Category Archives: Tips for Homeowners

Are Propane Gas Log Heaters Safe?

Propane gas log sets come in a variety of styles and sizes. They are generally safe to operate but only for an hour or less at a time. The Canadian study here  found that 1 in 5 homes using vent less heaters like the gas log sets found in many San Miguel homes had unsafe levels of carbon monoxide (CO) and oxides of nitrogen dioxide (NO2).  Your log set is probably located in a fireplace nicho, but don’t let that fool you. Look inside and up and you most likely will find there is no vent or chimney. You have a vent less heater and you need to be careful.

Personally, I find them unhealthy and I hope to see more homes with direct vent heaters, radiant in-floor heat and other safer and healthier heaters installed in San Miguel homes.  Gas log sets are designed to burn less efficiently with a yellow flame (like a real fire) instead of the more efficient blue flame. Fortunately, the doors and windows in many San Miguel homes leak air and this allows for contaminated air to exit and cleaner air to enter. But of course this lowers the efficiency of your heaters.

What are the warning signs:

  • yellow/orange flame instead of blue/white indicate less complete combustion
  • strong smell of combustion
  • physical symptoms of incomplete combustion (eyes burning, headaches, nausea, dizziness etc)

What can you do ?

  • install carbon monoxide sensors that sound an alarm
  • purchase good quality gas heaters,
  • service the gas heater every year in the fall and insure you have blue flames indicating more complete combustion of the propane gas
  • do not use your heaters continuously, use them for an hour at most and supplement with electric heaters, warm clothes, electric blankets etc.
  • open you doors and window when the outside temperature is higher than in your house. Close up in the late afternoon when you feel the cool air outside.

Filling Your Propane Tank

A civil list report in January of 2017 alleges that a gas company (go to the sma civil list on yahoo for more info) used a magnate to lower the fill percentage on the tank gauge thus justifying a larger amount of fill and a higher bill.  (using a magnate does not change the printout, where does the extra gas go ???)….. So now as a consumer I am concerned that the receipt I get is not from my fill but from another more empty tank or near empty tank fill. They can reprint these receipts. I believe there has to be 2 components to the “scam”.

I see no date stamp or anything on my receipt that identifies it as mine. There is a “Numero de Nota” example #13638. There may be the possibility to imput this type of information on the 3 lines below the amount that show asteriks ***** . There is hand written date and a total showing my VIP discount. My total was 96.8 liters at $7.19 per liter for a Total of $695.99. The handwritten total was $595 for my VIP discount ($100mp which is too much and also raised my suspicious nature) which Imperial gas will give you even though it is Providencia Gas that is the official VIP gas company. I got mixed up and called the wrong company. Please report any “hanky panky” with caution but as a group, if we stop using one of the suppliers, I think this will have an impact on the company and make them clean up the problem whether internal or external. So again, be sure, be cautious.

My suggestions (if you cannot climb on your roof have a trusted gardner or cleaning person help out).

  • check (or have someone check) the gauge just before filling and give the gauge and tank a good thump to see if it is stuck. This is important even if the fake or recopying of receipts from other tank fills is happening. Please send us an email if the gauge moves after thumping so I can confirm that this can occur.  Write on the receipt your prefill and postfill gauge  percentage so you establish a relationship between percentages and liters to fill. Please note this is going to be different depending on temperature, time of year/angle of sun on the tank etc. Not an exact science. Aaaah such is life…!!
  • Ask when you call and before they fill if the receipt they will print is readable (I have gotten unreadable very faint receipts). Then ask them to wait to print until you are standing there and can watch the receipt print (can there be a discrepancy between the meter and what you get ?? possibly yes but we are trying to tighten up our process best we can). Before you let one of them go up to the roof, ask them to wait to reset the meter/printer mechanism until you return. If you have two people then you can send someone up while you watch the setting of the meter.  I know….what a hassle !!
  • Escort the filler to the top. I have arrived up top late only to smell a lot of gas and when I asked what the hell is going on they said they were just checking the valve. Although this doesn’t put money in their pocket directly, filling a tank that is more empty helps the company and also shortens the time it takes them to empty the truck tank (perhaps there is incentive from the company ??). We as consumers should understand how it all works.
  • If the filler guy goes to the roof through the house and you only have one person, then after they reach the roof, lock them out of the house and apologize that you have to do this and will come back to escort them through the house. This is not being paranoid, it is common sense. If you have a fill valve on the street you can supervise it all from there.
  • Go down and supervise the meter reset, the printout and pay the bill. Go escort the roof top person down but ask for an “porcentaje exacto”. Write both pre and post fill percentages on your bill and over time you can get an idea of how many liters you will need. By buying a set amount each time you can also calculate how many percentage points this $500 or $1,000 pesos represents on your gauge (at that time of year or temperature).  Good luck and be vigilant.????

Do You Have Dangerous Mold ?

The answer is….”you probably do not have so called toxic mold”. The conditions needed for black mold (stachybotrys is one of the most toxic) are significant and are often not present here in San Miguel.  Black mold is black/green in color, often slimy and found in association with cellulose (drywall paper, cardboard, wood window sills etc). But if you are allergic, immune deficient or highly sensitive then of course any mold can cause health problems.

We are still looking for a reputable Mexican lab to do mold testing but until then, we have the ability to do quick on-site testing which is an important first step. We can determine if you have one of the 3 most toxic molds (Aspergillus, Penicillium,Stachybotrys). We can follow up with U.S. based lab testing but that takes time.  You can order your own kit here and save our fees but it can take a few weeks to get the kit. Why not have an informed professional inspect for mold and perhaps save the kit fee altogether? In most cases we can eliminate the need for lab testing and also suggest simple remediation steps (better ventilation, stop the moisture source etc).

MoldTestKit

Since the most dangerous black mold (stachybotrys) is very rare it is better to remove doubt from a home owner’s (present or future) mind with a quick test.  Recently, I received a call from a potential buyer about a moldy lower level laundry/maids room with poor ventilation. Based on their description, I doubt very much that toxic molds were involved but perhaps the doubt was a factor in their decision to let their offer expire. I did not get the chance to inspect and alleviate or corroborate their concerns.

We have the training manuals, documentation and information on the microbiology, the remediation schemes and most important the respirator and clothing specifications for the  most extreme cases (involving large infected areas or sophisticated ventilation system contamination).  We will share this information along with ozone “shock treatment” alternatives with anyone interested.

Note: as with all inspections, we can suggest and recommend some basic remediation steps, professional remediation contractors, ozonator options and other information but do not perform these services ourselves because of obvious conflict of interest concerns.

 

 

 

 

 

On Demand Hot Water Heaters, Save Energy or Save Water

Here in San Miguel, sometimes the flow rate on your shower heads and faucets isn’t enough to keep your on-demand heater on and thus allowing “slugs” of cold water to enter the system. If you are handy you can choose to use more water by removing the constrictors in the shower heads and drilling a small hole (when necessary) in the orifice to increase the flow rate so your on demand heater doesn’t keep turning itself off thus allowing the cold water to enter the line.  If your pressure is a bit low (you are up high in the house and you have a gravity feed tinaco without a pressure boost pump) then you may be signing up for frustration with an on-demand heater.

Solar preheaters save energy and can work with a wider range of pressures. It is a great combination and will reduce your propane gas consumption.

I have heard from enough owners and plumbers on this subject to say that in San Miguel de Allende you need to check your system carefully before installing an on demand heater:

  1. Do you have a 3/4″ gas supply line from your propane tank to the heater (needed for a 185,000 btu heater)? Long distances from your water tank (tinaco) to the heater may cause insufficient flow and tempermental heating if your line is the typical 1/2 inch copper.  A recommended minimum heater size of 185,000 btu’s needs a good flow rate from the propane tank.
  2. Do you rely on street pressure to fill your water tank (cistern or rooftop tinaco)?  Some houses have no cistern and no pressure pump. So they are stuck with gravity pressure from the rooftop tinaco. This means low pressure on the top floor to showers which improves as you go down to lower floors in the house. On demand heaters need a minimum flow rate of around 7/10 gallon per minute.  You can test this by just running your hose or shower into a bucket for one minute.
  3. Do you have a boost pump to increase water pressure to your water lines, filtration system etc? Do you have good pressure everywhere in the house?
  4. Will you calculate your high or peak demand useage to correctly choose your heater size and does this demand match the delivery rate capacity of your water line (1/2 inch lines with rooftop pressure may not be enough unless your tinaco is perhaps 2 to 3 floors above the heater)
  5. Does your filtration system (whole house type) maintain enough pressure to avoid cold water “slugs”?

I cannot improve upon David Grubbs information on tankless hotwater heaters here.

Water and Moisture

Keeping water outside the house, preventing it from coming in through the roof, walls, floors, doors and windows can be a challenge when you have the kind of hard rains we have here in San Miguel. Many homes do not use thresholds and weather-stripping at the doors so windblown rain can really come in fast.

MOISTURE IN THE WALLS

More frustrating is the infiltration of moisture through walls, ceilings and floors. The problem is finding the source of moisture which may not be on your property. The water can be traveling through the soil or through other house walls for very long distances. The only protection you have is to put waterproofing coatings on the outside of your foundations, floors and walls. If you have buildings up against your walls then generally you are stuck with the problem unless you can excavate on both sides of the wall and foundation and this is most often not possible. There are some coatings that can go on the inside of the walls and floors, there are French drains and vent holes that can be added but all of these options are almost never 100 percent effective and the moisture usually returns at the same spot or someplace nearby as the moisture finds the easiest path to escape.
Despite these well known infiltration problems, builders and architects continue to build foundations and stem walls without proper damp proofing (or none at all). If you already own a home and there is an empty lot or a garden next to your exterior walls, before the access is permanently blocked, put on a waterproofing membrane (better than a coating) and install French drains if you can slope the drain to daylight (if not, all you are doing is creating an underground pond for water to collect and eventually enter your house). Many architects and builders need better specifications and installation practices. Asphalt/bitumen based “roof coating” rolled or brushed on is helpful but the current standard (of course I am talking about the U.S.) is a membrane that combines these materials with polymers in a tuff sheet sold in rolls that can be torched on or self adhered. Bitumen or asphalt based brush on coatings (impermeabilizantes) are better than nothing but if you can access the lower walls and foundations then I recommend spending the money to install a membrane. As coatings get more sophisticated (polyurethanes etc) they become more effective. Wikipedia has a decent discussion of “waterproofing” and “dampproofing” that is helpful.

EXISTING HOMES

DOORS AND WINDOWS
I came home one night to my recently rented house during a hard rain and found a cascade coming down the stairs. The wind direction was just right to maximize the amount of rain getting in under the unprotected terrace doors and the terrace drain was partially blocked by leaves and debris. So we adapted the door sweeps which stopped the main flow but we still need a towel on the floor during certain storms. Good thing we have Saltillo tile floors.

First, if it isn’t too late, put in thresholds on the unprotected exterior doors, the ones that are not under a portal (yes, I know this changes the “feel” of how the indoor and outdoor space flows).  Next, add door sweeps with flexible weather stripping on the bottom to minimize water infiltration. Some rain will still get in if you have French doors. In a perfect world, French doors belong under protective overhangs and portals.

UNFINISHED SIDE WALLS
Second, are the sides and back of your house plastered or raw brick ? It is common here to wait for your neighbor to finish their house and cover up the unfinished sides of your home. This is one of my “pet peeves” about builders and developers here in San Miguel. If you cannot afford it then okay, you have to wait. But if you can you should at least plaster one coat and throw on a coat of paint that matches your other elevations. If you don’t, hard rains may enter and damage the plaster and paint on the inside of those walls.  Here is an unfinished wall with no moisture problems inside perhaps because it faces east. The other west wall had to be plastered to stop the moisture damage. Note the white paint could have been tinted to be more like the house. It was a pretty quick fix. Note the white efflorescing below the parapets. More on that in another post.

 

HEALTH CONCERNS
Moisture in walls grows mold. I have done many mold inspections in San Miguel and in the U.S. I have yet to find dangerous black mold (stachyboris) and asperguilias here in San Miguel. But as I learned from clients here, any mold can be harmful to a person with sensitivities, allergies or with compromised immune systems. See more in the “harmful mold” post http://smahomeinspections.com/blog/2016/03/17/do-you-have-dangerous-mold/ .