How to Buy a Healthy Home
Thinking about buying a home? We know firsthand that buying a home can be stressful, especially since no one actually ever teaches you how to buy a house. Here’s a piece of advice when shopping around for homes: Make sure it’s a Healthy Home! Purchasing a healthy, cozy home for your family to grow in is a top priority for homebuyers. But how can you find a home so perfect? The secret: A Healthy Home starts with Healthy Air.
A 10-Step Approach to Healthy Living
Wellness Within Your Walls’ Healthy Living System™
- Clean Air
- Clean Water
- Natural Light
- Chemical Control
- Physical Wellness
- Spiritual Wellness
- Mental Wellness
- Conscious Consumption
- Food Science
- Behavioral Studies
Ready to buy a Healthy Home? Let this Home Buying Checklist help you in your search.
When it comes to Indoor Air Quality, be sure the home’s ventilation and air purification systems are running efficiently. Bring in a Healthy Air Professional to help assess their effectiveness.
Rule out mold and moisture issues. Interior mold growth can be harmful to your health, creating respiratory and other health problems for you and your family. Ensure the home is mold-free and protected.
Ask about past, present, and future contamination concerns. From abandoned fuel tanks, gas or oil leaks, pesticides from remediation efforts, and more ask about factors that may harm your family’s health and the hazards that can lurk in, around, and even under your home.
Check for harmful gasses in the home. Carbon Dioxide, Carbon Monoxide, Sewer Gasses, and Natural Gas can be present in your home without your knowledge, so be sure to do a thorough check to find out if these are lingering in your indoor air.
Locate pathways where contaminants and other pollutants can enter into your home. Once located, discuss ways to eliminate them.
Ensure you’re safe from radiation and your wiring passes inspection. External sources, like high-voltage transmission lines or high-powered cellular towers, should be identified and measured to determine your exposure levels. Inside, identify any wiring issues, like outdated practices or faulty connections.
Determine any air quality threats like nearby freeways or other sources that may contribute to your home’s polluted air.
Dos & Don'ts
Do
your research
When looking for homes, be sure you’re doing adequate research into your potential living situation. Aside from making sure you’re finding a home in your desired neighborhood, school system, etc., ask your realtor questions like whether the homes you will be looking at are older or near busy highways.
Don’t
skip a home inspection
While skipping out on a home inspection could save you a bit of money now, it could actually cost you in the long run. A home inspection is necessary to ensure that your future home is safe from air quality issues, mold, wiring issues, and so much more. In addition to your general inspection checklist, be sure that your inspector is checking for lead, radon, and even allergens so you have the peace of mind that your family is entering a safe, healthy environment. Check your water and soil as well prior to purchase (you can even do it yourself).
Do
ask about future developments in the neighborhood
Is your new neighborhood looking to install cellular towers or make structural changes to the area? Ask about future plans and how they may impact you and your family.
Don’t
settle for anything less than what you want
If you’re unhappy with the answers or options presented to you by your relator or home inspector, it’s always best to get a second opinion or look elsewhere for what you want and need. If there are too many ‘red flags’ in a neighborhood or home, walk away and keep looking until you find the Healthy Home right for you.
Do
invest in Healthy Air
Even if the home you’re looking to buy doesn’t have what’s needed to produce Healthy Air, make sure that purification, humidification, and ventilation are at the top of your install list before you move in.
“Buying a Healthy Home means paying attention to features beyond immediate impressions and understanding how a home works to keep you comfortable, both physically and mentally.”
– Linda Sanford, American Dream Realtyindoor plants clean air best Pet Dander
FINAL THOUGHTS
When buying a home, be sure it’s safe…inside and out. Take the necessary precautions and steps to make your new how a healthy one. If it isn’t already a Healthy Home, let us help you make it so.
The information contained on the AprilAire website is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment in any manner. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding any medical condition. All information is for informational and educational purposes only and any use thereof is solely at your own risk.