic compounds” are emitted as gasses from certain solids or liquids.  VOCs include a variety of chemicals, some of which may have short and long-term adverse health effects.”

The growing focus on “green housing” has resulted in the introduction of many brands of low-VOC or even no-VOC paints.  These paints, according to Greenfeet “release significantly fewer to no polluting toxins, and no-VOC paints are odor free.

While at the NC Home Builders Expo last week I discovered Mythic Paint which is a true “Non-Toxic” paint.

While many of the top paint companies have introduced or are planning to introduce low-VOC paints like Sherwyn William’s Harmony, Mythic Paint is the only one I have found that claims that it is 0% toxic with no toxins, low odor AND has the ability to mix any color.  This is important because many of the low-VOC paints currently on the market have limited or lesser quality colors.

Mythic Paint products include: Primers, Ceiling, Flat, Eggshell (flat but cleanable), Semi-Gloss, High Gloss and even exterior Satin and Semi-Gloss.  Price will be a bit higher than many brand-name paints.

Here is a list of other Low- and No-VOC Paints:

AFM (American Formulating and Manufacturing) www.afmsafecoat.com

Benjamin Moore & Co. (Pristine® Eco-Spec® ) www.benjaminmoore.com

BioShield Paints www.bioshieldpaint.com

Devoe Paint www.devoe.com

Duron Paints and Wallcoverings (Genesis Odor-Free products) www.duron.com

Home Depot www.homedepot.com

ICI Dulux Paints www.iciduluxpaints.com

Kelly Moore www.kellymoore.com

Old Fashioned Milk Paint Company www.milkpaint.com

Sherwin-Williams (HealthSpec® paints) www.sherwin.com

The Green Home is more than just energy efficienct, it is healthy and more comfortable.  Your desire to make every effort to eliminate Volatile Organic Compounds may start with using No-VOC Paint. We will discuss other sources of VOC/indoor air pollutants in upcoming articles.

I had no idea we had a private curbside recycling service in the greater Mooresville area until I received an email from Patrica Doak, who, with her husband, started the Think Green Recycle Service last December.

While we take loads to the Iredell County Transfer Station on HWY 150, it is great to know that we now have curbside pick up in Mooresville and its surrounding areas.

Think Green Recycle Service offers a weekly curbside pickup of the following:

• Aluminum and Steel Cans
• Glass bottles (ALL COLORS!)
• Cardboard
• Paper
• Plastics (ALL numbered 107!)

They do not accept:

• Plastic bags or wrappers (Harris Teeter will take the bags)
• Styrofoam products
• Paper plates, napkins or towels
• Paints, gas cans

Right now, according to Trish Doak, they already have one “Green School”, Lake Norman Elementary.   They recycle their paper and plastic.  What a great way to teach children about the importance of recycling and the environment!  I hope that more of our local schools get on board with this great program.

FYI, I purchased a wonderful plastic trash can on line that has a built-in aluminum can-crusher on top which is great for maximizing space.  You can get other recycling bins at Lowe’s Home Improvement.

For more information about Think Green Recycle Service in Mooresville call Trish at :704.799.1520