[00:00:00] Eric Goranson: It's Around the House. Our other topic today is going to be home hazards. Things when you're tackling DIY projects that I want you to really pay attention to. And these are ones that we see around a lot in our homes. And there are things that are, um, there's some myths involved. And I just want to make sure that we're addressing them correctly.

[00:00:24] Eric Goranson: And that you're following the local rules and regulations on how to get rid of some of these hazards. Because everywhere it is different. It doesn't matter. We can have. federal law, but how the local state governments handle things are completely different. And that can be really tough on navigating that.

[00:00:42] Eric Goranson: Great example, asbestos. Now, asbestos can be found in a lot of different materials. It can be found in flooring, vinyl flooring from the fifties. 60s, 70s, 80s, when it comes to remodeling and renovating your home, there is a [00:01:00] lot to know, but we've got you covered. This is Around the House. Welcome to the Around the House show, this is where we help you get the most out of your home through information and education.

[00:01:11] Eric Goranson: Thanks for joining us today. I am Eric G. We have got a jam packed hour here, and we are going to start out with some of your questions that have come in. And they, uh, come in sometimes from emails, which you can, uh, track us down at aroundthehouseonline. com. You can send a message there or you can give us a call at 833 239 4144.

[00:01:31] Eric Goranson: And I'll say it slower again. That is 833 239 4144. And so that is, uh, where you can get ahold of me and be a part of the show. Now. We did get a message here. I get a lot in from emails and this was a great one. So, uh, Robert sent me one and said he was listening to the show and we were talking the other week just to, um, give a little background on this.

[00:01:55] Eric Goranson: We were talking here right before the holidays about really trying to make sure that we've [00:02:00] got homes dialed in for aging in place and Robert's question is this, he was wondering if there are any similar information accommodations for people who are blind or visibly, visibly challenged, so they are visually challenged.

[00:02:13] Eric Goranson: Or maybe blind, what can you do to, um, to help out with people with that? And you know, that is a great discussion, you know, um, and really a lot of it is going to come down to a handful of things. And I want to address those real quick for you and get this one out of the way for you, Robert. So here's the thing, if someone is visually challenged, there are things that I like to do.

[00:02:36] Eric Goranson: Like I like to have, um, you know, a very common floor texture so there's no chance to trip. Um, but using color and light to help steer people in the right direction and for people that are that are visually challenged that. You know, have limited site and that kind of thing. I like to use contrasting colors.

[00:02:58] Eric Goranson: And so even in [00:03:00] a kitchen or a bathroom, if you have white cabinets having a black handle or a bright color like gold or something like that. I like to have lighting controls that are done so you can have brighter light if you need to, or if light is an issue, which it could be. Too much light can be a problem where you can dim it down, uh, for that.

[00:03:20] Eric Goranson: And so really these are things that I like to do as far as having places for that. I also like to have, you know, paint finishes that if someone's walking down the hall that, uh, maybe a little bit higher baseboard trim, if they're using a cane or if, uh, something that's very washable is a wall surface. So they can put their hand on it and touch it and feel it without getting it dirty because our oil in our skins.

[00:03:47] Eric Goranson: You know, and skin and stuff really does that. So these are all things that I think that are super important when dealing with the visually challenged. And then again, having things like, um, that I think are [00:04:00] important are, uh, using technology these days, having voice commands, having it where you can talk to things, uh, you know, using Alexa or Siri or whatever you're using.

[00:04:11] Eric Goranson: I think these are all important things to bring technology into because. Again, that is just another level that you could be using the voice controls on your remote control, or you could be controlling the lights with your voice. There's a lot of things you can be doing without having to go over and move and use that light switch or even try to find it.

[00:04:29] Eric Goranson: So these are all important things to be doing just to make sure that you've got that dialed in. But, uh, there's a lot of different things, and it's depending on what we're dealing with. Um, you know, someone that is completely blind, of course, is going to be different than somebody that is, uh, maybe just has reduced eyesight or, uh, has some other, um, you know, eye issues that make it hard to do.

[00:04:51] Eric Goranson: And as I'm just talking, I got an email in here from Rosemary, and I'm not sure Rosemary, where she's coming from, but, uh, just says, hello, do you have any [00:05:00] recommendations for a company that can either sand or repaint? A metal exterior door. Mine is 30 to 35 years old. And when the sun gets low enough to hit it every winter over time, it's caused the caused the old paint to bubble.

[00:05:12] Eric Goranson: Looks like she took an exacto knife and lifted off the paint that was lifting and then sanded it down to metal before repainting it, but the sun caused the other areas to bubble last winter. Thank you, Rosemary. Well, Rosemary, I'm not going to have somebody that I can give you here because it's a tiny project.

[00:05:29] Eric Goranson: And it's either a great DIY project or it could get kind of expensive because painting companies Many times don't like to tackle these kind of little projects, especially in the wintertime on an exterior door, because here's what can happen, you know, when you're painting something, if it's below 50 degrees, a lot of these paints, especially exterior latex ones don't work that well outside because they don't have a chance to cure.

[00:05:55] Eric Goranson: So the best move to that would be is for them to come in one morning. [00:06:00] Plastic off the door, remove the door, plastic it off. So you don't leave, lose too much heat and then take that door either in the garage or someplace in where they can strip it, sand it, refinish it. And here's what you're looking to do, because what happens is you have an adhesion problem from that sun.

[00:06:17] Eric Goranson: And so what I recommend doing on an old steel door like this, that's 30, 35 years old is it's probably if the door is in great shape now, you just need to strip it down. So I would get in there with either a dual action. D a sander or somebody would come in there with a, uh, you know, a citrus orange paint stripper.

[00:06:36] Eric Goranson: I would have them remove all the finish off of that, get it cleaned, sand it down, hit it with a, um, bare metal primer, or it'll take it down depending on what to do. It might just take it down to the primer coat that was there before. But you're going to need a primer on there first. That'll be an adhesion primer.

[00:06:53] Eric Goranson: That's going to stick to that. So that'll be the first thing. And then you're going to need a few coats of finish on there, [00:07:00] but you're going to want to remove all of the old finish, because what you're getting is you're getting a little bit of heat. Just that little bit of sun is causing that to bubble up.

[00:07:07] Eric Goranson: So that's going to be the big thing. So. Getting that door stripped down cleaned up and ready to go is going to be a key right there. So again, it's tough to do. At least you can do the outside and then the inside you can paint a little bit easier, but that could be done in a day if you've got the right people in the right climate and you can get that done.

[00:07:25] Eric Goranson: So what I would do is is either have a. A license bonded handyman or a painting company come in and do that if you don't want to tackle it yourself, but you're going to want to strip it down to bare metal or at least down to the factory primer coat and then go from there and then use a good exterior paint on that that is designed for metal and you should be good.

[00:07:44] Eric Goranson: There's a lot of great ones out there and talk to your, your local paint store to find the right one that will match the color that you're looking for. But that's going to be the key right there is to make sure that you've got that, uh, primed. And so that way. Next winter, or even the rest of this [00:08:00] winter that you don't have any heat coming through and tearing that up because it's just going to continue to bubble those areas.

[00:08:05] Eric Goranson: And it's just like taking a heat gun to, uh, to a door to strip paint, um, that little bit of heat, even in the wintertime when the sun is low is going to cause a damage. And it doesn't matter if you're in California. Or up in, uh, Minneapolis. It doesn't really matter your location. This is one of those things that's gonna really help you out.

[00:08:22] Eric Goranson: By starting over, getting a good primer down there. And that way it doesn't lift off. And, uh, that way you don't have a problem. And again, uh, if you've gotta do some sanding, you might have to scuff that old primer layer that's underneath there if it removes it to that. That way you've got this taken care of.

[00:08:37] Eric Goranson: Because you want to make sure you get everything sticking well. And, uh, a light sanding with like a 220 or 180 grit. Um, to get that down to, uh, that way the primer has something to adhere to will be good. Uh, don't go too much over with metal. I don't want to see you going over too much over 400 if you're using anything latex because it's going to be too shiny and there won't be deep [00:09:00] enough grooves with the sanding to really get there.

[00:09:01] Eric Goranson: So just make sure you're following the directions. On what the paint and the primer says you should do for metal, and you should be good to go. And if you're tackling this project yourself, I know you can do it. But more importantly, just make sure you're talking to your local paint store. And uh, don't go into the home center, but go into your local paint store wherever you're located.

[00:09:19] Eric Goranson: And, uh, they can help walk you through getting the right products and the right materials. And, uh, that could just be a fun Saturday project when the weather's not too bad. And, uh, if you're in a warmer climate, then you could probably tackle it at any time that there's not wind or rain coming. You just want to let that door dry as much as you can before you hang it back up and, uh, make sure they take the lock and everything off and you should be.

[00:09:38] Eric Goranson: Good to go. All right, guys, we'll have more questions for you and more answers just as soon as around the house returns and then get into the rest of the show.[00:10:00]

[00:10:09] Eric Goranson: What's up? This is sticks it in you and satchel from steel Panther. And you are listening to around the house with Eric G. Yeah, we love Eric G and you should too.

[00:10:30] Eric Goranson: Welcome back to the round the house show. This is where we help you get the most out of your home through information and education. Thanks for joining us today. Well, Hey, I want to make sure and hear from you. If you have any questions for us, give us a call with your home improvement questions at toll free 8 3 3 2 3 9 41 44 that's 8 3 3 2 3 9 41 44.

[00:10:48] Eric Goranson: Just give us a call 24 seven. And, uh, I will give you a call back and, uh, we will schedule a time to get you on the radio. Now, here's the thing too. If I call you back, uh, feel [00:11:00] free when you call, if you get a voicemail message, maybe I'm not in the studio. I'm out shooting TV. I'm out doing something. Don't worry about it.

[00:11:08] Eric Goranson: Feel free to give a message of when you want me to call you back and I'll see if I can accommodate that and especially your location. So that way, if you say, Hey, it's a two o'clock and you're in the Eastern time zone and I'm in the Pacific, at least I'll know which two o'clock you want me to call yours or mine.

[00:11:23] Eric Goranson: Well, today we've been talking, taking some calls and questions here. And, um, I've got some more calls coming in here that we'll probably put later in the show, but our other topic today is going to be home hazards, things when you're tackling DIY projects. And I want you to really pay attention to, and these are ones that we see around a lot in our homes.

[00:11:42] Eric Goranson: And there are things that are, um, there's some myths involved, and I just want to make sure that we're addressing them correctly. And that you're following the local rules and regulations on how to get rid of some of these hazards because. Everywhere. It is different. It doesn't matter. We can have federal law, but how the local [00:12:00] state governments handle things are completely different.

[00:12:04] Eric Goranson: And that can be really tough on navigating that. Great example, asbestos. Now, asbestos can be found in a lot of different materials. It can be found in flooring, uh, vinyl flooring from the fifties, sixties, seventies, eighties, nineties, eighties. 2000s maybe. Um, here's the thing with asbestos. A lot of people get confused the facts like with lead paint, that they quit making lead paint after 1977, 1978, that you didn't see it be out there.

[00:12:40] Eric Goranson: No, asbestos was used in building materials to this day, and it was finally less prevalent in the early 2000s. So here's where we run into issues with that. Um, and again, let's talk about. Area laws and rules when I go down to my [00:13:00] local landfill here, which is in the Portland Oregon area is metro waste. If I go down and visit those guys and they're really nice about it.

[00:13:08] Eric Goranson: There's a ton of rules. If I show up with any sheet rock, if I show up with any vinyl flooring, any tar paper. Any sheet rock with texture, mud, anything like that, and pipe wrap, things like that. I had better have an asbestos survey in my hand saying this stuff came from a location and it all tested negative.

[00:13:34] Eric Goranson: What is an asbestos survey? Let's talk about that for a second. That is when a certified testing official, which is usually private. That's a company that you pay to come out to your house. They take small samples of materials you're going to be getting rid of. They go back to the lab or they send it to the lab and they come back and tell you what the level of asbestos is in those materials.

[00:13:57] Eric Goranson: Now, asbestos could be in the glue blo, [00:14:00] that black ma you see that was holding down linoleum or old vinyl. Um, if you have vermiculite insulation, which is that white pebble sand kind of looking stuff, it can be found there. It can be found in drywall, mud, drywall, texture. A lot of different places as well as vinyl flooring.

[00:14:20] Eric Goranson: But here's what you got to be careful with. It depends on where you're going. Now, in the state of Oregon, they pretty much have a plan across the board of what you can do there. But the problem you see is that other people will go across state lines. They'll drive over into, if they're in the Portland area, they'll drive into the Vancouver area and head to the landfill over there and dump off those hazardous materials over there.

[00:14:43] Eric Goranson: Now, there's a lot of people out there on social media that if you ask this in a social media home improvement group, You'll have the handful of saying, Oh, who cares? You're just going to touch it once and throw it in the bag and take it to your landfill. Here's two problems with this. One, asbestos fibers [00:15:00] are very small and they love to float around so they can stick around in your house for years.

[00:15:07] Eric Goranson: And if you're going to get mesothelioma, for instance, that takes multiple exposures. But the problem is, is that if you have one exposure and it goes all around your house because you decided to tear down the popcorn ceiling that was asbestos containing material, that it can float around and it can give you those multiple exposures.

[00:15:28] Eric Goranson: Many times, like people that were working in shipyards or. Other places like that, that we're dealing with asbestos on a regular basis. So unfortunately, even though you'd got the rid of it once, if it's floating around in the dust, it can be floating around for years to come, which means you now have multiple exposures.

[00:15:47] Eric Goranson: And then you got to think about all the people that are working inside these landfill areas. I need you to think about what you're doing to them. This is not always just [00:16:00] about you and your project, but I feel bad for these people that are out there. That are really causing some issues because they're dealing with people's projects.

[00:16:10] Eric Goranson: So think about those people that are getting multiple exposures because you're trying to slide around the rules. So be really cognizant of those people that are hard working that you could be making sick by skirting around those rules. Now in some areas they're not dealing with this, some areas they're dealing with a lot.

[00:16:27] Eric Goranson: But basically if you have materials before about 2004, I'd have them tested. You have a brand new house. That's built in 2005, 2006, probably don't have any in there, but you still want to test it and make sure pay attention to asbestos. It's a big deal. You'll find it in a lot of different products. Heck, I've got ads from, uh, major flooring companies that are still in existence today that have added asbestos for durability.

[00:16:57] Eric Goranson: My mom is a school teacher, uh, they [00:17:00] would give her to make the clay projects for the third graders. They would get bags of asbestos, the school district would, so the kids could put it in the clay to make it stronger, so if they dropped it, it would be less likely to break. The fibers were like fiberglass, so that's what they did back then.

[00:17:18] Eric Goranson: Now, that was a long time ago. That was in the 60s, and that's when people didn't realize what was going on. But, uh, really follow your local laws. You can find that out. Um, really, I, I would start at where your, your, um, you know, where, where your disposal stuff is. If you have a landfill or a agency locally that handles your trash, I would talk to them.

[00:17:41] Eric Goranson: And quite frankly, if it's not the law there, I would just treat it like it was. I would test everything you can make sure you understand it. When I tested my house, I got lucky I didn't have any there and we just tested a project and I'm working on my little brother and, uh, he didn't have anything in his, uh, [00:18:00] vermiculite, which we'll talk about that when we come back.

[00:18:02] Eric Goranson: Cause that's a big 1 there. The vermiculite is that insulation that you see in the 15, you know, before the 1990s really is where you really saw it. And it, uh, is a, um, well, it's that white stuff you see in potting soil, that's vermiculite. The problem is, is the stuff that came out of Libby, Montana, there were areas where there were veins and, and vermiculite is a mineral, so is asbestos.

[00:18:26] Eric Goranson: And there are places where that came out of the same mine and they got cross contaminated. So we ended up having a problem with that. So when we come back, we'll talk a little bit about that to show you can understand that better. We'll do that just as soon as around the house returns.[00:19:00]

[00:19:00] Eric Goranson: Hey, this is Ron Keel, the metal cowboy from Keel, the Ron Keel band and Steeler, we are rocking around the house with Eric G. Welcome back to the around the house show. We've been talking here about, uh, well, we've been talking about some listener questions as well as hazards around your house that you should be paying attention to.

[00:19:21] Eric Goranson: As you're doing those remodels and we're just talking about asbestos, which is kind of what we started the show off here in the last segment. But here's the thing that I really want to pay attention to with vermiculite. There is many times that I run into vermiculite just like my brother's place. That we test it and there is no asbestos containing material in it.

[00:19:41] Eric Goranson: It is 100 percent vermiculite, which means you can dispose of it correctly But I want you to know that before you get into it So that way, you know what's going on And then I want you to follow if it's if it's sitting there and it has to be abated Then this is where I would one figure out what your [00:20:00] local laws are Understand those and in two if you need to hire a company to come in and do it And do it right.

[00:20:06] Eric Goranson: That's the way to do it. Um, if you have a big project like scraping ceilings, those kind of things, maybe it's easier to go over the top of it with a quarter inch sheet of drywall or three sheet of drywall and re skim coat and call it a day. Maybe that's cheaper than going through and having to abate it.

[00:20:23] Eric Goranson: Maybe going over the top of that vinyl flooring that's asbestos with a, with another flooring is something that is common that will work. And you can encapsulate it. These are all things that can be done outside of abating. So this is where you bring in the professionals. You bring in the experts and make sure that you understand what the whole situation is.

[00:20:43] Eric Goranson: But just because you have popcorn doesn't mean that it's all, you know, asbestos containing material just because you have. Um, you know, tiles on the floor that are nine by nine, even though almost always it is, you know, it's funny, uh, when you're seeing those nine by nine square tiles out [00:21:00] of the fifties and sixties, those almost always were asbestos containing materials.

[00:21:05] Eric Goranson: However, they also didn't make 12 by twelves, so, and they were made on the same production line with the same materials. So, any of those square tiles from the sixties, fifties, sixties and seventies. Definitely want to have tested and if it's the law in your area, then I would test them all the way up into the 2000s to make sure that there is no asbestos containing materials.

[00:21:25] Eric Goranson: But this is just 1 of those things that is something you should be serious about. You don't want to be doing any more damage to your body and healthy is good guys. So just be careful out there with that. And that's a big 1. Now, the next 1 here is 1 that has been, um, popular now. And it's something that's been coming back and it started out with people going, I can't believe they're outlawing beach sand.

[00:21:47] Eric Goranson: No, but what the problem is, is silicosis or silica dust. And what this is, is this is sand. That is brought into the air and find dust that can really give you issues [00:22:00] and can be fatal in some situations. So it's something you want to be really, really careful with. Where do you find it? We're seeing a lot right now in the countertop industry, because people that have been doing granite countertops for the longest time, especially those cheaper companies that do a lot of cutting on job sites.

[00:22:21] Eric Goranson: And specifically dry cutting on job sites. Now these are the people that I'm worried about. These are the ones that when you're driving down the street, you see your neighbors getting new countertops put in. There's somebody outside with a dry grinder creating this huge cloud of dust and they're breathing that in.

[00:22:38] Eric Goranson: It's the person at the job site with the big hot saw cutting the dry concrete and there's a cloud of dust from the curb they're cutting going across the place. That's against federal law to do it that way. And these people are putting themselves at high risk. But the problem we're seeing now is because a lot of these, um, low end countertop companies have been dry cutting for [00:23:00] years.

[00:23:00] Eric Goranson: Their workers are getting sick from the silica dust. So here's what I would do as a homeowner. First off, I would make sure that there's nobody working at your house on concrete like that, that doesn't have a vacuum system set up. That meets all of the silica dust table one and all the different stuff that we see out there for following those rules So you want to make sure that these people have a plan that they are dealing with silica dust I'm seeing this in countertop companies.

[00:23:31] Eric Goranson: I'm seeing this in Basement companies that do basement work um, and i'm talking about people that get down there with a uh, you know, maybe they're down there with a Hot saw they're cutting out Uh, to do a trench for a blow grade waterproofing, maybe they're using a jackhammer without a vacuum. Maybe they're drilling into concrete, putting in some of these brackets that you see for doing, um, you know, earthquake retrofits anytime that somebody [00:24:00] is drilling into concrete on your project that should be getting vacuumed into a HEPA vac and no visible dust coming out of that.

[00:24:08] Eric Goranson: So that's the secret there. And then they still should be wearing some kind of a dust mask just to grab the incidental stuff that gets around it. And that's what you're talking about and what you want to see now, if you're doing it yourself, that's a good time to get a respirator and make sure that you're not getting that stuff all around the project.

[00:24:24] Eric Goranson: So just make sure that you've got that a good HEPA vac and a good attachment that will go to your drill or chipper or jackhammer. Or saw to make sure that that stuff's getting sucked up because we don't want to see that go around. Now, the next one here is a big one, and it's something that's been going on for a long time, but we're just getting better at catching it.

[00:24:45] Eric Goranson: And that is mold. Now, mold in your house is something, um, first off, if you have humidity in an area over 60%, that's kind of the magic number for relative humidity, that you start growing mold. [00:25:00] So, I want to make sure that around your house, And all the corners, basement, crawl space, you're never getting above 60 percent because that is the magic number for growing mold.

[00:25:12] Eric Goranson: So maybe you need a dehumidifier in a basement. Maybe you need it for the whole house. Maybe you need something. But first off, those little, little temporary ones, which are kind of the, what I call the throwaway ones, which are the ones you buy down at Walmart or, or wherever that you go pick up or target.

[00:25:29] Eric Goranson: And they have a little tiny thing inside of them. And those. Are meant to work in a small little area. They are not meant to dehumidify your entire basement. If you're gonna do this correctly, you need to put on one in that is really built in, you know, something like by uh, Santa Fe or Bro New Tone or, or uh, Aprilaire, one of the big brands out there that build these things, because that's gonna, one, save you more money, be more reliable than the little tiny throwaway ones.

[00:25:56] Eric Goranson: And if you have one of those, make sure that you're checked up on the recall list [00:26:00] on the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Because last year there were a ton of them recalled for causing fires. So you want to have something that's going to be more built in. It's going to save you money. It's going to work more efficiently and it's going to dehumidify the whole space if you've done it correctly.

[00:26:15] Eric Goranson: So really plan that out and really do it right. So now what do you do if you're worried about mold? Maybe you've got a mold allergy and something's bugging you, but you can't figure out where it is. And this is where air testing comes in. This is where you need to run some air tests. And, uh, one easy way to do it is there's companies out there.

[00:26:33] Eric Goranson: I'm sure that are local, but you can also reach out to my friend, Caroline Blazowski, former code co host here of around the house. She was on the show here and she is, uh, America's healthy home expert. And she does do air testing for mold and other things like that. So what she does is she sends out a kit that you, um, basically sat in the areas that she tells you, you want to test.

[00:26:56] Eric Goranson: Different rooms, different areas. You want to test outside. You're going to [00:27:00] do these different air tests to make sure that you understand what's going on. And then those results will tell you some of the issues. And then you can start, you know. Being the detective and figure out where the issues are, but that's really how you figure out if there is an issue if you can't see it, it could be behind a wall.

[00:27:17] Eric Goranson: It could be up in an attic space or crawl space. It could be a water leak in a space that you have no idea that's happening and that could be making you sick. So when in doubt, do your air testing. I recommend everybody do this about every 4 or 5 years to make sure you've got it under control. And then you can understand what's going on in your home.

[00:27:35] Eric Goranson: And sometimes. You know, and this is the problem we have with air testing out there. If you live next to a swamp or you're in a humid area all the time, or you've got a waterway next to you, you might have air outside that is actually much worse than what it is inside. And so you could be airing out your house to go, Oh my gosh, I'm so much better off getting some fresh air in here.

[00:27:56] Eric Goranson: And although that might make sense, you better be filtering or do something because [00:28:00] you could be introducing more mold spores, more unhealthy air, because. If you've got good conditioned air on the inside and you've got pretty dirty air on the outside, that could be its own issue. So, uh, make sure that you're doing the testing inside and outside so you know the baseline and you know where that's coming from.

[00:28:17] Eric Goranson: And then you can start figuring out what's going on and it could be just a simple plumbing leak. It could be a, uh, humid crawl space or attic. These are all things that you need to figure out and that'll save you money in the long run. All right. One more segment to go. We'll be back around the house.

[00:28:31] Eric Goranson: We'll be right back after these important messages.[00:29:00]

[00:29:03] Eric Goranson: It's the end of the show drinking down people. It's time to go. It's that time again, it's last call. Welcome back to the Around the House Show. This is where we help you get the most out of your home through information and education. If you want to find out more about us, and if you don't have a place to write down our phone number or anything, just go to AroundTheHouseOnline.

[00:29:24] Eric Goranson: com and you'll find out what's going over there. Because I tell you what, that will get you the phone number, it'll get you our YouTube, uh, the multiple YouTube pages we have. Uh, I just posted up our video here this last week of Mario Lopez talking about, uh, Uh, bidet toilets and how he got into bidet toilets.

[00:29:42] Eric Goranson: It's all from watching South Park. And that is up on the website around the house online. com. And then you'll find the phone number there. So you can give us a call with your home improvement questions. And that's 833 239 4144. That's 833 239 4144. We've been talking about [00:30:00] home hazards, uh, around your house that are, uh, problem areas.

[00:30:04] Eric Goranson: And the one I wanted to talk about here is, is really big on older homes. And especially before 1978. And that is lead paint. Now, lead paint is becoming less and less and less of an issue because people have been painting over it for years. And so, uh, that is 1 of those things. And let's talk about lead paint.

[00:30:21] Eric Goranson: You know, lead was added, uh, to be more durable and to make it higher quality paint. So what I'm seeing is, is, is at least in my area, and I know this is probably a pretty good thing across the country. Areas that were a little bit nicer where they had good paint salespeople, I can go around and see where neighborhood by neighborhood, you'll see clusters in the old nicer areas before 1978.

[00:30:51] Eric Goranson: You'll see those areas have a higher. Likelihood of having lead paint on a project, then guess what a newer [00:31:00] one. So if you had a lower income area, many times they had less low lead paint than the higher income areas, because that was the premium paint lead was expensive and the lead was a premium product.

[00:31:12] Eric Goranson: And so it showed up, so the higher and more higher in house. To be honest, the more likely you are to have lead paint, but really the only way to do is to test it. 3M makes some great test kits. You can send off samples, you could have people come in, but it is something that you need to be careful with.

[00:31:30] Eric Goranson: And it is something that TV hosts around the U. S. have been getting nailed on on TV projects for a very long time. Now here's the issue. When you're working on a house prior to 1978, and you're a contractor, you have to follow the lead paint rules federally. Chip and Joanna Gaines have gotten nailed. A lot of the HDTV show hosts have been getting nailed because they're doing demo and [00:32:00] they're disturbing more paint than they're allowed to under the lead paint rules.

[00:32:04] Eric Goranson: So make sure that you follow and understand those. I'm not going to give them all here because that would be some really boring radio, but, uh, you can go over the EPA site, just look up lead paint and they will tell you the federal rules for that. And then make sure you check with your state or local government to see if there's any additional ones that go beyond that, but that's a safe way to do it.

[00:32:24] Eric Goranson: Good news is, is there's less and less of it out there that we're seeing. But if you're doing demo work and you're getting back into those layers of paint, that's where you need to make sure and do those tests. So figure out if there is any in the house, do some good testing, and you'll know what to do in my area if I'm tearing down a house.

[00:32:43] Eric Goranson: I have to remove all the lead paint, asbestos, any of that stuff before they even tear it down so it doesn't expose anybody in the neighborhood to those dusts. So these are things that are really important. I want to make sure you don't get in trouble by following those rules. And yes, people can get nailed on this.

[00:32:58] Eric Goranson: There was a guy here [00:33:00] in my area, they got nailed with an initial fine. And I believe they reduced it, but that that's how it goes. But, uh, he went out and, um, was a real estate developer. He understood what happened if you didn't do this right. And, uh, he had been warned before. So he knew on record and he hired a company to come in and remove all this asbestos containing material.

[00:33:25] Eric Goranson: And yeah, the state nailed him with a 100, 000 fine that I'm sure was reduced when he came back to it. But still, that is a legal issue that will ruin any project. So just make sure you're doing it correctly. Make sure you're getting rid of things correctly. Make sure you're not putting other people in danger and you're going to be okay.

[00:33:41] Eric Goranson: Now there are a couple of things that I want you to be aware of, uh, in your home and, um, PM 2. 5 is another thing that is measured now in your home. And it's something which is particulate matter, uh, 2. 5 microns basically is what that is. And so this is, you know, if you get that sun [00:34:00] ray through the windows on a sunny day, and you can see.

[00:34:03] Eric Goranson: The stuff floating around in the air, yeah, that's the stuff I'm talking about. That is that particulate matter. Now, if you have pets, this is a big deal. If you have in wall or baseboard heat with no filtration method, that's an issue. These are all things that I want to make sure that you understand what's going on so you can make sure you've got the healthiest air possible.

[00:34:27] Eric Goranson: So if you do have just wall heat and you don't have any kind of filtration method to filter your air, this is where I would sit there and really put. Everything together and get an air filtration system, maybe a HEPA filter that you can go through and help clean the air in that situation. And then making sure that you're using your bath fans, making sure that you're using all those important things.

[00:34:52] Eric Goranson: Like your, uh, you know, the biggest offender is that, uh, not using your vent hood in the kitchen. So, we've talked about that before, but again, these are [00:35:00] things that are making the air healthy for you. And these are things that, uh, you can do to make sure that, um, you know, that you're healthier and safer.

[00:35:10] Eric Goranson: And especially as you get older, you need to make sure that, uh, you know, you're not putting things in your body. And, uh, health and wellness should be a big thing. Now, one of the other things is, here too, is home hazards. Is I'm really worried about the chemicals, the VOCs that are in the air. What are some of the big offenders of that?

[00:35:30] Eric Goranson: Um, many times, ironically, are some of those plug in style, um, air fresheners you see out there that have all the different oils and liquids in them. That's like vaping, guys. Be careful. Those are things that are not great, and they can actually put layers of that oil on everything. Almost like what you'd see out of a smoker, so be very careful.

[00:35:51] Eric Goranson: By putting things into the air in your home, just as, um, you know, essential oil diffusers can be a problem. [00:36:00] These are all things that you got to be careful with. And then the 1 that my friend Caroline, of course, gave me, which she was right, was storing all those hazardous chemicals in your basement.

[00:36:09] Eric Goranson: Having a basement workshop where you're sitting there working on projects and maybe you're spraying lacquer or you're painting. You know, with spray cans, all that kind of stuff that could be an issue. Now, 1 of the other big things that, uh, I learned from Caroline as well is that, uh, you know, those, um, during covid, we saw him a lot.

[00:36:29] Eric Goranson: Those are those little round containers of wet wipes that you can use to clean up around your house. Those things give off a ton of chemicals and they will show up. She could actually do an air test at your house and and get pretty close to how many packages that you have. Mhm. Just from the VOCs that are given off from that.

[00:36:48] Eric Goranson: So be really careful of what chemicals you have, what you're using and making sure that you're ventilating in your house very well. And I want to make sure that you're just not breathing in things you [00:37:00] shouldn't. So be very careful, um, just as I don't like to see people using, uh, you know, bleach and things like that in their home for cleaning.

[00:37:08] Eric Goranson: Um, it's 1 thing to be sanitizing something, but if you're using that to kill mold, if you're using that to clean out the toilet bowls. Just stop. You're not, you're not helping. One, it's going to etch whatever product that's going on. And two, you just don't want to be using that stuff. So anything that's given off those hazardous chemicals, be really careful with.

[00:37:27] Eric Goranson: And the last one I have is the chemical drain cleaners. Why don't we just stay away from using those? If you can't get it broken up with a plunger, if you can't get it broken up with a snake, maybe it's time to bring in a professional. I am not a fan of those chemical drain cleaners because one, When it doesn't work, you're now putting in danger the plumbing professional that has to come over and fix it because once you've poured it in there and it's plugged and it stays there, they got to come over and deal with that stuff, which is going to cost you more money and to that stuff can [00:38:00] eat up certain types of pipe.

[00:38:02] Eric Goranson: So, if you don't understand and you've got to maybe an older house, we got some other issues that can be creating other issues eating through different kinds of pipe. So, make sure that you understand what's going on. I would not just go grab some of that stuff off the shelf. I have, uh, banned that stuff from my house because I don't want to hurt any plumbing here.

[00:38:22] Eric Goranson: Uh, so your best bet is to go through, and instead of using drain cleaners, just go through and clean up those traps every six months. Maybe the ones that people are washing their face, or they're, or they're shaving, or they're, or washing hair in, you know, any of those things like that. Clean those out, get the hair out of there, get the shaving stuff out of there, clean it up, and you'll be doing really good.

[00:38:44] Eric Goranson: So just make sure you've got that. And stay away from those drain cleaners, because one, they can cause a ton of problems with the plumbing, and two, hell, those chemicals are off gassing anyway, so why add that to your house? And if you feel like you are, just turn on the bath fan on at least and give yourself a good break.[00:39:00]

[00:39:00] Eric Goranson: All right, guys. If you've got a comment, feel free to give us a call at 833 239 4144 love to hear what you think. Thanks for tuning in around the house. We'll see you next weekend or Wednesday on the podcast. Thanks again. Have a great weekend.