Non Toxic Environments Home Health & Wellness

The pandemic has made raw material supply very very challenging this year.  So many of the new product offereings that we would normally launch in the beginning of the year have been pushed back. Today, Im focusing attention on a few new offerings at The Green Design Center and how these can make your home healthier.  Thanks for listening!

Ive started recording a show like this several times in the last few months, but could never muster up the courage to publish.  But this week I just couldn't take it anymore.  I pride myself on the decades of experience in the healthy building field and the things I've learned over those years.  Even going on more than a 30 year career, Im still learning every day. But, my inbox has been flooded l...

It has been quite a white since Jay and I had a chance to answer some listener questions, so we finally got together and hit the record button.  THANK YOU to everyone who submits these questions.  Most are answered "off the air" via email, but we do like to focus on a few right here so everyone has a chance to learn.  Enjoy the show. 

Its been a long time a comin' but Jay and I are finally back at it this weekend with a great interview we did with the legendary Paula Baker-Laporte. Her hit book, Prescriptions for a Healthy House is now in its 4th edition, so we talked about the new edition, along with her general philosophies of building and design.     Find her book online at EcoNest Architecture

It's amazing for me to think about when I started GDC way back in 1992 and what we would have accomplished by now.  Im so lucky to have such wonderful customers, listeners and friends and family who have supported me  and my dream all these years.  For today's show, I spend spme time reflecting on these past 30 years and why I'm so excited about the next 30. 

We've spent countless hours on this show talking about building and remodeling, but now that you have a healthier home (hopefully), how do you keep it that way?  Today, Jay and I discuss some tips and tricks to keep your home healthy by eliminating mold sources, maintaining equipment and reducing exposures to EMF's and other ideas.

Jay and I take calls all the time from nervous homeowners as well as interested commercial clients who are desperately trying to fix a problem on a jobsite or a similar situation. When this crisis occurs, we end up being part detective and part counselor.  Find the problem, fix it, then calm the situation so the project can move forward.  Here are a few of our stories...

Jay and I did a wonderful 2 part show a couple years ago on the true costs of healthy building.  Now that we've been in and pretty much out of a global pandemic, how has the landscape changed?  We dive into that today, and while some of the news is a litle scary, there are also many reasons to be optimistic about the future of healthy building.   Feel free to go back to our October 2019 shows for...

Jay took the keys to the NTE recording studio this week to interview Dr Neil Nathan, a Board-Certified Family Physician, and also a Founding Diplomate of the American Board of Holistic Medicine (now called the American Board of Integrative and Holistic Medicine).  Dr Nathan's practice specialzes in Mold Toxicity, Lyme Disease, Multiple Chemical Sensitivities & Other Environmental Illness.  What he...

Mike Bender is an author, screenwriter, website founder, husband and father.  He also happens to be very sensitve, as he puts it. Got bitten by a deer tick as a young boy, which blossomed into MCAS, chemical and EMR sensitivities and a limbic system disorder.  With love and support from his family and a team of dedicated building professionals, Mike is now living in what he calls a "quiet" home th...

Every year around this time, paint companies and interior design firms start to promote what they call their yearly color and design trends.  I've done these myself over the years, but this particular year is special. Call me optimistic, but I truly believe we are able to start looking at life post pamdemic.  So in this episode, I'll give you my top home design trends that really reflect what we'v...

That right folks, season 5 is starting off this week.  Time really flies when you enjoy what you do.  Jay and I are discussing indoor air quality testing, cabinet finishing and a little bit of this and that.  Welcome back! 

This holiday season, we are still struggling with the pandemic, shipping issues all over the world and now horrific damage and the loss of lives from the storms across America's heartland.  But for most of us, we'll never have to worry about where we are sleeping tonight. However, there are many Americans who have no home, no shelter.  This is a truly heart-warming episode you need to share with o...

Every once in a while, we'll be on a project where we need to come up with a creative fix.  Using a product in a new way...one which the manufacturer never really intended it to be used. We call these 'off-label uses'.  There are many we developed over the years and Jay and I had a chance to discuss a few of them today.  

Sure, we've got plenty to complain about.  Material shortages, price increases, yada yada.  But as we say every year, we just have so much more to be thankful for.  Jay and I are back in the saddle today to discus that, as well as why 2022 is shaping up to be the best, healthiest year yet!! 

We preach all about healthy building and making the bedrooms the  healthiest rooms in the home.  So its time to talk about mattresses.   Tim Masters, owner of My Green Mattress in Illinois, has been in the mattress making business his entire life.  While they have always used high quality materials, the switch to organic and chemical free was the result of a personal family crises.  I met with Tim...

Building a home is a massive challenge for most.  Now, adding to this that you want to build it healthy and the challenge just increased by double.  But is it really that difficult?  It certainly doesn't have to be.  On today's show, Andy speaks with one of his past consulting clients to get her take on how the healthy building process went and whether or not she believes that it was worth the com...

While I normally leave the nutrition-related podcasting to my friends Robyn Openshaw, Ashley James and Katie Wells, this was one episode that Jay and I HAD to do. Tim James has an eye-opening story to tell and beyond that, an incredible gift to share with everyone.  The gift of personal health.  Tim does private and group session health coaching, and has created his own line of personal supplement...

Oh boy do I love this time of year.  You can feel the cooler weather starting to make its way in.  Leaves are beginning to change. What stays consistent, however, is the amount of calls and emails we get asking us questions about healthy home projects.  Today, we're tackling some of those questions and I'm pretty sure at least one of two of them will be regarding subjects on your mind as well.  Th...

Even though I'm a trusted healthy home consultant and materials expert, I could never say that I know it all.  When I'm stumped on a project, Caroline is one of my go-to experts.  We've had the pleasure of working together on projects over the years and it's about time we had the chance to put one of our conversations on record and share it with the world. Today we'll hear about her successful tes...

A few years back when we started the podcast, Jay and I both did an intro episode to give you all a little background.  In these last years, we've gained thousands of new listeners and I get several emails a week asking about how I ended up in this business.  So, this may be a refresher course to some, but it should be enlightening to all.  The history of healthy home building with Andrew Pace. 

One of the most frequent calls we get.  My walls, my carpet, my cabinetry is off gassing...what do I do??? Today, Jay and I tackle that question and discuss what off gassing really is and how to deal with it.  Plus, I take a little time to talk about why I LOVE doing what I do and helping people with their healthy home dreams.  

Seems a whole lot different than a year ago, thats for sure!  As the word starts to open up again, Id like to take a few minutes to let you know what's happening with material availability and pricing. Also an exciting new offering in the world of spray foam insulation.  

Many years ago, our local builders association constructed a model "green" home that achieved LEED Platinum status. I walked in to inspect it and had to walk out minutes later due to the offgassing coming primarily from the closet shelving systems.  Since then, I've been on a quest to find the perfect system. Well, here it is!!  Today I talk with Rob Norden, CEO of Lundia USA, who has developed th...

Stick frame, ICF, rammed earth, net zero..... what does it all amount to when you are building a new home or doing a major remodel.... one that has to be healthy, sustainable and light on the earth?  In today's episode of NTE, Jay Watts interviews architect Michael Frerking of Living Systems Architecture. Michael has perfected the construction technique know as poured earth. If you aren't familiar...