Question from Jen
Hi,
After reading your great book and using it to completely detoxify our current home, we now have found ourselves in a position where we will have to move. 🙁
We have found a home deal that is really too good to pass up financially, whereby we would purchase a brand new built home. Unfortunately the most this company can offer as to nontoxicity is low VOC paint inside. I know about “baking the house” before moving in, but you have typically suggested this with a green home.
Are there additional steps or suggestions for a home that isn’t green built? We will request all hardwoods throughout and I know they don’t use an adhesive to put them down. I also know they use the blown in cellulose insulation. And I know we will paint it with a zero VOC paint weeks before we move in and before we bake it. But unfortunatley there are some obvious downsides we can’t get away from.
First are the vinyl windows with no option of wood or aluminum upgrades (nor would we be able to do this on our own until waaay down the road.) Second, they use some sort of PEX piping for the water which is supposed to be a softer type plastic. They claim less leaching than copper but I feel worried. We can’t afford to replace all the piping but my husband suggsted mybe we could at least replace the pipes that carry the drinking water with copper for now.
And I am sure there are a multitude of other toxics associated with new home building. So I would truly value your input, are we crazy for going brand new?? Help! What can we do to make it better?
Debra’s Answer
I completely understand. But to address this is beyond the scope of this blog. I’d have to write a book to cover everything that might be in a new home.
We can talk about this over the phone in a paid telephone consultation. That way you can describe to me what is in the home and we can address those specific items, rather than have me write out all the possibilities.
Readers, if any of you have experience detoxifying a new home, please write and tell us what you did.
I just need to say, there are so many toxic things in a new home, I don’t even look at them, personally. I understand this may look good financially, but it might cause more expensive problems to your health in the long run.
