Air Quality

If your heating and air conditioning ducts aren’t insulated, you’re losing money by letting hot air leak out in the winter and cold air leak out in the summer. Luckily, insulating ducts is an easy, inexpensive project you can finish in an afternoon. Here’s what you’ll need to insulate your ducts: TOOLS & MATERIALS Tape…

LESLIE: Mary in Virginia, welcome to The Money Pit. What can we do for you today? MARY: I’m looking to purchase a home that has a slab foundation. And when I went in, I kind of smelled a musty, mildew-y odor. And I’m just wondering, how would you know that water is coming up from…

LESLIE: Alright. Now we’ve got William from Texas on the line with a question about cigarette smell. William, welcome to The Money Pit. What can we help you with today? WILLIAM: Well, my daughter bought a house. And the person that she bought the house from smokes cigarettes. And the house – when you walk…

LESLIE: Now we’ve got Jeff in Iowa on the line who’s got a smell from air conditioner. What’s going on, Jeff? JEFF: I can’t smell. The wife can smell. TOM: OK. JEFF: Yeah, we have a … LESLIE: We smell everything. JEFF: There’s a smell emanating from somewhere. I thought it was maybe the basement…

LESLIE: Judy from Illinois is on the line and is dealing with a hardwood floor separating in winter. How can we help you? JUDY: Well, I have a little problem in the winter with my hardwood floor and separating. And I can kind of see down in there. And I was wondering about a whole-house…

LESLIE: Leslie in Tennessee has a question about how to control humidity with indoor pool. How can we help you? LESLIE IN TENNESSEE: Yes. I’m an avid listener of your show. We really love it. We have a question. After several years of having an outdoor pool and enjoying it but not being able to…

LESLIE: Bill in Florida needs some help with eliminating cigarette smoke odor in a new home. How can we help you with that? BILL: My brother-in-law purchased a home lived in by a smoker of 13 years: a heavy smoker. Inundated the home with – considerably with the smoke. And we had mentioned some options…

LESLIE: Heather in Texas is dealing with black spots in bathroom. Tell us what’s going on. HEATHER: Well, I have black spots in my restroom and I’m not sure if that’s mold. And I would like to know: how can he fix it? TOM: Without seeing it, I can’t tell you but if they’re black…

This year’s allergy season? Nothing to sneeze at. More Americans than ever are finding themselves suffering from seasonal allergies, or are finding that their allergy symptoms get worse each year. Around the world, the intensity and length of allergy season, as well as the rates of people affected by seasonal allergies, are increasing making allergy…

When older homes were constructed, they had lots and lots of natural ventilation, also known as drafts. Older homes provided as many as six to eight air changes every hour, meaning that the home was so drafty that all the air inside was exchanged with outside air that many times in an hour. While this…