Non Toxic Environments Home Health & Wellness

On today's episode, Jay and I talk about flooring options for your home.  We break down the "green" and human friendly attributes of various floors like cork, bamboo and wood, we discuss colors and trends, then we top it off with a quick guide to pricing so you can know what to expect as you start your research.  So if you're designing a new home or remodeling your existing space, this is definitely an episode you don't want to miss!

Water is essential for life, yet can cause so much destruction.  Building a healthy home requires the use of many materials, very few as important as what we'll be discussing today.  Etienne Gubler of Siga North America joins us today to discuss how his company's tapes, wraps and membranes can eliminate the destructive element of water intrusion, and allow our well-built homes to last far beyond the typical service life we get here in North America.  Plus, we take a few questions from the mailbag.

Jay and I today take a deep dive into the extremely important topic of chemical offgassing.   Folks, I know that I believe every episode of NTE is important.  But this one it at the top of the 'important' list!  In my eyes, the elimination of offgassing of your building materials is the most crucial aspect of healthy home building or remodeling. Whether you're painting your home, replacing the carpet or just want to keep the indoor air as pristine as can be, this episode is for YOU!

 Jay and I were talking earlier this week about some trends in the healthy building industry, and it occurred to us that we should immediately stop talking and jump on the microphones to continue the discussion.  I'll admit, I did talk about one or two scary trends that we're facing (insert spray foam insulation here), but i promise that 90% of the show is positive! 

Its a common theme with many of our episodes.  Jay and I will always remind you to prepare your surfaces, prepare the area, manage your expectations!  Let me be honest, folks.  Chip and Joanna dont actually remodel a bathroom over a weekend!! It cant happen.  It takes planning and lots of it. I recorded an audio article for a magazine a few months back about this topic and I thought you all would enjoy it. After that, I'll read a question I got from a customer I haven't worked with since 2005.

Neither Jay nor I can ever admit to "knowing it all".  Far from it, in fact.  Both of us need to refer to others on a regular basis and of course, we rely on the internet to help.  Sometimes we need contact names for specific professionals.  Other times...we just need inspiration to get us through a rough day or a difficult project.  So when those times come...and they come often these days...here's some of the sites we go to.

This is our monthly episode where Jay and I open up the mailbag and answer listener questions.  However, the first half of the show, Jay and I discuss some of the new home projects I'm currently working on and some of the more critical issues that our clients are facing right now.  Mold, moisture and more!  This is a really good episode and should be quite helpful to anyone who's building now or is planning to build soon.  

There has been quite a bit of activity with formaldehyde testing in the last few weeks and I wanted to share some findings.  The average home can have 5,000-15,000 different chemicals in the air at any given time, so I suppose it seems like a drop in the bucket if we eliminated just one.  But formaldehyde is a key trigger for allergies, asthma and chemical sensitivity, so that's our main goal here.  Its a short episode today but the last few minutes of the show you have to stick around for.

I imagine you've heard an episode or two of this show, so you may know that we always emphasize surface preparation and testing as keys for a successful project, no matter the task.  The surface that a sealer, coating, floor covering, etc, is going on, is called a "substrate" and we will always insist that the substrate is in the proper condition before covering it up.  So what exact IS a substrate made of and how should you prepare it?  Thats what we tackle today.

I'll admit...Feng Shui has always been a little too 'woo-woo' for me.  And if I had to hear one more TV interior designer say " oh the Feng Shui of this place is horrible...", only to move a chair and say VOILA!.... Joining us today is Shivam Kohls, who is not only a Feng Shui practitioner, but she's an author, life coach and an all around EXPERT on personal well-being.  I actually feel better myself just from listening to her!  

As the saying goes, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and over again, expecting different results.  By that definition, the home building industry should definitely be deemed insane.  So if we know that typical building methods are dangerous, why do we keep allowing it to happen? Probably because of the cost increases...either perceived or real. So lets have that conversation today.  

We are definitely in the midst of the construction busy season, so Jay and I are getting lots and lots of great questions coming at us.  We decided that one episode per month will be dedicated to answering questions that will help all of our listeners with current projects.  We're calling it our Monthly Mailbag Bonanza!  Hope you enjoy!!

Part 2 of our live event from Zuza's Way in Thiensville Wisconsin.  This episode is the Q&A portion of our event.  Several great questions from our audience that led into some great conversation with Dagmara Beine PA-C, who does a wonderful job helping us all understand how the home is a critical factor when trying to heal the body.  

Oh boy this was a fun event!! So fun, that we had to break up the recording into two parts for you.  Part 1 here is an introduction to Dagmara Beine and her practice, Zuza's Way, in Thiensville WI.  Dagmara invited us to come record our show in front of a live audience so we could interact and answer questions.  This episode, we'll hear all about Dagmara's story and why her approach to medicine fits perfectly within the NTE framework of Mind, Body, Home.  

Today's episode is a fun mishmosh of topics related to household projects that are best done as the weather gets nicer.  We'll virtually walk around your home and discuss areas that you should inspect and repair before winter sets in later this year.   We also reiterate some of the contractor related questions and advice that earlier episodes dealt with.  Then finally, a frank discussion about project timing, expectations and what the customer needs to do to alleviate potential stressful situations.