2023 Real Estate Observations (Worcester: testing, apartment, house)

[msRB311]

Originally Posted by newenglandgal123

That's the thing....not many people know about all these things and aren't keen to ask questions or to do the tests! The house I had that had the radon, the people before me lived in it for like 7 years with no remediation system!! I almost wanted to reach out and tell them they should probably get annual lung scans just in case!

lol..i mean it's not funny...but it's sad that people's homes can make them sick. I'm sure 10 years from now there will be some new study or finding about a new chemical or toxin in homes that causes some type of illness. I think this year it was GAS STOVES actually! there were a bunch of articles that came out on this not long ago, here's one:

https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/b...our-gas-stove/

[newenglandgal123]

Originally Posted by msRB311

lol..i mean it's not funny...but it's sad that people's homes can make them sick. I'm sure 10 years from now there will be some new study or finding about a new chemical or toxin in homes that causes some type of illness. I think this year it was GAS STOVES actually! there were a bunch of articles that came out on this not long ago, here's one:

https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/b...our-gas-stove/

I remember hearing about the gas stoves. It's always something. The other one that is similar to concerns of asbestos is vermiculite insulation. Then you also have homes with the old horse hair plaster and if people have allergies to animals they might go crazy trying to figure out what's causing it if they don't think about the plaster in their home that could be the cause!

[simplexsimon]

Originally Posted by msRB311

I guess these are all reasons that i feel for young people looking to buy a home now.

I would advise most young people to rent and save the difference rather than buy, but this advice is usually frowned upon because real estate culture is so strong.

[Iced_Coffee]

The gas stoves issue is a legitimate concern. Was it sensationalized in the media? Yeah, most likely. But it's been looked at quite rigorously and the results do indicate health issues stemming from indoor gas stove usage. A lot of people probably have bigger concerns in their lives, but if I were building a house or putting in a new kitchen, I wouldn't even consider gas.

https://www.publichealth.columbia.ed...sks-gas-stoves

A recent study suggests that gas stoves contribute to about 13 percent of childhood asthma cases in the U.S.—equivalent to the risk of developing asthma due to exposure to secondhand smoke. NO2 can cause respiratory problems, particularly for those with asthma or other respiratory illnesses, and long-term exposure to NO2 from gas stoves has also been linked to an increased risk of developing heart disease.

https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2...viously-known/

“We’ve known for a long time that gas stoves emit some harmful pollutants, including nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide,” said lead researcher Yannai Kashtan, a Ph.D. student at Stanford. “This study shows that in addition to those known pollutants, gas stoves can also emit amounts of benzene that can lead to indoor concentrations that exceed health benchmarks.”

Kashtan and his team analyzed air from 87 homes in California and Colorado, finding dangerous levels of indoor benzene pollution while gas stoves were in use. In some cases, levels were higher than those caused by cigarette smoke, which the World Health Organization has called the main source of indoor benzene contamination.

...Benzene, which is a colorless or yellow liquid at room temperature, occurs both naturally and as a result of human activities. It’s present in crude oil and in emissions from volcanoes and forest fires, and is widely used in industry. Long-term exposure can lead to leukemia and other blood-related cancers, while high levels of short-term exposure can affect the nervous system. The World Health Organization has called exposure to benzene unsafe at any level; Kirsch said it’s the most potent chemical leukemogenic, or leukemia-causing substance, that she’s aware of.

And for anyone into podcasts, 99% Invisible did a nice episode on the subject in July. Worth a listen as it gets into the history of the gas stove, the cynical marketing of it, and the bad faith 'scientific' research conducted by groups affiliated with/paid by the gas industry. Similar to what we've seen over the years with the cigarette industry.

https://99percentinvisible.org/episo...king-with-gas/

[msRB311]

Originally Posted by simplexsimon

I would advise most young people to rent and save the difference rather than buy, but this advice is usually frowned upon because real estate culture is so strong.

Yes...we live in a world where people are basically considered 'poor' or unsuccessful if they don't own a home.

[msRB311]

I guess the gas stove thing is interesting to me because how often do people use their gas stove for their kids to develop asthma in their short lives? If someone is using the stove every day with the kids there...then ok...but these days so many people use things like microwaves, instant pots, air fryers or even slow cookers.

I grew up with with an electric stove in my parents house...and my brother ended up getting asthma.

I currently have a gas stove (that I dont use every day) and i'm certainly not replacing it with electric at this point.

We've all hear bad things about microwaves but most homes have them...and I've heard air fryers can cause cancer as well.

[Saguarogirl507]

Originally Posted by newenglandgal123

Asbestos is another issue....I worry myself as I've had some bathroom renos at a couple houses from the 50's that I believe probably had some asbstos in the original wall and floor tiles. When it was getting demo'd who knows how much of that dust got in the air that I breathed in. As for the radon, ever since I had that house that had the high levels I bought a digital meter so it doesn't matter where I'm living, how old the house, whether it's got a remediation system or not...I always have the meter and always know what my radon level is. Another thing people don't realize is radon levels in the home can fluctuate with the seasons and the daily weather conditions! Today your meter might read 6.0 which is above the epa limit but tomorrow it might go down to 1.2. That's why I have a meter with long term average reading ...it takes the measurement over months and gives you the average which is much more accurate than a home inspector 48 hr radon test which are a joke.

A good friend of mine died a few years ago from mesothelioma. He was quite young. In his 40's. I think he grew up in a house loaded with asbestos. Very sad. Many times you just don't know what is in your indoor environment.

[redplum33]

Originally Posted by msRB311

I guess these are all reasons that i feel for young people looking to buy a home now. In addition to insane mortgage rates, housing costs, forget if you need bathrooms/kitchen updated..

As long as everything is functional, nobody needs to update kitchens and bathrooms.

And people certainly don't need botox, plastic surgery, or even vacations.

[msRB311]

Originally Posted by redplum33

As long as everything is functional, nobody needs to update kitchens and bathrooms.

And people certainly don't need botox, plastic surgery, or even vacations.

I know that. Tell that to everyone else

[Threestep2]

Originally Posted by redplum33

As long as everything is functional, nobody needs to update kitchens and bathrooms.

And people certainly don't need botox, plastic surgery, or even vacations.

Looking at some of those real estate listings posted here - please do not update anything! Keep the time capsules for generations to enjoy.