Sellers and COVID-19
Dear Home Sellers:
We would like to take a minute to tell you some best practices before putting your home on the market. And what we, as a home inspection company, are doing to keep things clean.
For the Sellers:
Children are now out of school for the next several weeks. If the children are home, we will require an adult be present at the time of the inspection. If no adult is present, we will need to reschedule. In order to help maintain social distancing, we ask that a parent/adult choose a room to hang out in and a bathroom close by. The inspector can inspect those 2 rooms, disinfect anything he touches then the family can shelter there. Other inspection companies and real estate agents are having the sellers take food, drink, and things to do into the room with them. Please keep any pets kenneled or with you.
If anyone in the family is sick or has been exposed to any potential illness, we ask that the inspection be rescheduled.
The chemicals in scented items that many people have in their homes, may harm visitors with compromised immune systems. Potential clients may suffer from migraines, headaches, breathing difficulties such as asthma, burning skin or eyes and other health related issues. In order to give them the best possible experience when they are viewing their potential future home, or when they are getting their inspection done, they are very appreciative of a home free from scented items such as candles, wax burners, solids, beads, incense, and other items. They do love the smell of fresh baked cookies, popcorn or fresh out of the oven bread. Having scented items removed will also aid in detecting gas leaks.
Fragrance Chemicals
From Health Care without Harm
https://noharm-uscanada.org/issues/us-canada/fragrance-chemicals
To many people, the word "fragrance" means something that smells nice, such as perfume. We don't often stop to think that scents are chemicals. Fragrance chemicals are organic compounds that volatilize, or vaporize into the air, which is why we can smell them. They are added to products to give them a scent or to mask the odor of other ingredients. The volatile organic chemicals (VOCs) emitted by fragrance products can contribute to poor indoor air quality (IAQ) and are associated with a variety of adverse health effects.
Exposure to fragrance chemicals can cause headaches; eye, nose, and throat irritation; nausea; forgetfulness; loss of coordination; and other respiratory and/or neurotoxic symptoms. Many fragrance ingredients are respiratory irritants and sensitizers, which can trigger asthma attacks and aggravate sinus conditions.
Fragrance chemicals are the number one cause of allergic reactions to cosmetics — not only to the primary users, but also to those who breathe in the chemicals as secondhand users.
Just a few other articles:
https://noharm-uscanada.org/issues/us-canada/fragrance-chemicals
https://www.indoordoctor.com/health-hazards-plug-air-fresheners/
https://www.pippinbrothers.com/blog/article/do-you-know-which-air-fresheners-are-toxic
Scented products and your pets: