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Environmental Health Home Inspection

Upon completion of the Davis Environmental Health and Home Assessment Tool, I realized how uneducated I am even on my own home. While running through the list and I skipped the ones I wasn't sure of, or just didn't know, and answered the ones I did know for sure. After completing the list with the answers I knew, I looked at the list and noticed that I didn't know the answer, or wasn't confident enough to answer over half of the list, which made me think that I terribly uniformed about the home that I live in. I needed to consult my partner for the answers to the other questions, and luckily he knew them. This got me thinking about safety risks in the home. How could I have gone on this long without a care in the world about the potential threats I have been surrounding myself with in my home? Ignorance is bliss I suppose, but now that I know better, you can bet that I will be more cognizant going forward about the state of the home I live in.

Now, our home was built before 1978, but since then the home has undergone the necessary adjustments to rid the home of any lead paint or piping. In the attached garage, there is an In-Law-Suite that is definitely susceptible to moisture, but luckily, we have not come across any molding issues since the space is ventilated well. I personally think the most responsible party in home based environmental risks our us, the home owners/renters. We must be educated on what is in the home and how the home was constructed, because if we are not knowledgable, we will be unable to determine inadequacies within the home. Some responsibility falls to the government in passing regulations on restricting and eliminating use of known products that could cause medical complications in the home.

It amazes me that I have been able to live this ignorantly in my own home. Not a care in the world. Just going day by day about my business, not even knowing if the piping is made of lead and not even knowing the true source and quality of the water coming through the tap. What I have learned is that one must be informed about the make up of their home and also must be educated on the dangers that could lie within the home.



Here is a link to my Home Assessment tool!


https://drive.google.com/file/d/1sdLe1rfWL56PH-iEy3Ig1AHiVBIFDTQT/view?usp=sharing





















Comments

  1. AnonymousSeptember 1, 2018 at 3:01 PM

    Hi Jordan,

    Isn't ignorance really a bliss! Before I owned my house, I left everything in the hand of the landlord. When the fire alarm beeper went off, we didn't even inform the landlord, we ignored the occasional mold, I didn't even think to ask about lead.

    Now that I have a house I am well versed in these needs. Even so, like you I had no idea what some of these items listed on the assessment were. For instance, I have no idea what radon was. I looked it up. I also looked for how to get tested for radon. Its expensive! There were lot of ventilation in my garage and now I know why these exist.

    I am not sure how I am going to feel at the end of this class; reading Rachel Carson's book, our class readings and this assessment is definitely making me see our environmental differently. It is bit nerve wrecking!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Caitlin WintonSeptember 2, 2018 at 12:54 PM

    Hi Jordan,

    I am glad you mentioned how uneducated you felt about your home safety after you filled out this home safety assessment because I felt exactly the same way. In fact, I had a long talk with my partner about how our apartment is really old and that our drinking water is unsafe. We have a Brita and we use it, but we often don't use it just out of convenience, i.e. we don't want to wait for the water to filter so we just get it out of the tap. All the things are good to learn and think about. Thanks for your post!

    ReplyDelete
  3. UnknownSeptember 2, 2018 at 9:06 PM

    Hi Jordan,
    I felt the same way about some of the things listed on the assessment. I thought I was pretty informed, especially since in my work I perform occasional house inspections to ensure they are meeting federal housing quality standards! That is how I was aware of the lead-based paint, but it amazes that radon is not even on that inspection form nor in lease agreements. That's great your home had been checked and removed of any lead. Since I rent and do not own my home, I am wondering if they mention anything about radon prior to you buying the home? It would seem irresponsible of government standards to leave that one out.

    ReplyDelete

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