Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Traveling Green with kids
Just back from a two week trip on the road with the family touring the West a bit. Weddings, Birthday Parties, Birth of a new Baby, visiting good old friends and grandparent! This, was a trip celebrating all things sweet in life. But, being the Green conscious person that I am, I am always aware of if I am living up to my standard of treading lightly on this earth. Add, two kids, a few air line flights, a rental car, and eating out more, I begin to wonder how much harm we are doing by being on the road. At home, we have our scene pretty dialed: garden, fire wood, well water, hybrid vehicle, minimal energyuse, we eat at home, and pack our meals with local organic produce, compost, etc. But, once on the road, it is difficult to make a zero waste impact with the family in tow. And, away from our sustainable island, you also realize how much of the outside world is not even slightly concerned with how much environmental impact they are having on the overall well being of the planet. Depending on where I was traveling, I got the sense that it was not a top priority to most to take the extra steps to live green. Before reaching for the 8th plastic fork in the take out food world, I made a mid course correction on our travel trip with the kids, and here were some of the green tips I thought we could share: Everyone needs their own re-usable water bottle, and packing 1 extra is also a good idea since inevitably someone will loose one. Do not accept bottled water! Do carry your own utensils and even a re-usable container for left overs. Bring the stroller and the scooter and walk as much as possible. Also, make sure to bring your own re-usable bag for marketing and cup for cafes. But the bottom line is, the most green traveling you can do it NOT travel. But, that is the hardest life style change to give up of them all.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Colorado’s first Legal Rain Catchment System Built on Hastings Mesa
By Joanna Kanow
Last fall, one of the most litigious cases found in Colorado courts made legal the act of catching rain from the sky. What was once considered criminal in Colorado, (stealing water that was rightfully owned by someone else before it made it to earth), is now free for all residents to harness. A home being built on Hastings Mesa, just outside of Telluride, is the first in the State of Colorado to be issued a legal permit for a rain catchment system.
Kelli Petersen, currently of Mill Valley, California, is finally building her green dream home, and feels privileged to have found a spot and a community supportive of a sustainable life style. It was the 2008 MountainFilm Festival, she reflects, with its focus on water, which inspired her to realize her catchment opportunities. Petersen began working with Stewart Goforth, of Montrose Water Factory, in the fall of 2009 to design her home with a cutting edge rain catchment system. In order to design a successful system, careful calculations and intimate collaboration between architect Sundra Hines, of Hines Designs, and Eric Dickerson of DCI Construction, had to be established in order to create a successful whole house rain catchment system. They had to estimate the water needs for the household, average yearly precipitation for that particular microclimate and equate in possible drought years. Using this precipitation data, they figured the maximum surface area of catchment available to determine the amount of water that can reach storage. The two full time residents will live solely off the water harvested.
For this home, rain and snow is diverted into gutters off of the surface of the oxidizing metal roof. It is then fed into five 1,500 gallon storage tanks engineered into the foundation of the home, which is highly insulated with styrofoam blocks. The house is plumbed with non-reactive piping that will not be harmed by the acidity of rainwater, and low flow fixtures are implemented wherever possible. Finally, Stewart Goforth has designed the filtration and disinfection process that will then make the water safe for drinking without the use of chemicals. The water will be tested for bacteria per state mandates to maintain a high-standard of drinking water free of any threat of water-borne contaminates. This filtration process is designed to offer safe, friendly high quality water in a self-contained low maintenance environment.
I asked Petersen, who lives comfortably in the Bay Area and works with biotech companies studying cancer treatments, why she decided to build a green home that will actually take more effort to live in. She will have to monitor her solar and water storage systems frequently, as well as reduce her natural resource use, and even may have to hike or ski into access her front door. She responded, “It will be a very comfortable way to live, and we are willing to work at our lifestyle to make it happen.” She added, as if these sentiments were the consensus “It is currently a trend for everyone, at the moment, to think about what we can do differently to give back to society somehow. It’s what we can do right now to be more sustainable.”
When this type of thinking becomes the norm, and this kind of building is no longer considered “Alternative,” implementing sustainable designs into our built environment will then attribute to significant positive environmental shifts in the current unsustainable “norm.” And as Goforth likes to remind us, “It’s water. It’s life. Without water, that’s it.” Imagine the satisfaction now, when it rains; money saved, independence, and to those who reside in the home...a house warming gift from the sky.
Joanna Kanow is the owner of EcoSpaces: Green Building Solutions: Telluride’s source for Green Building Materials. Providing non- toxic, sustainable, renewable and recycled products to the community. EcoSpaces’ Green Design showroom is located at the Society Turn Business Center in Telluride, and also serves the greater US on www.EcoBuildingMaterials.com. Call 970-728-1973 to arrange an appointment.
By Joanna Kanow
Last fall, one of the most litigious cases found in Colorado courts made legal the act of catching rain from the sky. What was once considered criminal in Colorado, (stealing water that was rightfully owned by someone else before it made it to earth), is now free for all residents to harness. A home being built on Hastings Mesa, just outside of Telluride, is the first in the State of Colorado to be issued a legal permit for a rain catchment system.
Kelli Petersen, currently of Mill Valley, California, is finally building her green dream home, and feels privileged to have found a spot and a community supportive of a sustainable life style. It was the 2008 MountainFilm Festival, she reflects, with its focus on water, which inspired her to realize her catchment opportunities. Petersen began working with Stewart Goforth, of Montrose Water Factory, in the fall of 2009 to design her home with a cutting edge rain catchment system. In order to design a successful system, careful calculations and intimate collaboration between architect Sundra Hines, of Hines Designs, and Eric Dickerson of DCI Construction, had to be established in order to create a successful whole house rain catchment system. They had to estimate the water needs for the household, average yearly precipitation for that particular microclimate and equate in possible drought years. Using this precipitation data, they figured the maximum surface area of catchment available to determine the amount of water that can reach storage. The two full time residents will live solely off the water harvested.
For this home, rain and snow is diverted into gutters off of the surface of the oxidizing metal roof. It is then fed into five 1,500 gallon storage tanks engineered into the foundation of the home, which is highly insulated with styrofoam blocks. The house is plumbed with non-reactive piping that will not be harmed by the acidity of rainwater, and low flow fixtures are implemented wherever possible. Finally, Stewart Goforth has designed the filtration and disinfection process that will then make the water safe for drinking without the use of chemicals. The water will be tested for bacteria per state mandates to maintain a high-standard of drinking water free of any threat of water-borne contaminates. This filtration process is designed to offer safe, friendly high quality water in a self-contained low maintenance environment.
I asked Petersen, who lives comfortably in the Bay Area and works with biotech companies studying cancer treatments, why she decided to build a green home that will actually take more effort to live in. She will have to monitor her solar and water storage systems frequently, as well as reduce her natural resource use, and even may have to hike or ski into access her front door. She responded, “It will be a very comfortable way to live, and we are willing to work at our lifestyle to make it happen.” She added, as if these sentiments were the consensus “It is currently a trend for everyone, at the moment, to think about what we can do differently to give back to society somehow. It’s what we can do right now to be more sustainable.”
When this type of thinking becomes the norm, and this kind of building is no longer considered “Alternative,” implementing sustainable designs into our built environment will then attribute to significant positive environmental shifts in the current unsustainable “norm.” And as Goforth likes to remind us, “It’s water. It’s life. Without water, that’s it.” Imagine the satisfaction now, when it rains; money saved, independence, and to those who reside in the home...a house warming gift from the sky.
Joanna Kanow is the owner of EcoSpaces: Green Building Solutions: Telluride’s source for Green Building Materials. Providing non- toxic, sustainable, renewable and recycled products to the community. EcoSpaces’ Green Design showroom is located at the Society Turn Business Center in Telluride, and also serves the greater US on www.EcoBuildingMaterials.com. Call 970-728-1973 to arrange an appointment.
Catch Your Water from the Sky
Colorado’s first Legal Rain Catchment System Built on Hastings Mesa
By Joanna Kanow
Last fall, one of the most litigious cases found in Colorado courts made legal the act of catching rain from the sky. What was once considered criminal in Colorado, (stealing water that was rightfully owned by someone else before it made it to earth), is now free for all residents to harness. A home being built on Hastings Mesa, just outside of Telluride, is the first in the State of Colorado to be issued a legal permit for a rain catchment system.
Kelli Petersen, currently of Mill Valley, California, is finally building her green dream home, and feels privileged to have found a spot and a community supportive of a sustainable life style. It was the 2008 MountainFilm Festival, she reflects, with its focus on water, which inspired her to realize her catchment opportunities. Petersen began working with Stewart Goforth, of Montrose Water Factory, in the fall of 2009 to design her home with a cutting edge rain catchment system. In order to design a successful system, careful calculations and intimate collaboration between architect Sundra Hines, of Hines Designs, and Eric Dickerson of DCI Construction, had to be established in order to create a successful whole house rain catchment system. They had to estimate the water needs for the household, average yearly precipitation for that particular microclimate and equate in possible drought years. Using this precipitation data, they figured the maximum surface area of catchment available to determine the amount of water that can reach storage. The two full time residents will live solely off the water harvested.
For this home, rain and snow is diverted into gutters off of the surface of the oxidizing metal roof. It is then fed into five 1,500 gallon storage tanks engineered into the foundation of the home, which is highly insulated with styrofoam blocks. The house is plumbed with non-reactive piping that will not be harmed by the acidity of rainwater, and low flow fixtures are implemented wherever possible. Finally, Stewart Goforth has designed the filtration and disinfection process that will then make the water safe for drinking without the use of chemicals. The water will be tested for bacteria per state mandates to maintain a high-standard of drinking water free of any threat of water-borne contaminates. This filtration process is designed to offer safe, friendly high quality water in a self-contained low maintenance environment.
I asked Petersen, who lives comfortably in the Bay Area and works with biotech companies studying cancer treatments, why she decided to build a green home that will actually take more effort to live in. She will have to monitor her solar and water storage systems frequently, as well as reduce her natural resource use, and even may have to hike or ski into access her front door. She responded, “It will be a very comfortable way to live, and we are willing to work at our lifestyle to make it happen.” She added, as if these sentiments were the consensus “It is currently a trend for everyone, at the moment, to think about what we can do differently to give back to society somehow. It’s what we can do right now to be more sustainable.”
When this type of thinking becomes the norm, and this kind of building is no longer considered “Alternative,” implementing sustainable designs into our built environment will then attribute to significant positive environmental shifts in the current unsustainable “norm.” And as Goforth likes to remind us, “It’s water. It’s life. Without water, that’s it.” Imagine the satisfaction now, when it rains; money saved, independence, and to those who reside in the home...a house warming gift from the sky.
Joanna Kanow is the owner of EcoSpaces: Green Building Solutions: Telluride’s source for Green Building Materials. Providing non- toxic, sustainable, renewable and recycled products to the community. EcoSpaces’ Green Design showroom is located at the Society Turn Business Center in Telluride, and also serves the greater US on www.EcoBuildingMaterials.com. Call 970-728-1973 to arrange an appointment.
By Joanna Kanow
Last fall, one of the most litigious cases found in Colorado courts made legal the act of catching rain from the sky. What was once considered criminal in Colorado, (stealing water that was rightfully owned by someone else before it made it to earth), is now free for all residents to harness. A home being built on Hastings Mesa, just outside of Telluride, is the first in the State of Colorado to be issued a legal permit for a rain catchment system.
Kelli Petersen, currently of Mill Valley, California, is finally building her green dream home, and feels privileged to have found a spot and a community supportive of a sustainable life style. It was the 2008 MountainFilm Festival, she reflects, with its focus on water, which inspired her to realize her catchment opportunities. Petersen began working with Stewart Goforth, of Montrose Water Factory, in the fall of 2009 to design her home with a cutting edge rain catchment system. In order to design a successful system, careful calculations and intimate collaboration between architect Sundra Hines, of Hines Designs, and Eric Dickerson of DCI Construction, had to be established in order to create a successful whole house rain catchment system. They had to estimate the water needs for the household, average yearly precipitation for that particular microclimate and equate in possible drought years. Using this precipitation data, they figured the maximum surface area of catchment available to determine the amount of water that can reach storage. The two full time residents will live solely off the water harvested.
For this home, rain and snow is diverted into gutters off of the surface of the oxidizing metal roof. It is then fed into five 1,500 gallon storage tanks engineered into the foundation of the home, which is highly insulated with styrofoam blocks. The house is plumbed with non-reactive piping that will not be harmed by the acidity of rainwater, and low flow fixtures are implemented wherever possible. Finally, Stewart Goforth has designed the filtration and disinfection process that will then make the water safe for drinking without the use of chemicals. The water will be tested for bacteria per state mandates to maintain a high-standard of drinking water free of any threat of water-borne contaminates. This filtration process is designed to offer safe, friendly high quality water in a self-contained low maintenance environment.
I asked Petersen, who lives comfortably in the Bay Area and works with biotech companies studying cancer treatments, why she decided to build a green home that will actually take more effort to live in. She will have to monitor her solar and water storage systems frequently, as well as reduce her natural resource use, and even may have to hike or ski into access her front door. She responded, “It will be a very comfortable way to live, and we are willing to work at our lifestyle to make it happen.” She added, as if these sentiments were the consensus “It is currently a trend for everyone, at the moment, to think about what we can do differently to give back to society somehow. It’s what we can do right now to be more sustainable.”
When this type of thinking becomes the norm, and this kind of building is no longer considered “Alternative,” implementing sustainable designs into our built environment will then attribute to significant positive environmental shifts in the current unsustainable “norm.” And as Goforth likes to remind us, “It’s water. It’s life. Without water, that’s it.” Imagine the satisfaction now, when it rains; money saved, independence, and to those who reside in the home...a house warming gift from the sky.
Joanna Kanow is the owner of EcoSpaces: Green Building Solutions: Telluride’s source for Green Building Materials. Providing non- toxic, sustainable, renewable and recycled products to the community. EcoSpaces’ Green Design showroom is located at the Society Turn Business Center in Telluride, and also serves the greater US on www.EcoBuildingMaterials.com. Call 970-728-1973 to arrange an appointment.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
EcoSpaces and Earth Day
Earth Day is one of my favorite holidays: it is non-denominational, not consumer driven, and isn't based around a fictitious cartoon character that I have to convince my children is real and comes in the night.
Earth Day is a real day, and should be celebrated or honored every day of the year, though, none the less, it is still quite honorable that this holiday is recognized on April 20 around the globe each year to acknowledge the vibrant, delicate, and natural resources that supports our very existence.
This year is the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, founded by Senator Gaylord Nelson democrat from Wisconsin in 1970. "Our environment was simply a non-issue in the politics of the country. All across the country, evidence of environmental degradation was appearing everywhere, and everyone noticed except the political establishment. The environmental issue simply was not to be found on the nation's political agenda. The people were concerned, but the politicians were not," reflects Senator Nelson in 1969. Ironically, this sounds disturbingly familiar to the political situation of today. This was 40 stated forty years ago, before scientific evidence of a devastating climate crisis were defined like the precarious environmental predicament we find ourselves in now.
Earth Day was born riding the wave of anti-Vietnam war protests, teach-ins, and activism, as a nationwide grassroots demonstration was organized on behalf of the environment. The American people finally had a forum to express its concern about what was happening to the land, rivers, lakes, and air - and they did so with spectacular exuberance. The fight has not stopped, after all of these years, and the movement is still gaining momentum. Are you yet a part of it?
Now more than ever is it imperative that the masses of people inhabiting the globe take the time to acknowledge the earth, it's natural resources that we use ever day, and our relationship to it, so that maybe we can say on earth day, 40 years from now, we turned this climate crisis around, thanks for all of you who are making the environmental difference in your life on this Earth Day and every other day of the year. Building with green building materials is one of the ways people can make a difference and make choices that help the planet. Visit http://www.EcoSpaces.net to see the latest in Green Building Materials that are healthy for you, your home, and the environment.
green+building
Monday, April 12, 2010
Educating on Green Building
"Learn as you Go" is our business motto, as my business partner and I are relatively new to the business world. We were both teachers before getting into this Green Building Business, so we were never concerned with getting clients, because out clients/students would just show up every day weather we liked it or not. It has been a logical path, though, that has brought us here to owning EcoSpaces: Green Building Solutions, a Green Building design, supply showroom that offers green building materials to those who live and work in structures. Before classroom teaching we were teaching environmental educations, feeling that the most effective way to create environmental awareness was through the children. We are still educating, but now to adults who use money, and we hope to teach this new crowd how to spend their dollars on products that are healthy for the earth. Sales and marketing do not come as naturally as teaching does to us. It has been a great marriage of business with a socially conscious outcome that keeps us motivated, knowing that we are not just selling "things" for the sake of consuming. We are passionate about what we do in order to try and introduce products to people that they can enjoy in the decor of their home for many decades that ultimately are healthy for the home owner, the home, and the environment. Please visit our web site http://www.EcoSpaces.net,if you are one of those people who is interested in building your home and life green.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Many Houses
It is great to get away, travel, and step out of this reality that I have made for myself here in Telluride, CO, running a design, supply, green building showroom and trying my damnedest to distribute Green Building Materials to construction projects around the country. I always laugh that I started my business and now all of the hours, meetings, screen time, worries, inspirations and challenges that arise from this entity called "EcoSpaces" are all my inventions. We are trying to offer the "alternative" Green Building Material for almost every commercial building product out there. Though we only are interested in distributing building materials that are non-toxic, sustainable, renewable, recycled and recyclable in an attempt to address and take action on the global warming crisis. Sometimes, it gets frustrating trying to convert the old-timer contractors to choose counter tops made from recycled glass instead of granite, paints that are non-toxic, or carpeting that can be recycled before the homes next remodel. Fortunately, there is already a culture out there who do not need to be sold on this stuff and come seeking us out. But, this last trip to San Diego, leaving my small exclusive ski town behind, I realized the potential of what we are doing. There were houses every where, as far as the eye could see. Modern, stylish, artistic ocean front beach houses to villages of tract homes on the other side of the highway. Everyone lives in a house, an apartment, a structure! Everywhere, around the globe. So, even if each house used one of our energy star windows in it, or one sono tube sky light, or even one water aerator on their faucet, or a rain catchment barrel off their gutter to water their garden with, not only could we, EcoSpaces be making a great living, but also, we, the human population on the globe, could also be making a significant impact in turning this climate crisis around. The sprawl of Southern California did give me hope that there is still a great potential for change. I just need to figure out how to get these products out there. Visit http://ecospaces.net/ if you happen to be one of those already sold on the idea. Here's how you can contact us info@EcoSpaces.net 877-727-1973
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Sick Home Syndrome
When asked to pick my scent of choice to deodorize my vehicle at a local car wash, one of my choices was “New Car Smell.” Funny, how common this, and other smells associated with toxic off gassing are to all of us, like “Brand new shoes” or “Fresh coat of paint. Not funny, to my friend, Becca who compromised a year of poor health due to these particular pollutants.
Becca and her fiancé moved into their redone home when she was 27 years old. They did a simple “lipstick remodel” replacing carpets, wallpaper, paint color, they refinished the floors, and purchasing new furniture. But shortly after moving in, she felt extremely ill. She could barely get out of bed. “Out of the blue,” she said, she began to experience irregular heart palpitations, blurred vision, joint discomfort in her knees and hips, extreme fatigue, and unexplainable weight gain. Her otherwise healthy skin coloring turned grey, and she experienced uncontrollable tremors on the left side of her body.
After months of doctor visits with various specialists, weekly blood panels, IV cocktails, she shared, “I was diagnosed with everything under the sun, including Epstein Barr and Lymes Disease.” She finally realized that the only time her symptoms improved was when she was away from the house. Without input from her medical specialists, all who were looking at isolated symptoms instead of addressing environmental causes, she realized that the toxins in her modern new home were in fact making her sick. Formaldehydes in the carpeting and insulation, VOCs in the paints and finishes, chemicals emitting from glues and adhesives, and mold from the ventilation system were poisoning her indoor air quality, and compromising her immune system. Her own bedroom that she retreated to for weeks and months when she was ill, was in fact making her sicker.
The World Health Organization (WHO) first recognized Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) in the early 1980s. Besides the symptoms that Becca experienced, one can also suffer from itchy skin, rashes, eye irritations, nose congestions, and swelling of the throat. The symptoms often go undiagnosed by medical professionals and can completely disappear when people move from buildings in question.
Some researchers have speculated that Sick Building Syndrome is related to the energy crisis of the 1970s, which resulted in tight building envelopes. True, energy efficiency experts tell us to insulate, caulk and seal drafty windows and doors, as to not let precious heat or cooled air escape. But, locked in a tight indoor envelope, is actually doing your health a disservice if the materials you are sealed in with are toxic and have no where to escape. Becca reflects, “Who would ever stop to think that your couch is covered in Teflon for stain resistance, and each time you sit on it, it breaks down, and you inhale it?” She was also surprised to learn that granite countertops leach radon gasses into your kitchens as well. Buyers beware: manufacturers are now labeling products “Green” simply because they have let them off gas in a controlled environment before bringing them to market.
Every building material has an MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet), which is the equivalent to nutritional ingredients listed on food products, but rather tells you what is in your building material. Take the advice of Michael Pollan, author of “Omnivores Dilemma:” if there are more than five ingredients (in your food), and if you cannot pronounce any of them, it is probably not healthy for you. Look for MSDS such as these green products like BioGlass counter tops: 100% recycled glass, BioShield Penetrating sealer: Linseed Oil, Lead-free dryers, and Essential Oils and Earth Weave carpet: wool, hemp, jute and natural rubber. Chemicals to watch out for are formaldehydes and Volatile Organic Compounds and other multi syllable chemicals that are often common in mainstream building materials.
After experiencing a full year of compromised health as a result of Sick Home Syndrome, Becca is now careful to make non-toxic choices for her home and family. “I would rather spend more money up front on a clean product that lasts,” She admits, she would rather live in an older home that has had decades to off gas, and prefers that her home is a bit on the drafty side. Becca moved to the Telluride area in search of a healthier life style, and today she is able to enjoy her days and her family “symptom free.”
Becca and her fiancé moved into their redone home when she was 27 years old. They did a simple “lipstick remodel” replacing carpets, wallpaper, paint color, they refinished the floors, and purchasing new furniture. But shortly after moving in, she felt extremely ill. She could barely get out of bed. “Out of the blue,” she said, she began to experience irregular heart palpitations, blurred vision, joint discomfort in her knees and hips, extreme fatigue, and unexplainable weight gain. Her otherwise healthy skin coloring turned grey, and she experienced uncontrollable tremors on the left side of her body.
After months of doctor visits with various specialists, weekly blood panels, IV cocktails, she shared, “I was diagnosed with everything under the sun, including Epstein Barr and Lymes Disease.” She finally realized that the only time her symptoms improved was when she was away from the house. Without input from her medical specialists, all who were looking at isolated symptoms instead of addressing environmental causes, she realized that the toxins in her modern new home were in fact making her sick. Formaldehydes in the carpeting and insulation, VOCs in the paints and finishes, chemicals emitting from glues and adhesives, and mold from the ventilation system were poisoning her indoor air quality, and compromising her immune system. Her own bedroom that she retreated to for weeks and months when she was ill, was in fact making her sicker.
The World Health Organization (WHO) first recognized Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) in the early 1980s. Besides the symptoms that Becca experienced, one can also suffer from itchy skin, rashes, eye irritations, nose congestions, and swelling of the throat. The symptoms often go undiagnosed by medical professionals and can completely disappear when people move from buildings in question.
Some researchers have speculated that Sick Building Syndrome is related to the energy crisis of the 1970s, which resulted in tight building envelopes. True, energy efficiency experts tell us to insulate, caulk and seal drafty windows and doors, as to not let precious heat or cooled air escape. But, locked in a tight indoor envelope, is actually doing your health a disservice if the materials you are sealed in with are toxic and have no where to escape. Becca reflects, “Who would ever stop to think that your couch is covered in Teflon for stain resistance, and each time you sit on it, it breaks down, and you inhale it?” She was also surprised to learn that granite countertops leach radon gasses into your kitchens as well. Buyers beware: manufacturers are now labeling products “Green” simply because they have let them off gas in a controlled environment before bringing them to market.
Every building material has an MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet), which is the equivalent to nutritional ingredients listed on food products, but rather tells you what is in your building material. Take the advice of Michael Pollan, author of “Omnivores Dilemma:” if there are more than five ingredients (in your food), and if you cannot pronounce any of them, it is probably not healthy for you. Look for MSDS such as these green products like BioGlass counter tops: 100% recycled glass, BioShield Penetrating sealer: Linseed Oil, Lead-free dryers, and Essential Oils and Earth Weave carpet: wool, hemp, jute and natural rubber. Chemicals to watch out for are formaldehydes and Volatile Organic Compounds and other multi syllable chemicals that are often common in mainstream building materials.
After experiencing a full year of compromised health as a result of Sick Home Syndrome, Becca is now careful to make non-toxic choices for her home and family. “I would rather spend more money up front on a clean product that lasts,” She admits, she would rather live in an older home that has had decades to off gas, and prefers that her home is a bit on the drafty side. Becca moved to the Telluride area in search of a healthier life style, and today she is able to enjoy her days and her family “symptom free.”
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