Health Problems Due to Mycotoxins in Indoor Environments

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Fungal mycelium can produce mycotoxinsOverview of mycotoxin-producing microorganisms – Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites produced by various types of mold or bacteria. These toxins can cause a range of health problems, including immune system weakening, neurological disorders, allergic reactions, and even cancer. For building biologists, particularly important are the types of mold that produce mycotoxins and grow indoors. The most common types include Aspergillus, Penicillium, Stachybotrys, and Cladosporium.
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The main source of noise on heat pumps are the fans

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Avoid noise from heatpump outdoor

Avoid noise from heatpump outdoor

Helpful guide for private builders

The Bavarian State Office for the Environment (LfU) has published a guide to dealing with noise problems caused by the installation of air-source heat pumps in private houses. In this connection the authority examined individual components of a heat pump regarding noise. Fans are not the only source of noise, but they are responsible for ninety percent of noise problems. During the preparation of the guide, it also came to light that there are considerable differences in the quality of individual products in terms of noise. After all, if all components of an air-source heat pump are optimized in terms of noise, the sound power level should be no more than 50 dB(A). In fact, however, the sound level of equipment on the market can be 70 dB(A) and above.
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If the eyes are burning – think of formaldehyde

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formaldehyde in an office

formaldehyde in an office

Sick in an office room

Six months ago Anne Hopf took up her new job in a public authority in North-Hesse/Germany. She is sitting in an office space of twenty square meters, together with a colleague. In the room are built-in wardrobes, shelves and many about seventy well-stocked folder. Four weeks ago Anne Hopf complains often of headaches and burning eyes. The colleague of Anne, however, has no complaints. The supervisor has addressed the matter and commissioned a building biologists for root cause analysis. Based on the described symptoms and the existing spatial features, the expert suggests an air sample in formaldehyde.
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Smelly tar glue under the wooden floor

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Smelly tar glue under the wooden floor

Renovation of an old apartment turns into a lottery game

Marlene Sandner (Germany) wanted to replace the worn wooden floor in her old apartment in the city center with a new parquet floor. To her surprise, demolition work revealed a smelly old linoleum floor underneath the floorboards, which was obviously glued to the screed. The adhesive was already crumbling and showing signs of dissolution. After the linoleum was removed, remnants of the adhesive remained stuck to the screed. The flooring installer suggested sealing the surface twice with epoxy resin and smoothing out any remaining unevenness with a leveling compound. The new parquet was then to be laid on top. Marlene Sandner is still hesitant and is therefore seeking advice from the environmental consultancy.
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Avoid an electric lamp directly by the bed

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Avoiding alternating electric fields at the sleeping place

Avoiding alternating electric fields at the sleeping place

The sleep disturbances began with the new furniture

Sabine Loderer from Ansbach in Bavaria/Germany moved into a new bedroom within the house. Fittingly, the couple had purchased a new double bed in June. The selected model has a reading lamp integrated on the left and right side of the headboard. Sabine Loderer has been sensitive to electrosmog for several years and therefore had a mains decoupler installed in the circuit of the old bedroom. This device interrupts the power supply when the last “consumer” has been disconnected from the mains. In the new bedroom, this protective device was still missing. In recent weeks, Mrs. Loderer noticed that she was sleeping increasingly poorly. She wanted to get to the bottom of the cause and commissioned the building biologist Oliver Zenkel to conduct a sleeping place investigation.
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