Confronting Hidden Home Hazards

Can you imagine living in a home with hidden health hazards lurking in its very foundation? Join me, Jim, and Laura, our office goddess, as we unveil the shocking discoveries from an Ohio home inspection that reveals troubling environmental risks. From the toxic threats of hexavalent chromium and formaldehyde to arsenic and lead contaminations in the soil, we explore the dark side of pressure-treated wood foundations. This episode serves as a stark reminder of why thorough inspections are not just routine, but essential, to ensuring your family's safety.

But don't worry—help is always at hand. We also highlight the importance of reaching out when you encounter unusual or challenging situations. By defining problems clearly, solutions become more achievable, turning daunting scenarios into manageable tasks. Stay connected with us through your favorite podcast platforms or social media channels as we continue to share expert insights and practical advice. Subscribe, tune in, and let's stay informed and engaged with the evolving world of environmental safety in our homes.

Chapters

• 0:02 Environmental Issues in Ohio Homes
• 10:51 Ohio Home Inspection Assistance

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:02

Welcome to the Standing Out in Ohio podcast, where we discuss topics, upcoming events, news and predictions with real estate professionals and entrepreneurs. Listen and learn what makes their companies and themselves stand out and gain advantages over the competition and gain market share. Subscribe for the latest news and discussion on what it takes to stand out from the crowd. Now here's your host, jim.

Speaker 2: 0:32

Hey everybody, Welcome to the Standing Out in Ohio podcast. This is Jim, and with me is Laura, the office goddess.

Speaker 3: 0:40

Hello everybody.

Speaker 2: 0:42

All right. So we do home inspections. We also have a company, environmental Consultants of Ohio, that does mainly indoor air quality air assessment, which is mold chemicals. We do that stuff there and it's kind of to help people kind of solve their maybe odor issues consultation with them as well. We also have a Heartland Commercial Property Inspections which does strictly commercial building inspections. But we did a house. Laura, why don't you give the story?

Speaker 3: 1:20

This house the parents passed away right this house, that was the parents passed away right with really weird diagnoses that both of their doctors said had to be environmental, not genetic and this is the parents that this was the parents that died, so these kids were raised in this house from. I think the house was built in 88. It had a wood foundation, which why don't you explain what that means for people?

Speaker 2: 1:50

For wooden foundation instead of pouring concrete or doing the cinder block. It is pretty much framed like a wall in a house. You have these I wish I measured them, but they're like two by eights, two by 10 framing for the foundation walls, all pressure treated wood, and they had the sole plate, they had the top plate and then the outside they had sheathing that was pressure treated plywood. So it was basically like you frame in a wall with larger pieces of wood, all pressure treated, and you put like a plastic wrap on all pressurized, and you put a plastic wrap on the outside to help keep moisture and you put that in the ground and they put dirt up against it. So that's a wooden foundation. It's all pressurized wood which back then they used copper, arsenic as a preservative to prevent rotting. They stopped doing that. I wonder why. Yeah, All right, so go ahead and story.

Speaker 3: 2:48

So I went in and did a bunch of tests. I did radon, mold, heavy metals in the air, heavy metals in the soil, voc testing, formaldehyde testing. So we had higher levels of formaldehyde testing. So we had higher levels of formaldehyde and we had higher levels of a metal that came back in the metal test, which kind of threw me, and it was called um chromium. Now, chromium is something we've all heard about. However, when it's in the air, there's two types of it at least. So the ones that I'm focusing on is the regular chromium no harm, no foul, no problem. But there's another one called hex, and I may kill this. So if I do, forgive me, but it's hexavalent chromium, forgive me, but it's hexavalent chromium and that can be released by the type of wood that they use for their foundation. The copper arsenate can actually release that hexavalent chromium. So the amount that came back in this test result, if it is more of that hexavalent chromium, it's almost three times the amount that the EPA says is safe. And they're breathing that and they're breathing that.

Speaker 3: 4:13

So I've got another company that I need to contact today and talk to them about the testing, because at this point I need to find a company where I can test the air and what is the okay chromium and what is the not okay chromium. So that's going to be my next step because that's kind of where I'm leaning towards and what turns it into that type. And how do we get rid of it?

Speaker 2: 4:36

So that's why you do not. You never do a cooking fire with pressure tree wood, cause they use that chromated copper arsenic until like 2003. Oh, is it used that long? Yes, wow. It was the 1930s, when they first started using it for the wood. But 2003 is when the EPA says, hey, you can't use that anymore.

Speaker 3: 5:01

That is crazy.

Speaker 2: 5:03

So anytime you see pressure tree wood, do not cook with it. No, do not even. I wouldn't even do a campfire with it. No, because you definitely not where you're gonna breathe. In a smoke, maybe a little bit maybe, but, dude, you're putting that like arsenic in the air right and that's yeah.

Speaker 3: 5:23

So basically at this point the the metal test also came back in the soil high in arsenic and lead.

Speaker 2: 5:32

So that's unusual that you we normally don't do soil testing Well, but this is Environmental Consultants of Ohio that did that Right.

Speaker 3: 5:40

Well, part of the thought. So, like I worked with the lab and we came up with some ideas, because he wanted, first of all, to know about doing a garden, because it's a fairly decent sized property where they can have it's a nice property, it was very nice, like it was a really pretty area, so they want to be able to grow their own food. Okay, I get it, I'm doing the same thing. You're a hippie, I'm a hippie, I'm a hippie, I'm down with that. So we also did one as like they have like a walkout basement. So we did one beside the house to see what was going on, and that one was very high in like arsenic and lead, as was out where the garden was actually going to be. It wasn't as high as it was at the house, so there's definitely stuff leaching from that foundation.

Speaker 2: 6:33

Yeah, Copper arsenic in the wood is just kind of well as it gets wet, and we did find moisture in there. We did find moisture In the basement, so that was just leached down to the soil.

Speaker 3: 6:44

We also found a small area of stachybacteris, which meant that that's been wet for a long time, so we did talk about that that's a species of mold that is a species of mold that takes a very long time to grow and, if you're going by normie standards, that needs completely and totally eradicated, with no spores whatsoever left in the house. That's what they call their no-go mold. There's like five of them.

Speaker 2: 7:10

That are supposedly really bad.

Speaker 3: 7:12

Really. Yeah. So he and I talked he knows about, you know, containment and all that stuff and cleaning it up and getting rid of it and killing it before he does anything. So this next piece of it um, the last time I spoke with him I told him that I needed to find out about this test and how to see if I could find another test to figure that out. So at this point I'm going to make a phone call to that new company today Because I have absolutely no clue about this test, like how much it is, how long it takes, anything. So I need to get that information before I call and talk to him. Next.

Speaker 2: 7:50

Okay, so that was an unusual thing that we did, and I'm reading an article here. It's talking about leaching into the soil, and how much leaches out is definitely going to be related to the moisture levels, and they're talking about the acidic level of the soil.

Speaker 3: 8:09

Oh I didn't test the acidity level. But that makes sense.

Speaker 2: 8:12

That makes sense. It makes sense. So we talked to the lab for this one. So they lowered the acidic level of the soil. Would that reduce? How much would continue to leach out? But this house, whether we're talking about 80, it's been like 40 years.

Speaker 3: 8:31

Kind of a done deal at this point, like how do you get it out? I don't know. So that's some of the questions that I need to start doing some research on and helping them figure out. My thought was, if you're going to do gardening at this point, it may just be easier to do the raised garden beds and haul in dirt.

Speaker 2: 8:49

For gardening? Yes, for gardening, because you and I did look at this. Arsenic can get into your vegetables at your grow. Yes, Especially the root vegetables. Yes, so you got to be careful of that. But this is kind of odd things that we get into because people contact they have questions.

Speaker 3: 9:07

They need help and nobody's been able to help.

Speaker 2: 9:09

Solutions, and I mean, I remember one place they had the industrial hygienists that were contacted. They contacted three and none of them helped them. Nobody would. They wanted to know what the issue was before they come out. You're supposed to tell me what the issue is, so we go and then go. Here's your problem and here's how to fix it.

Speaker 3: 9:32

Here's how you can fix it.

Speaker 2: 9:34

Forget the industrial hygienists, because they're apparently not helpful. So we, through talking to the lab, we know how something should be done. Anyway, that was that one.

Speaker 3: 9:47

We've been getting some really interesting calls like this. I like these ones. I like being able to try to help people figure out what's going on.

Speaker 2: 9:56

I do think you should set up an online. We'll figure out what's going on. I do think you should set up a online forum I know you have it set up where people fill out the form. It's like a quiz. They answer these five things and you go yep, this is a potential. This could be the cause of what's going on in your house, and then they can do a consultation with you and then, if they want, you could provide them a plan on how to fix that Right which you have, your normie designation. We'll talk about it in another podcast.

Speaker 3: 10:35

Yeah, that's going to have to be a separate one here We'll do that next.

Speaker 2: 10:38

We'll do that one next.

Speaker 3: 10:39

Okay.

Speaker 2: 10:42

And so you can help them figure out the protocol to get things fixed for themselves or at least greatly improve it.

Speaker 3: 10:49

Yes.

Speaker 2: 10:50

So, all right, I think that's it for this one. So if you have anything weird going on, don't be afraid to ask us for help. We can probably help you out or give you proper directions.

Speaker 3: 11:04

Yeah, greatly narrow it down.

Speaker 2: 11:05

Narrow down a lot of issues for you like I said before, a problem precisely defined is already largely solved. Lord knows, it's true.

Speaker 1: 11:17

All right, thank you, everybody bye, everyone bye you've been listening to the standing out in ohio podcast. Be sure to subscribe on spotify or google podcast to get new, fresh episodes. For more, please follow us on instagram, twitter and facebook, or visit the website of the best ohio home inspection company, homeinspectionsinohiocom or jimtroffcom. That's J-I-M-T-R-O-T-H and click on podcast. Until next time, learn and go do stuff.