The pollen count drops in winter, windows stay closed, and most Augusta-area residents assume their indoor air quality improves during the colder months. For many, the opposite is true. Winter in Georgia and South Carolina creates conditions that favor indoor mold growth: sealed homes with reduced ventilation, condensation from heating systems on cool surfaces, and […]
Winter Mold Allergies: Why You Still Feel Sick Indoors Read More »
Winter in the CSRA does not look like winter in the Midwest. There is no extended hard freeze, no snow covering rooftops for weeks, no pipes locked solid until March. What the Augusta area gets instead is a particular combination of mild temperatures, persistent ground moisture, and humidity that stays elevated even when the air
Can Cold Weather Hide a Mold Problem? Read More »
Mold can make people sick. This is not a myth, and it is not limited to the rare cases involving heavy black mold infestations. The health effects of mold exposure are well documented, the populations most at risk are clearly identified, and the mechanism is understood. What is less well understood by most homeowners is
Can Mold Really Make You Sick or Is That a Myth? Read More »
You signed the lease, the appliances are new, and the walls still smell like fresh paint. Then you get a radon test result back and it is elevated. How is that possible in a brand-new apartment? It is a question more new-construction residents are asking as radon testing becomes more common. The answer lies in
Why Are Radon Tests Failing in Brand-New Apartments? Read More »
Legionella is a waterborne bacterium that lives naturally in freshwater but becomes dangerous when it colonizes building water systems. When contaminated water is aerosolized through showers, faucets, cooling towers, decorative fountains, or hot tubs, people can inhale the droplets and develop Legionnaires’ disease, a severe and sometimes fatal form of pneumonia. In the Augusta area
Legionella Testing: Is Your Building’s Water Hiding a Healt … Read More »
Renters often assume radon testing is the landlord’s responsibility or the homeowner’s concern. But the health risk from radon does not distinguish between owners and renters. If you breathe the air in a home with elevated radon levels, your lung tissue is exposed to the same radioactive decay products as anyone else who lives there,
I’m Just Renting Why Should I Pay for a Radon Test? Read More »
When a lease renewal offer arrives, most renters focus on the rate, the terms, and whether they want to stay. Few think to ask: has this unit ever been tested for radon? If the building has never been tested, lease renewal is the right moment to raise that question. Why Radon Matters in Rental Housing
Apartment Living? Here’s When You Should Ask for Radon Testing … Read More »
If you rent or own a unit on the third floor or higher, you may have heard that radon is primarily a basement and ground-floor concern. The EPA recommendation that all living areas below the third floor be tested reinforces this impression. But that guidance describes a general priority, not a safety guarantee. According to
Does Living on the 3rd Floor or Higher Keep Me Safe from Radon? Read More »
Most asbestos exposure in commercial buildings doesn’t happen during formal demolition projects. It happens during routine maintenance — a plumber cutting into insulated pipe, an HVAC technician repositioning ductwork, a contractor removing a ceiling tile. The asbestos was already there, often in plain sight, and no one thought to question it. If you manage or
The Hidden Health Risks of Old Insulation Read More »
Commercial buildings develop mold problems through the same mechanisms as residential properties — moisture intrusion, inadequate ventilation, and HVAC failures — but on a larger scale and with more complex consequences. In Augusta and the CSRA, where older commercial building stock intersects with a climate that delivers significant humidity and rainfall, mold in workplaces is
How to Tell If Your Workplace Has a Mold Problem Before Employees … Read More »
