Cadet Softheat EBHN1000- User Manual

• Depending on the materials and consult- ants used to build your non-toxic home, you can expect to spend anywhere from the same as typical construction up to an additional 35% in building costs. • Expect to devote lots of time and energy to oversee the project, or hire someone that you can trust to...

• Choose a locale and climate where you have access to clean, fresh air and can keep your windows open most of the year. 2 • As a general rule, mountaintops, sea-shores, and islands tend to have less pol-lution, provided that they are not downwind from major sources of industrial pol-lution, as do p...

AIR & NOISE POLLUTION from construction sites, industry, nuclear plants, traffic, air-ports, asphalt or parking lot fumes, future highways, neighbors ’ laundry exhaust, dry cleaners, gas stations, incinerators, land-fills, auto repair and body shops, concen-trated wood smoke from wood burning st...

• Contact the building safety department in your local city or county to find out local building codes. Codes can affect anything from smoke detector placement and the number of electrical outlets to how you handle sewage disposal, andheating and cooling systems. BuildingSafety should provide inform...

• If at all possible, stay in a camper or buildtemporary housing and live on the land for a full year before building, to experi-ence it in every season. Don ’ t rush into construction before you know your site—do your due diligence and you will be well rewarded. 1. Note your reactions to trees, veg...

• Larger homes with high/cathedral ceil-ings will help disperse interior pollutants better than a small home with normal height ceilings. • Build a long house rather than a square one, locating the water heater, electric panel, central vacuum, and other utilities as far away from the bedroom as poss...

• Install a central vacuum system that dis-charges exhaust directly to the outdoors and locate the vacuum hose and wall plate in a utility closet to minimize escap-ing dust. (With a conventional vacuum,no matter how good the filter, some dust is exhausted back into the air.) • Install a whole-house ...

materials in operation before installing. Safer materials for heating include ceramic tiles and stainless steel. 3 • If using propane gas, locate the heater outside the home and pump heated air inside. • Use passive solar design principles—insulation, orientation of house, window placement—to minimi...

a. Keep the heat in—and the cold air out. 1. Locate spaces that need less heat (closets, stairs, garages, etc.) along the north wall, and spaces that need more heat (sun room, greenhouse) on the south wall. 2. Minimize windows on all walls except the south. 3. Insulate well. b. Shelter from winter w...

• Mold and electrical sensitivities are envi-ronmentally triggered illnesses that occur in a subset of those with Chemical Sensitivity. We recommend that those building a safer house include considera-tions to minimize both mold and electro-magnetic frequencies (EMFs), as they are a potential risk f...

ing, High Intensity Lighting (HID), MetalHalide, and arc lamps. Test for your sensi-tivities before installing electrical and lighting equipment. • Low-e coatings on windows can helpblock radio and cell phone waves. • Add ‘ kill switches ’ for TVs, computers, phones, electric water heater, etc. and ...

ground (chassis) and neutral. PLUMBING • Copper pipes, although preferred by many who are chemically sensitive, are not ideal for ES as they conduct EMFs. It is recommended that polyethylene (PE) or chlorinated polyvinyl chloride (CPVC) be used for all water pipes extended through the house wall to ...

sources: 1, 2, 3 • Ideally, build your foundation on a slab to avoid basements and crawlspaces, as both can have moisture and mold problems in just about any climate. • According to Ritchie Shoemaker, M.D. in Mold Warriors , if you choose to build your home into the side of a hill with a walk-out ba...

• Install a whole house HEPA air purification system to remove mold spores. Be aware that some Hepa filters may use glues that contain formaldehyde. In addition, many with chemical sensitivities tolerate one type of carbon filter better than another. Make sure to test for tolerance before installing...

• Personally test all materials overnight, or longer, to see if they are well tolerated while you sleep, as reactions are often more prominent at night. Tolerance to products should be tested long before work commences. • Consider constructing outlying buildings (detached garage, shed, guest house, ...

adobe • Adobe is a great building resource in dry climates, however, in wet climates those with chemical sensitivities may be sensitive to the wet earth smell of adobe, and mold will most likely become an issue. • If sold commercially, adobe may have chemicals added to kill mold and bacteria or to m...

resistant, energy efficient, and durable. Its manufacturing process emits no pol-lutants, creates no by-products or toxic waste products, and uses 80 percent less energy than concrete or lumber manufacturing. However, it would not be strong enough for a foundation, and its use as an exterior materia...

gypsum concrete floor underlayment used in concrete construction, then install ceramic tiles on top. pier and beam • If your house needs to be elevated, make sure it ’ s 5-10 feet off the ground to provide adequate ventilation under-neath and to prevent mold, which can travel from the foundation int...

• Although preferred by some with CS, copper pipes are not ideal because they conduct electricity. Copper also does not insulate, and has been linked to brain dis-orders like Alzheimer ’ s Disease. • For water pipes, polyethylene (PE) piping is the better choice for interior and exteri-or piping. PV...

to protect against water absorption, ter-mites, and decay; contain no solvents or heavy metals. First test to see whether you tolerate air leaking through solidwood casement windows vs. aluminum; do not use the cheap window casements made of particle board. • Use ceramic sockets instead of plastic, ...

earth plaster • Tolerated by some with chemical sensitivi-ties but mold may become an issue. Read The Natural Plaster Book by Cedar Rose Guelberth and Dan Chiras. • Choose one that does not contain fungi-cide. • Test several brands on a piece of tile,rock, glass, or metal so that you can sniff them ...

• For tile floors, don ’ t forget to install a 3- to 4-inch baseboard using the same tiles as you use on the floors. This will protect the walls from damp mopping, a necessary maintenance to control dust and other allergens if you have a tile floor. low voc paint • Readily available in retail stores...

silicate/mineral or silicate dispersion • Silicate / mineral paints have a very low VOC level with very little odor, contain no solvents, are color fast and have a rock-like durability which bonds well with masonry sur face. • They are anti-microbial, water resistant and vapor permeable.paint pigmen...

• Portland Cement is well-tolerated by those with chemical sensitivities for grout-ing in place of standard grout that con-tains plasticizers. (Note: Caused respirato-ry problems for some when sprayed on as a base coat for walls; the same people tolerated it well when used for grouting.) • No grout ...

refrigerator / freezer • Use transparent drawers to minimize risk of food spoilage. • If you have ES, consider purchasing a counter-height refrigerator/freezer to avoid running the freezer motor fan at the same level as your head. stove • Consider purchasing from an appli-ance recycling store to avo...

• Use stainless steel, or powder-coated steel. TV/book cabinets • House TV and other electronic equip-ment behind closed doors (glass works well) when not in use to minimize off-gassing into living space. • Consider adapting for a reading unit (a piece of glass over the desk top to contain fumes fro...

• Wood products; they harbor odors, use toxic sealants, will need re-finishing over a lifetime. • Porous materials requiring toxic sealants. • Solvents. • Some of the new ‘ green ’ products that use recycled plastics may be using plas-tic from former containers of fabric sof-tener, bleach, and other...

sources 1 individual surveys of 18 people that built housing for someone with moderate to severe chemical and/or electrical sensitivities including: Ariel Bar field, Nancy Entreken, Erik Johnson (aka Erikmoldwarrior ), Susan Molloy, P. Ruggles, Andres Schulz, Ernie Stiltner, and Jackie Wayman. All o...