When Seattle resident Bradley Enghaus made arrangements to have his home checked out by a master home environmentalist, he had visions of receiving a white-coated scientific expert at the front door, armed with a Geiger counter-like instrument for measuring the levels of dust in his living room.
What he got was Kerrie Carbary, a volunteer with the American Lung Association's Master Home Environmentalist (MHE) program, which sends its volunteers to make house calls and assist residents in assessing environmental health problems and making recommendations that help reduce exposure to indoor pollutants.
Carbary, who arrived at Enghaus' Central District home with no scientific instruments but several handouts, including a list of tips to improve indoor air quality, said many people who call her office expect their living areas to be subjected to a scientific inspection.
She's not that kind of environmentalist, said Carbary, who jokingly refers to herself as the "cleaning police." Her job is to focus not on how much dust and mold there is in a place but educate people on how to get rid of it and make sure it doesn't come back. Being exposed to pollutants in the home is a potentially serious problem that can put people at risk for everything from asthma to learning disabilities to cancer, she said.
Carbary joined the MHE program six months ago partly because of her mother, who became ill after being exposed to pesticides.
"She's been very sick," Carbary said. "There're so many things people don't even know about that could be causing them problems."
The MHE survey
What follows is reminiscent of a doctor/patient consultation. Carbary asked Enghaus a list of questions from a comprehensive MHE survey - Do you smoke? How warm do you keep your house? How many times do you wash your hands each day? - nodding and taking notes at his answers, then making recommendations based on the information she received.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, people spend about 90 percent of their time indoors. And while some may think that being indoors protects them from pollutants, they're wrong.
"No matter how polluted it is outside, it will be more polluted inside," Carbary said, rattling off a list of known and not-so-known indoor air pollutants: mold, dust, smoke, carbon monoxide, solvents, cleaners, incense.
Of those, Carbary said dust and mold are the most common indoor pollutants people have to deal with.
"A lot of people have dust in Seattle," she said. Even living on a busy street could contribute to the amount of dust indoors.
"The other big problem is mold," she added. "The spores can trigger asthma attacks, and if it's extreme they can also cause other respiratory problems."
Combatting dust can be as simple as making sure to vacuum both sides of a rug, she said. Investing in a commerical-grade doormat, which has a better capacity to remove dirt, may also decrease dust.
The good, the bad and the asbestos
Enghaus, who works a photographer for Pacific Publishing, has lived in his two-story home near Judkins Park since 2001. The house was built in 1919. Enghaus' wife Penny, a nurse at a local hospital, their 7-month-old son Eli, a dog and a tabby cat also call the place home. Enghaus calls it a "fixer-upper" - he and Penny have dabbled in an ongoing remodeling porject.
Many of Carbary's clients have particular concerns and ask her to look at a space or cleaning product. Enghaus is concerned about the asbestos shingles on his roof. Carbary said they don't pose much of a problem because they're outdoors, although if they begin to crumble they could release harmful dust. In that instance, she would suggest Enghaus take steps to seal them or have them removed.
Exposed sources of formaldehyde are another concern. Shelving and furniture made from particleboard should be sealed, Carbary said, noting that the easiest way to seal something is to paint it.
Having a carbon monoxide detector is also a recommendation Carbary frequently gives. It doesn't have to be expensive, she said; expensive detectors will show the exact level of carbon monoxide, but all detectors will warn when the levels in a house become dangerous.
Too hot or too cold?
House temperature - whether too hot or too cold - can also cause trepedition.
"If you keep it really warm, it could promote dust mites or mold," Carbary said. "If you keep it really cold, mold likes that as well." Sixty-five degrees Fahrenheit is a temperature that's not too warm or too cold and prevents mold from growing, she added.
Even cleaning products can cause indoor pollution. Clothes dryers, a source of dust and moisture for the whole house, should be vented toward the outside, and vacuum cleaners should come equipped with power brushes and a dust sensor. Bagless vacuum cleaners are not recommended.
"They're dirty," Carbary said flatly. "Mostly when people open them up to empty them out they're putting all that (dust) back in the air."
If you have a bagless vacuum cleaner, wear a dust mask and empty it outside, she said. Put the contents right into a garbage bag to contain the dust.
They also talk about the proper temperature to wash clothes.
"One hundred thirty degrees is the magic number," Carbary said. "It will kill the dust mites and it will help to dissolve pet dander."
Combatting mold
Mold and moisture go together like peanut butter and jelly, and that's why Carbury suggests opening windows during all seasons, "even if you only do it for five to 10 minutes a day." Since mold needs moisture to grow, houses with high humidity are at risk for having mold problems. Bathrooms and basements, where things tend to be damp or come into contact with water, are good candidates for mold.
Not only that, "every time you breathe out, you're increasing your humidity she said. The humidity test is whether or not a person is getting mold. If there's mold, there's a humidity problem.
Enghaus describes his home as drafty rather than stuffy, which is a good thing, Carbary said.
"It means you're getting ventilation without even trying," she said. If a house is particularly humid, she recommends dehumidifiers.
Indoor plants also help purify the air, but often they don't have that much of an impact, and one always runs the risk of having dirt mold.
"If you have mold, the plants are not going to help filter it out," Carbary said.
Recommendations
At the end of the survey, Carbary handed Enghaus a list of 22 recommendations to reduce moisture in the home. They discuss three that Enghaus would like to focus on.
"I could be more vigilant about taking my shoes off before I come into the house and more vigilant about wiping them off before I come into the house," he said. He also highlights washing clothing at 130 degrees and vacuuming both sides of the carpets.
"Everybody has things they're not going to do," said Carbary, who said she refuses to clean her doormat. "Our trick is to help them come out with things they want to do, and things they will do."
Blythe Lawrence may be reached via editor@sdistrictjournal.com.
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