Start with a question.
The questions people actually ask about their homes, answered in plain language first. Every answer links down to the research behind it.
Your water
Is my tap water safe to drink?For most people on a US public water system, tap water will not make you sick today, which is a low bar.How do I find out what is actually in my water?Two sources tell you.Do I need a water filter?For most US homes, yes.Which water filter do I need?The right filter is the one certified for what is actually in your water, and half of that is free to look up.How do I test my well water?Send a sample to a state-certified laboratory once a year for total coliform bacteria, nitrate, total dissolved solids, and pH.How do I know if I have hard water?Your water utility already measured your hardness and publishes the number free in its annual water quality report.Will a shower filter help with hard water?No shower filter softens hard water.How do you remove hard water stains?Soak the stain in a mild acid, white vinegar or lemon juice, and wipe once the mineral softens.How do I test my water for lead?Lead in water has a health goal of zero, and the only way to learn your tap's number is a first-draw sample read by a certified lab.What do you do during a boil water notice?Bring clear tap water to a rolling boil for one full minute, cool it, and use that for drinking, cooking, ice, and brushing teeth.Why does my well water smell like rotten eggs?The rotten-egg smell in well water is hydrogen sulfide, a gas made by sulfur-reducing bacteria in low-oxygen groundwater.
Your air
Why is the air inside my house worse than outside?Indoor air is often worse than outdoor air because a modern house seals tight and traps what gets made inside it.Do I need an air purifier?An air purifier helps if your problem is airborne particles: cooking smoke, wildfire haze, traffic soot, pollen, or pet dander.How do I keep wildfire smoke out of my house?Close the house, filter what is already inside it, and stop adding particles of your own, in that order.How do I test the air quality in my home?You test it one pollutant at a time, because air quality is not one measurement.Why does my house smell musty?Your house smells musty because mold is growing on something wet, and the gases it gives off while growing are what you smell.How do I get rid of smoke smell in my house?Find the source first, then clean the surfaces holding it.How do I test my home for radon?Get a short-term test kit, put it on the lowest level you live on, and keep the house closed while it runs.Is my gas stove a problem for my air?Cooking on a gas burner releases nitrogen dioxide, fine particles, and benzene right where you breathe, and a tight modern home traps it.Why does my bedroom feel stuffy at night?Your bedroom feels stuffy at night because the carbon dioxide you breathe out builds up behind a closed door faster than the room swaps it for fresh air.What should the humidity be in my house?The humidity in your house should sit at 40 to 50 percent relative humidity in the rooms you live and sleep in.I found mold. How bad is it?A small patch you can see and reach is usually a homeowner job, not an emergency.Is that new-furniture or fresh-paint smell bad for me?That smell is off-gassing: volatile organic compounds (VOCs) evaporating from new paint, furniture, and flooring.What is the difference between PM2.5 and PM10?PM10 is every airborne particle up to 10 micrometers across, and PM2.5 is the finest slice of it, 2.5 micrometers and below.Do I need a mold inspection?If you can already see the growth, usually not: EPA says that in most cases, if visible mold growth is present, sampling is unnecessary.What are the symptoms of mold exposure?The symptoms with settled evidence behind them are respiratory and allergic: stuffy nose, sore throat, cough, wheeze, burning eyes, and skin rash.Why does mold keep coming back in my bathroom?Because the water is still arriving faster than the room dries, and mold needs only 24 to 48 hours of sustained surface moisture to take hold.Is air duct cleaning worth it?Usually not.Do air purifiers help with mold?A true HEPA purifier does capture mold spores, but it cannot touch the colony on the wet material that keeps releasing them.How much does a radon mitigation system cost?There is no single price for radon mitigation: Illinois's state program publishes $800 to $1,200 and Minnesota's publishes $1,500 to $3,000.Why is there condensation on my windows?Condensation forms on the inside of your windows when warm, damp indoor air meets glass cold enough to wring the water out of it.
Your light
Is it bad to sleep with the lights on?Yes, sleeping with the lights on is worse for you than most people assume, and dim light counts.Does sunlight through a window give you vitamin D?Sunlight through a window does not give you vitamin D because glass blocks the UV-B wavelengths your skin uses to make it.When is the best time to go outside for daylight?The best time to go outside for daylight is in the morning, within a couple of hours of waking.Do I need a light therapy lamp, or is going outside enough?Most people do not need a light therapy lamp, because outdoor daylight is free and far brighter than the room they would otherwise sit in.Is it worth going outside on a cloudy day?Going outside on a cloudy day is still worth it.How much sun do you need for vitamin D?Nobody can tell you how much sun you need for vitamin D.Why do I feel worse in winter?Winter feels flatter for a lot of people, and the clearest thing that changes is light: less of it, arriving later and leaving earlier.Does morning sunlight actually help you sleep?Morning sunlight helps by shifting when sleep arrives rather than how deep it goes.How much outdoor time do kids need for their eyes?The trials that tested outdoor time and children's eyesight added about 40 extra minutes outdoors per school day.
The whole home
Is my house making me sick?Maybe, and the usual causes are ordinary ones.Why do I wake up tired after 8 hours of sleep?If you sleep a full eight hours and still wake up tired, the sleep itself was shallow, and the room you slept in is the first place to look.What does a home inspection not cover?A home inspection is a non-invasive, visual examination, so it excludes what needs an instrument or a laboratory.How much does mold remediation cost?Recent cost surveys put professional mold remediation between $1,200 and $9,000, with averages running $2,300 to $3,500.What are the symptoms of mercury exposure?The symptoms depend on which mercury.How do you remove heavy metals from your body?Your body already removes heavy metals once exposure stops: most arsenic leaves in urine within days, and lead exits blood over about a month.
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