IAQ Radio

Robert Higgins - Concrete & Moisture: Fact vs Fiction

This week on IAQ Radio+ we welcome Robert Higgins. Robert Higgins has been involved with moisture-related issues in concrete and waterproofing since 1976 and has been developing products for such use since 1980. He was a product development chemist for SINAK. Bob is equally involved in product and process development, having developed most of the products manufactured and marketed by his former company SINAK Corporation, as well as owning or co- owning patents for moisture testing. He has expertise in moisture-related concrete issues, having been involved with waterproofing, technical committees, professional groups, lecturing, teaching; and construction defect litigation. 
 
Bob lives and works in Osmond Beach, FL. He has given lectures internationally and throughout the US on concrete and coatings related topics. He also continues to work on various committees and provides expert witness services on topics related to construction, concrete and coatings.

Andrew Rynhart - Tramex Limited - Measuring & Documenting Moisture Content

This week on IAQ Radio+ we welcome Tramex Ltd. CEO Andrew Rynhart. Moisture detection and measurement is vital to understanding building science, indoor air quality, disaster restoration and home performance. Nothing causes more building related issues that moisture! Join us this week to LEARN MORE about how moisture is detected and measured particularly in difficult to assess situation such as moisture in concrete.
 
Andrew Rynhart is the CEO of Tramex Ltd. He was taught from a young age about moisture in buildings from his father who was the founder of Tramex meters and inventor of the first commercially successful nondestructive moisture meters for building inspection. Andrew has been fortunate over the years to have learned a great deal about moisture in the building envelope from many of the world-leading technical people in Roofing, Flooring, IAQ, Water Damage, Pest Control and other industries who use these meters, in the United States, the UK, and Europe. 
 
For more than 40 years, Tramex, has been an international leader in design and manufacturing of moisture and humidity meters Tramex's heritage in innovation began with its foundation in 1974. Today Tramex continues to innovate, design and manufacture moisture meters for building inspection with the latest range of meters currently being launched. Andrew has been involved in their development every step of the way. LEARN MORE this week on IAQ Radio+!

Shari Solomon Esq. - CleanHealth Environmental - The Next Generation of IEQ Pros Infection Control, Lead Paint, Mold and More!

This week we welcome live in the studio at the "World Headquarters", one of "The Next Generation of IEQ Pros" Shari Solomon, Esq. Shari is an upcoming professional from the DC area, we'll be discussing infection control, lead paint, mold, IEQ regulations and more. 
 
Shari L. Solomon, Esq. is president of CleanHealth Environmental, LLC. CleanHealth provides comprehensive industrial hygiene, infection control and OSHA training services, offering valuable risk management and compliance solutions. Ms. Solomon possesses more than 19 years of environmental consulting and federal regulatory experience. An attorney by trade, combined with her experience in the industrial hygiene field, Shari holds a unique expertise and understanding of liability prevention techniques. Prior to launching CleanHealth, Shari held the position as Director of Training with a full-service Industrial Hygiene firm and was charged with the development and oversight of all training programs nationwide. Ms. Solomon is a U.S. EPA Accredited Trainer for the Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule (RRP) and has spent many years providing indoor air quality services including litigation support, operation and maintenance program development, and indoor air quality assessments.
  
On the regulatory side, she served as a Legislative Analyst with the National Multi Housing Council/National Apartment Association Joint Legislative Staff. While there she developed an expertise on indoor air quality issues and authored the first industry white paper on mold as well as an operations and maintenance program for mold/moisture control in apartment properties that has steadily become the industry standard of care. 
 
Ms. Solomon holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Florida and a Juris Doctorate from The Catholic University of America.

Thomas J. Phillips - Healthy Building Research, Davis, CA - The HEAT is On, Part 2 - How climate change will affect IAQ, future proofing buildings & beyond energy efficiency

This week we welcome back Tom Phillips for Part 2 of our discussion on "How climate change will affect IAQ, future proofing buildings & beyond energy efficiency". During Part 1 we talked about how climate change has and will affect IAQ in Part 2 we will review and add to that discussion then spend most of our time talking about future proofing buildings and beyond energy efficiency. Tom is passionate about this topic and has put a lot of effort into educating people with fact based information. This is just what we need when talking about this topic.
 
Tom Phillips is a consultant on healthy sustainable buildings and lives in Davis, California. He has spent over 35 years working at the intersection of research and policy addressing public health, pollution, and buildings, mainly at the California Air Resources Board. From 1985 to 2009, he designed and managed research contracts on human exposure to indoor and outdoor pollutants, ventilation, air cleaning, and building ventilation. He also produced health-based guidelines on indoor combustion pollutants and air cleaners. Tom has served as a technical advisor to national, state, and local agencies, NGOs, and private firms on various IAQ issues, climate change adaptation, and green building programs for homes, schools, and offices. Since 2010 Tom has served as the principal scientist at Healthy Building Research, where he has assessed IAQ research needs for net zero energy buildings, effective ways to prevent intrusion of outdoor pollutants, and ways to adapt and mitigate climate change and health impacts in the building sector.

PRACTICE to Research - The Restoration Panel

Good Day and welcome to Iaqradio+. This week we are going to replay one of our best panels from the HBS 2019. This panel was the PRACTICE to Research; Restoration Panel. Members of the panel were John Downey, Ralph Moon, PhD, Felicia Cianciarulo, PhD and Cliff Zlotnik.  Each panel was asked to present research that most practitioners would not be aware of and that could be incorporated into their practice. Or they could promote and discuss topics that practitioners feel need more research. This panel did a great job on both counts. We had a great time at the summit and a fantastic group of speakers. Our thanks go out to all the attendees, speakers and exhibitors.

Todd DeMonte & Larry Carlson - The Present & Future of IAQ & Restoration Madison Industries, Therma-Store, LLC & Phoenix Restoration Equipment an American Success Story

This week on IAQradio+ we welcome Todd DeMonte, Chief Innovation Officer for Madison Indoor Air Quality and Larry Carlson of, Phoenix Restoration Equipment a Division of Therma-Stor, LLC to discuss the present and future of IAQ and Restoration. These gentlemen know whats happening now and are expected to predict future trends in the industry. They are a dynamic duo that will help you navigate these fast changing industries during this evolving period. They also work for an American company doing there manufacturing in Madison, Wisconsin, an American Success Story! 
 
Todd DeMonte has years of experience developing and producing products that improve and control indoor environments. It is his work with Therma-Stor, LLC and Phoenix Restoration Products that would be most familiar to IAQ and water damage professionals. He has led to many patented innovations that yield real benefits. Mr. DeMonte led Therma-Stor from 2003-2019 and now leads innovation for Therma-Stor and its eight sister companies.
 
Larry joined Therma-Stor in 1992 as product manager for ventilation and dehumidification products. In 1994 Larry introduced the Phoenix 200, the first LGR dehumidifier. Through 2003 he oversaw the expansion the Phoenix Restoration Equipment product line to include the Guardian HEPA Systems, Focus axial air mover and Phoenix 300 and 200 MAX. After 2 years at Dry Air Technology where Larry assisted in the creation of the Atlantic LGR and Force 9, he returned to Therma-Stor in 2006 as marketing manager. Currently Larry is the Phoenix Restoration Industry Manager and International Sales Manager. Larry has been a member of RIA since 1994 and the IICRC since 1998. He participated in the creation of the Applied Structural Drying Technician (ASD) certification. He served on the IICRC S-500 4th Edition Consensus Body and is currently  on the CB creating the 5th edition of the S-500 Standard.

Open Mic - IAQA President Jay Stake, John & Lydia Lapotaire

This week on IAQradio+ we open up the microphones to frequent listeners and our expert audience. Our HBS 2019 is fast approaching and many of you will not be able to attend, but we want and need your input. Call in, text a message, or send us an email! 
 
Today will be talking about some results from our own research and discussing industry research needs. We have divided the discussion into 3 categories with panels on each at the HBS 2019. Send us your thoughts what type of research questions do you have about these categories?
 
IAQ/Mold
Disaster Restoration
Home Performance
 
Today we will run through the categories and get listener input to include in a paper we are working on. We will take your comments, information from our panels at HBS 2019 and information from our panel at the IAQA 2020 Annual Meeting & Expo to produce a paper intended to help focus the research community on what we as practitioner's need from them. We hope that researchers can then use our proceedings to help get funding for their future projects.

Carl Grimes - Dust & Other Demons - Lessons from HaywardScore.com

This week on IAQradio+ we welcome back one of our favorite guests, Carl Gimes of Hayward Healthy Homes and Hayward Score. Carl is nationally recognized as a professionally accredited Healthy Home Specialist (HHS) and a Certified Indoor Environmental Consultant (CIEC).   Equally important, he personally experienced a series of unhealthy homes. He is all too familiar with the uncertainty, exhaustion, and skepticism inherent with the struggle to finally recognize and accept that his home was perhaps not his safe and secure "castle," but was instead contributing to his puzzling declining health and sense of well-being.   Since 1987 Carl has worked nationally as a private consultant guiding people who suffer from unhealthy houses.  He has developed action plans and verification methods designed to eliminate health issues in homes.  His clients include mothers, children, property managers, attorneys, health care providers, insurance adjusters, teachers, parents, architects, builders, and remediation contractors.
 
In 1999, he authored the book Starting Points for a Healthy Habitat, based on his personal experience, as well as the experiences of his clients, living in unhealthy environments. This brought him to the attention of the national Indoor Air Quality Association.  He was elected to their Board of Directors in 2002, and recently served as their President. Carl is now the Vice President of Practice for the International Society of Indoor Air Quality and Climate. Carl has served on, created, and chaired a variety of committees writing industry consensus standards. He has collaborated with leading experts and researchers, analyzing the best approaches for restoring the indoor environment. He has chaired a committee that developed the course, Healthy Home Assessment: Principles and Practice, which is the follow-on to the Essential Healthy Home Practitioner course by the National Center for Healthy Housing (www.nchh.org). Carl brings to Hayward Healthy Home a unique combination of personal experience and professional expertise identifying and addressing the most critical issues in converting homes to healthy environments that fit individual needs.

David Kiser - Cleaning for Health

This week on IAQradio+ we welcome David Kiser. David has cared for indoor environments throughout his career in the mechanical and cleaning industries. He has worked in the management and sales of mechanical contractors and large equipment manufacturers. Working in the mechanical industry, David was an active member of ASHRAE.
David, and his wife, Carrie also started and operated a family cleaning business for over 30 years in Northern Virginia. The company, Champagne Services, held the CIMS-GB Certification. They served hundreds of the same clients for decades. David and Carrie are Founders of the Association of Residential Cleaning Services (ARCSI). He served as the first President of ARCSI. Champagne Services was also the first residential cleaning service to join the Cleaning Industry Research Institute. David spearheaded and served as the initial Chair of the IICRC House Cleaning Technician (HCT) Course. David serves on the IICRC HCT Committee and is an IICRC Instructor.
Champagne was sold in January 2015 with bookings generating over 75 regular recurring cleaning events daily for years. David is active in the cleaning industry as a thought leader, consultant and IICRC Instructor. David is a co-author of the benchmark book for the residential cleaning industry, The Professional Housecleaning Technician's Manual.

Lan Chi Nguyen Weekes, P. Eng. - IEQ Operations and Maintenance & Management of Legionella in Water Systems

This week on IAQradio+ we welcome Lan Chi Nguyen Weekes, M.A.Sc., P.Eng. Ms. Nguyen Weekes is currently the Director, Physical Resources of La Cité, a college in applied arts and technology in Ottawa, ON, Canada. She was the co-founder and partner of InAIR Environmental Ltd, an environmental consulting company from 1995 to 2018.
 
Ms. Weekes has over twenty-eight (28) years of consultation expertise on environmental issues, including the interaction between buildings and human health. Currently, she is working on the implementation of a Net Zero Carbone strategy on La Cité campuses, addressing the issue of Legionella in building water systems and assessing the impact of climate change on indoor air quality.
 
She is currently the chair of the ASHRAE Multidisciplinary Technical Group on Health and Wellness in the Built Environment. Recently, Ms. Weekes served as a project member of the Management of Legionella in Water System Committee of the National Academy of Science, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM).