Americans spend 90 percent of their time indoors. That's over 21 hours a day.

By Tom Kessler

We know that air quality has a huge impact on allergy and asthma sufferers, and that endocrine disruptors, contaminants often found in dust, can harm reproductive health during fetal and infant exposures. But did you know that some of the worst air quality we encounter is in our homes, on airplanes and in offices?

“In the U.S., we spend most of our time thinking about outdoor air pollution but Americans spend 90 percent of their time indoors, that’s over 21 hours a day,” said Richard Corsi, a professor in civil, architectural and environmental engineering and director of the University of Texas at Austin’s Indoor Environmental Science and Engineering Program. “So if we really want to impact the quality of the air we breathe, we must pay far more attention to pollutants in homes, offices and schools.”

UT says the easy place to start is with the pollutants we unwittingly invite into our own homes, such as scented candles and house cleaners. Candles give off particulate matter that can affect your heart and lungs, among other things. And many common household cleaners emit toxic pollutants that can cause health risks depending on the frequency and duration of exposure.

“We’ve been taught that clean air smells like lemons or pine cleaner, when in fact clean air doesn’t have a smell,” said Matt Earnest, a graduate student in UT’s Environmental and Water Resources Engineering program. “When I’m assessing whether air is clean, I base it on if I can smell it. If I can, I don’t think it’s clean.”

Researchers also are finding that indoor air quality doesn’t just affect physical health. Other preliminary study results indicate that performance on standardized tests improves when a school’s air quality is higher.

Their eyes opened to these dangers, many UT students and faculty have changed their personal practices based on what they’ve learned while researching indoor air pollutants. Earnest says he doesn’t use air fresheners and now only cleans with water and baking soda. Corsi won’t use scented candles or incense. Instead he recommends unscented beeswax or soy candles, if a person is compelled to burn candles at all.

Things You Can Do

• Avoid exposure to formaldehyde. Do not purchase furniture or shelving and cabinetry constructed of pressed-wood products that contain urea-formaldehyde resins. Also, wash permanent press clothing, sheets and other fabrics before using them.
• Make sure that you switch on a bathroom fan or open a window in the bathroom while showering/bathing or using any chemicals to clean in the bathroom.
• Some laundry bleaches and dishwasher detergents contain chlorine that chemically reacts with soiled clothing or food on dishes and leads to large amounts of chloroform that is released to indoor air. Consider opening a window or vent fan in your laundry room if you use chlorine bleach while doing your laundry. Consider switching on a stove vent in your kitchen while you do your dishwashing. Each will help to direct the chloroform outdoors and reduce its accumulation in the air of your home. Also, there are many non-chlorine bleach alternatives — switch to them!
• Use floor mats at all entries to clean shoes, or better yet have family members and guests take their shoes off before entering your home. Shoes are a primary means of tracking harmful chemicals such as pesticides, other heavy organic chemicals, and heavy metals into homes.
• Avoid nursery or other extensive home renovations (new carpet, paint, furniture) during pregnancy or for several years after a child is born, unless you use only low/no-VOC materials.
• Read the EPA’s introduction to indoor air quality
Tags: allergy triggers, asthma triggers, bathroom cleaners, dishwasher detergents, laundry detergents, University of Texas at Austin

Posted in Air & Water, Air Quality, Home & Garden, The Green Life

Mike Barth, Frisco's Licensed Irrigation Specialist, performs one of his free irrigation audits. Photo: friscogreenliving.com

By Bill Sullivan

When North Texas temperatures start to climb and rain becomes little more than a rumor, the phone starts ringing. Folks all over Frisco begin focusing on their yards and the sprinkler systems that keep them healthy during the hot, dry summer months, a convergence of events that makes Mike Barth a busy and popular man.

Having your controller set properly is a key to an efficient system. Photo: friscogreenliving.com

Each year, Frisco homeowners are entitled to one free irrigation audit, and Mike is the man who appears at their door. Since going to work for the city in 2001, the Licensed Irrigation Specialist estimates that he has made more than 3,800 house calls to help residents be sure they are getting the most value from their systems, helping preserve both cash and one of the city’s most precious resources.

“Most of the people who call me are really trying to conserve water and want to know how to do it,” he says between stops on a typically full Wednesday in June.  “They want to know, ‘What can I do to do better?’ I really enjoy those.”

Once the summer months hit, Mike and his easy-to-spot truck (the one with the familiar “Frisco Water Wise” logo, a cartoon caricature of Professor Water Wise, and an invitation to call 972-292-5800 for your Free Irrigation Audit) can be seen zipping all over town, enabling savvy residents to combine fiscal and environmental responsibility.

“I can usually manage up to eight (audits) a day,” he says. “Right now, I’m booked about two weeks out.”

Residents taking advantage of their free irrigation audit get a full checkup. Photo: friscogreenliving.com

These visits are more than just a courtesy call. Mike schedules about an hour for each audit. He starts by checking the control panel. Then, he sets each station for a two-minute run.

Once the system is operating, he makes sure each sprinkler head pops up properly. If the flow is weak, he’ll try to identify the problem.

“If there’s a substantial leak, you won’t have enough pressure,” he explains.

He’ll flag any heads that don’t respond properly, are out of position, or are in any way damaged. He’ll make suggestions if he believes the system is delivering too much water, or if adjustments should be made for different kinds of ground cover (grass, mulch, clay, etc.) at a given station.

If your system is doing a better job of watering the street than the grass, he might advise switching to a different kind of nozzle to better cover the space involved. He’ll also walk the homeowner through how the system works and how to make changes in the programming.

With more and more residents turning to evapotranspiration (ET) controllers, yet another layer is added to the process.

In Frisco, the more sophisticated ET devices link with the city-operated weather station to factor natural rainfall into a given yard’s needs. By including real rainfall in the mix, the system automatically cuts back on the amount of city water used to keep the yard fresh.

“That’s a big water-saver, credit for rainfall,” Mike says.

(If you are interested, visit the city’s Web site for information on the nine controllers on its “approved” list. According to Mike, ET controllers range from about $150 to $1,200, depending on how many features the homeowner wishes to add.)

To make sure your system is working properly, Mike suggests you walk through it at least once every two weeks. Photo: friscogreenliving.com

While Mike can help get you pointed in the right direction, making sure all is in working order is an ongoing process.

“You need to walk your system once every two weeks and make sure nothing’s broken,” he says. “Somebody mowing could break a head. You end up with a geyser out there.”

In recent years, Mike says, he has noticed a distinct change in the public’s attitude toward water usage. While no one enjoys big bills, the emphasis has shifted noticeably to conserving a valuable and limited resource.

“People who call me are genuinely interested,” he said. “They’re the green types.”

Mike Barth is just a phone call away, ready to help them be just a little greener. Call 972-292-5800 to schedule your free irrigation audit.

During the hot summer months, Mike's truck is a familiar sight on Frisco streets. Photo: friscogreenliving.com



By Bill Sullivan

Collin County homeowners curious about how to maximize the economy and effectiveness of their yard sprinkler systems were able to pick up on all kinds of useful information in the course of a day-long “SprinklerSmarts” presentation at McKinney Green Gardens on Saturday, June 4.  Allen, Frisco and McKinney collaborated to host the free event, designed to educate the public about proper use of systems as part of smart landscape watering practices.

Visitors moved through a series of stations, learning about where their water comes from, how irrigation systems function, ways to execute simple repairs, how pressure can be regulated, how water can be distributed uniformly, options in controllers, and more.  Experts from area irrigation system  companies joined manufacturer representatives and city water education officials in the inaugural presentation.

A sampling of helpful hints:

– In repairing a damaged sprinkler head, make sure you install the proper nozzle. Replacing a 10-foot nozzle with a 15-footer will completely throw off the distribution within a zone.

– A rotor puts out about 1/2 the amount of water as a spray head, so don’t mix and match them in the same zone.

– Worried about even distribution? Place buckets or small cans in the middle of  potential problem areas. If your system is working properly, they should fill pretty much evenly.

– Test your system regularly. If you don’t mind getting a little wet, the up close and personal approach is as effective as any.

– Excessive moisture in one area may be a sign of an underground leak or a broken pipe.

– You can make minor adjustments to the range of a given nozzle, but the process is unreliable. Usually, it’s better simply to change sizes.

The City of Frisco offers free sprinkler system evaluations to residents. Click here for details and contact information.

The City of Frisco was well represented at SprinklerSmarts. Image: friscogreenliving.com

Outdoor watering with a sprinkler system is not allowed between 5 a.m. and 8 a.m. and between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. during Daylight Savings Time.

These watering times were adopted to reduce water waste during the heat of the day due to evaporation and high winds. The 5 a.m. to 8 a.m. hours help to offset the demand for indoor water use when residents are preparing for work and school.

To read more about Frisco’s water use guidelines, click here.

Here’s the list of winners for the 2010-2011 school year:

Most recycled material:

Elementary – Rogers Elementary (Wendy Stelly)

Middle – Fowler Middle (Tommy Hill)

High – Wakeland (Chrissy Might)

Tree Hugger Award (Least amount of paper used per student)

Elementary – Sem Elementary (Alicia Jahnke)

Secondary – Lone Star High (Bethany Birdwell)

Most recycled batteries – Sparks Elementary (Jill Thielges)

Most recycled plastic bags – Smith Elementary (Stephanie Fugina)

Most Clean It and Green It Volunteers – Tadlock Elementary (Doug Knoerr)

Rookie of the Year – Seth Williams, FISD Recycling Coordinator