Non Toxic Environments Home Health & Wellness Andrew Pace

The first rule in real estate is that you should NEVER waive your right to an inspection before closing the deal. The second rule is, make sure your inspector understands building biology, as well as the typical home systems and materials.  Your inspector needs to understand moisture, mold, chemical emissions and electro magnetic fields, in addition to structural concerns, windows, HVAC, etc.  Amanda Klecker joins us today to discuss what's all entailed in doing a substantial and truly informative home inspection and how we can avoid costly and unhealthy mistakes.

Amanda is a Certified Building Biology Practitioner through the International Institute for Building Biology where she has learned the holistic approach to keeping a home healthy, free of moisture intrusion and free of toxins. Amanda has trained with the International Association of Certified Home Inspectors and received their national certification.  Amanda is also trained with the Water Quality Standards Academy, learning the important components of healthy drinking water.  
 
Amanda's website Healthy House on the Block

Starting on April 22, I will be speaking at a wonderful online summit called My Healthy Home.  Hosted by Caroline Blazovsky, there will be over 40 experts in the multi-faceted "healthy home" space, to discuss all aspects of this incredibly important topic.  Caroline is my guest on this episode of NTE live to tell us more about the summit and to discuss why this is so important to her and should be to all of us.

Caroline Blazovsky has over 20 years experience with specialized training in residential homes. She has CMR certification (Certified Microbial Remediatior) and CIE (Certified Indoor Environmentalist) training through the American Council for Accredited Certification (ACAC). Ms. Blazovsky has completed a Sustainable Design education from Boston Architectural College. Ms. Blazovsky's work has been featured by Martha Stewart, Jenny McCarthy, Ronald Hoffman M.D., SiriusXM, Shape and Reader's Digest, as well as hundreds of podcasts, radio, and print interviews. She is also certified as a Healthy Home Specialist through the National Environmental Health Association. In her spare time, Caroline studies public health at the University of Southern California.
 
My Healthy Home Summit
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As the President and CEO of the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI), Rachel is leading a movement to advance human health through healthier buildings, more vibrant communities and stronger, more equitable organizations. Her motto is “Always be winning for good,” and she’s put that to work at IWBI, developing research-backed tools to help organizations create places where people can thrive. Today, these people-first places extend across 5 billion square feet of space in 130 countries and growing.


Prior to joining IWBI, Rachel spent nearly a decade at the intersection of sustainability and human health, helping the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) make LEED the world’s most widely used green building rating system. At USGBC, she founded the Center for Green Schools, which mobilized $275B+ investments in LEED-certified educational facilities and deployed over 750,000 volunteers to transform schools on every continent.


Rachel serves on numerous boards and advisories for organizations including Second Nature and the Real Estate Pride Council. A graduate of Tufts University, she is a sought-after media voice, inspirational speaker and frequent guest lecturer and instructor at the Harvard School of Public Health’s Center for Health and the Global Environment, Harvard University Kennedy School of Government, the University of Connecticut School of Business and Tufts. 
 
Works With WELL Standard
 
https://healthybuilding.net
 
 
 
 

Kendra Seymour is a Co-Founder and Executive Director of Change the Air Foundation and a passionate advocate for improving health by improving indoor air quality. She oversees foundation initiatives, with a special focus on raising awareness, outreach, and fundraising.
 
As a mother of two, Kendra discovered hidden mold and water damage in her home were harming her family’s health. After years of research into mold and indoor toxins, and a lot of hard lessons-learned, she became dedicated to helping others by building awareness in online communities and collaborating with fellow advocates to educate the public around the importance of indoor air quality.
 
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Change The Air Foundation, Watch Aria's story 
 
 

I am confident in saying that most of us have been exposed to cork flooring and wall coverings many times throughout our lives. Cork board panels used behind a desk for notes and photos have been a fixture of corporate America for decades.  Flooring materials that sort of look like wood but softer with exotic patterns have been used in our libraries, schools, churches and homes since the 1900’s.  So why do I think this is the future of flooring when it's clear it's already well established? 

The recent release of Amorim's Wood Bionatural XL is 100% natural and fossil plastic free.  The core is made from cork, sugar cane waste and other natural materials, and is completely recyclable. The wood and stone surface treatments are actually made from a cutting-edge digital printing and 3D embossing technology, which is again, plastic free.  This is an INDUSTRY DISRUPTING technology. 

Kelly Downes, the US General Manager for Amorim is joining us to discuss this and other exciting developments in the world of cork.  With a foundation in Interior Design, Kelly transitioned into the flooring industry as a sales representative for a sustainable commercial flooring manufacturer out of LA.  Switching to the retail side, as the Vice President of a locally owned Baltimore, MD flooring company, she stood up a Kitchen and Bath Division while running six showrooms.    Three years ago,  Kelly returned to manufacturing and now run the US division of Amorim Cork Flooring.   Amorim is the largest manufacturer of cork in the world and is committed to not only preservation, but sustainability in all divisions of the company.
 
WiseWood Cork flooring 

Healthy flooring has become one of the most asked about topics with my clients.  Corinne, founder of My Chemical Free House, has written several articles on this subject and will share her findings with us and educate us on how she does her own personal research. 

Corinne Segura is a Building Biologist Practitioner and founder of My Chemical-Free House where she tests and writes about green building materials. She is also a guest contributor at Green Building Advisor and course creator for the Building Biology Institute. She has 8 years of experience as a Green Materials Specifier, for new builds and renovations, often working with highly chemically sensitive clients.