Best Practices for Maintaining "House Health" During Remodeling & Repairs

Photo: Lisa Kauffman Tharp

Why are the contractors at THE CONCORD GREEN HEALTHY HOUSE inside a ziplock bag?  Actually, they are utilizing best practices to protect the health of the home's occupants while they make a repair.

Any time you need to open up walls or create any sort of construction disturbance inside your home, here are some important tips for preventing contamination:

1. Tent - Build a makeshift enclosure of plastic to seal off the work area.  Add a zipper (in red) for easy access.
2. Negative Air Pressure - Set up a window fan blowing to the exterior within the sealed space.  This will draw any dust, chemicals, etc. outside.
3. HEPA Vacuum - As you can see in the photo, as dust is stirred up from cutting into the ceiling, the HEPA vacuum is being used to clean up any particulates right away.  Vacuums with HEPA filters clean 99%+ of particulates.  Do NOT use a shop vacuum, as they simply spread the dust around.
4. Shut & Seal Air Systems - Shut down and seal off vents to any forced hot air/air conditioning/ventilation/filtration systems, in which errant particulates can enter into the ductwork.

A special thanks, as always, to the folks at Aedi Construction, who have utilized these best practices throughout the project.