The 8 Best Plants for Your Bedroom, and Why
Houseplants are more than just decorative accents. These natural household helpers reduce carbon dioxide and dust levels, and look great while doing it. But did y...
7 Health Hazards Lurking in Your Basement
Basements were once used solely as utility rooms that housed furnaces, laundry areas, and overflow storage for seasonal items, tools, and sometimes even root vege...
How To: Test for Mold
Ever walked into a bathroom and paused to question the mustiness of the space? It's not news that those damp quarters...
7 Reasons Every Home Needs a Humidifier
It's winter, so get ready for several months of that hot, dry air that your HVAC system pumps out. Even worse, while the heat is on your house will be buttoned up...
How To: Clean an AC Filter
Though often overlooked, air conditioner filters are responsible for a mighty important job: keeping dust, dirt, and ...
How To: Remove Black Mold
As a naturally occurring and pervasive substance in our world, mold exists in a variety of different forms—many of wh...
11 Bathroom Hazards That Harm Your Home and Health
Your bathroom may be your spot to relax in the tub after a long day, but with all that plumbing, humidity, and other business going on in there, the location’s fu...
How To: Test for Asbestos
For a century, the naturally occurring fibrous silicate mineral asbestos was a mainstay of the building industry, use...
The 10 Best Winter Buys for a Happy, Healthy Home
Stop your sniffling and your shivering this winter, and invest in a happier, healthier you. With a few well-chosen purchases, you can turn your home into a warm, ...
Buyer's Guide: Room Humidifiers
Heating and air conditioning strip your home’s air of its natural humidity. The result: An uncomfortable dryness that...
7 Reasons Indoor Air Isn’t as Pure as You Think
Warmer temperatures invite us to throw up the blinds and open a window. But good weather isn't the only reason to let the fresh air in. Even the cleanest homes ca...
10 Shortcuts to a Not-So-Scary Basement
If you have an unfinished basement, you probably don’t want to spend a ton of time down there. The air is musty, the floors are damp, and it feels just a tiny bit...
3 Fixes for Bathroom Odor
Bathroom odors rank as some of the most unpleasant household scents you can encounter, and they are definitely not on...
The 10 Best Plants for Your Bathroom
If replacing your tile or installing a new vanity lie outside your budget, you can afford one truly luxurious upgrade: transforming your bathroom into a tropical ...
Combat Dry Winter Air with 7 Tips and Tricks
With temperatures low across the country, heating systems on full blast, and houses buttoned up against the cold, the air in your home can pretty dry this time of...
Do You Need a Dehumidifier?
Air quality can suffer in myriad ways. Excess humidity ranks among the least desirable effects. Left unchecked, moist...
How To: Get Rid of Mildew Smell
Among household odors, mildew undoubtedly ranks among the worst. And unfortunately, it's all too common, lurking in t...
11 Home Hazards to Know and Avoid
If you ask most people where they feel the safest, chances are the answer will be in their own home. But home safety depends on a variety of factors, and potentia...
15 Remarkably Easy Ways to Create a Dust-Free Home
No matter how clean your home may be, it's probably still a little dusty. It's a pervasive problem that everyone has to deal with every day. It's more than an ann...
Bob Vila Radio: Humidifiers
We love the toasty warmth that our radiators and heating vents give off—but the dry indoor air that comes with all th...
Quick Tips: Improving Indoor Air Quality
The Environmental Protection Agency has warned that indoor air pollution is often much higher than outdoors. Here ar...
Bob Vila Radio: Vent Pollutants
Today’s weather-tight homes are great for energy efficiency, but they’re not so good for indoor air quality. The grea...
8 Home Hazards—and How to Mitigate Them
More things trouble homeowners than what goes “bump in the night.” Here are eight dangerous problems you'll want to avoid—or swiftly remedy.
Green Homes—Heating and Air Quality
Where to StartToday’s HVAC is more than just the equipment that heats, ventilates, and cools our home. It is the inte...
Safe Indoor Air for Children
According to the American Lung Association, lung disease and breathing problems are the number one cause of death in ...
How To: Prevent Mold and Mildew
Mold is more prevalent today because the focus on improving energy efficiency resulted in more airtight homes that do...
10 Indoor Pollutants
We spend a large part of our lives indoors yet the idea of indoor air pollution can be easy to dismiss, especially if...
My House Contains Asbestos: Now What?
Many older houses incorporate construction materials that contain asbestos. Usually its presence is uncovered during ...
Bob Vila Radio: Indoor Air Quality
The EPA ranks poor indoor air quality as our fourth largest environmental threat. Some of the worst polluters of the ...
Touring a Designer Showhouse and Baby's Bathroom
In West Palm Beach, FL, the American Lung Association has sponsored a designer showhouse that highlights a healthy home. Bob’s house tour focuses on the baby’s ba...
Tour an Affordable Green Apartment Building
Bob visits the South Bronx, NY, where Habitat for Humanity has partnered with private developer Les Bluestone to create a green oasis for low-income families that...
Revising the Landscaping Plan
Bob talks with landscape architect Rick Lamb about revisions to the plan. Bob points out the redesigned parking area and the plan for magically melting the snow.
HVAC System Installation
Bob discusses the SpacePak HVAC system that's being installed to provide heating and cooling in the house and barn. The SpacePak system is well-suited to projects...
Blowing In Cellulose Insulation
Bob joins Joe Sheridan (from Energy Guard) to learn more about the US Greenfiber Cocoon cellulose insulation being used in the barn.
Encapsulating Lead Paint
Cole Stanton (from Fiberlock) joins Bob to talk about Child Guard, an encapsulating coating for lead-based paint.
Asbestos Removal
Demolition continues with removal of asbestos from the attic.