Safer alternatives exist, though the materials may seem bizarre. For instance, builders insulated a renovated St. Louis, Missouri home with 3,000 recycled newspapers treated with nontoxic flame retardant. Innovative manufacturers have turned used soda bottles into carpeting, garden hoses into roofing material and agricultural wheat straw waste into a particle board replacement called agriboard. The Energy Audit Evaluating a new home may require some outside help. Formal testing can be arranged through local power companies, which will conduct energy audits.
Radon testing is another good idea.
For houses with crawl spaces, look for passive ventilation measures like vapor retarders combined with piping to direct radon gases away from the home. These systems also keep things drier. Basements deserve special attention. Moisture can raise allergen concentrations indoors, reduce the life of materials and necessitate more frequent paint jobs. Point source ventilation lessens the impact, and houses should have them over stoves, in bathrooms, anywhere moisture is generated.