The average 1500 sq. ft. home generates 40 pounds of dust per year.

Twenty Six million Americans suffer from asthma. Include chronic allergies and that number rises to sixty million - one in five Americans. Does that sound like an opportunity for an entrepreneurial home builder to focus on building healthy homes as a way to differentiate and perhaps be viewed as their market's "best" builder?

Closets are dust havens. Design closets to be easy to clean. Dust settles on solid (i.e., wood) shelving, whereas air currents move through ventilated wire shelving. Reality is, homeowners don't move stuff on closet floors when vacuuming and dust easily accumulates there. Point out that by installing shelving that keeps items off the floors, such as shoe racks, makes cleaning it both easier and more efficient.

Carpeting traps dust. Who has time for daily whole-house vacuuming? Hardwood, tile, concrete and vinyl flooring products are wise choices for healthier homes. Pre-finished hardwood floors emit much lower levels of VOC's than finished-on-site wood flooring. Sealing concrete floors-including basement and garage slabs-reduces dust collecting on these floors.

Ceiling fans attract dust. Ceiling fans can be difficult to reach, meaning they're not cleaned often in most homes. Wiping the blades merely scatters the dust. Hunter® developed a neat solution, a coating they refer to as "Dust Armor" for the company's ceiling fans which repels dust build-up on the blades.

HVAC ductwork continuously recirculates construction debris, dust, pet dander, mold, etc. During construction, point out that air duct registers are covered to minimize drywall dust and other contaminants getting into the ductwork. Better yet, suggest or include professional air duct cleaning, scheduled immediately prior to move-in.

A whole-home high performance air cleaner is an important step in creating a healthy indoor environment. Importantly, the selection of the air cleaner must be made in concert with the home's HVAC system due to airflow issues

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Central vacuum systems with the collection canister located in the garage are another smart choice. HEPA-rated filtration means the buyer is not simply kicking allergens back into the air when vacuuming. The units are quieter than portable vacuum cleaners and are effective at reducing dust mites in the home. (Because dust mites don't float through the air like typical dust particles, high-performance air cleaners do not address potential dust mite problems well.)

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2014 International Builders Show Booth #8610 February 4-6th Las Vegas, NV IBS Website

DESIGN BASICS 

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