They Sell Them So They Must Be OK, Right?

Presented by D.J.Skelding

Safeguard Inspection Services, Inc.

I am constantly seeing items installed in homes that should never have been manufactured or sent to market.  Or once realized that they cause more damage/defects than good they should of been removed from the market.  But unfortunately the manufacturers are allowed to keep making these products and informed builders and trades continue to install them because it makes their lives easier.  And uniformed DIYer's blindly install them thinking "they sell them so they must be ok, Right?"   

Short answer is NO, just because a product is made and sold does not deem it OK to use.  And this is the big rub that makes no sense at all.  I've been wanting for years to publish a list of items that I feel fall into this category so I decided now is that time.  I know very well my list is incomplete so please help me out with listing any items that you feel should be added.  Maybe it'll help keep someone from having to spend time and money in figuring it out for themselves.  Thanks.

1.  Soffit Exhaust Vent:  Soffit vents are your roofs air intakes and the roof vents are the exhaust. When a bath exhaust fan is directed to flow OUT of the soffit area a ton of this warm moist air wafts back towards the soffit vents and will start to rot your roofs rafter tails along with allowing mildew and mold to start forming on your roof sheathing. So it all becomes counter-productive and destructive to try and vent anything out of your soffits since they're designed to suck in.

2.  Backstabbed Receptacles: These backstabbedholes are the cause of lots of problems with wires loosening up.  Heat generated from the load on the wires will cause the wires to expand and contract.  Over time the connection becomes weak and the receptacle loses power.  This not only requires time and money to troubleshoot exactly where the problem is but loose wires can also present a fire hazard.  Unfortunately they're still allowed, even in new construction due to the fact that it saves the electrician a lot of time to just stick the wires in a hole rather than wrapping them around the screws on the sides.

 3.  Dryer Box's:  These handy box's allow a dryer to be vented to the interior of a home for convenience purposes.   Unfortunately the building codes state that Dryer exhaust systems shall be independent of all other systems, shall convey the moisture to the outdoors, and shall terminate on the outside of the building.  Since clothes dryers expel several pounds of water in vapor form in just a single load, this requirement not only keeps your home lint free but also mold free.  It also prevents the discharge of CO from a gas dryer from filtrating into your home.  Imagine one in the basement with the furnace and WH, some of the CO gas would be consumed with the combustion of the other sources' burning and venting. Can we say dangerous!

4.  Plastic, vinyl or foil dryer vents:  Referencing the above picture, this dryer ducting will begin to sag overtime and get crushed fairly easy back behind a dryer.  This restricts the air flow to the outside and allows the lint to build up in them.  This now creates a huge fire hazard as the lint can be easily ignited from the heat of the dryer.  And since the flimsy plastic ducting will not contain a fire it's bound to start spreading throughout the house.  The only safe product to use is rigid metal ducting.

5.  Ventless Fireplaces:  They're actually illegal to be installed in any home here in Wisconsin that was built after 1980 and a lot of other states outlaw them all together such as Massachusetts and California. Besides the CO they give off they also introduce a lot of moisture into your house which is great food for mold.

6. Automatic Toilet Bowl Cleaners:  They're really handy, just drop them into your toilet tank and the bleach in the tablet will keep your bowl nice and clean.  Unfortunately the bleach in the product also corrodes the metal parts and bolts in your toilet tank which eventually leads to leaks and parts replacement.

DJ Skelding is a Certified Home Inspector performing home inspections in Milwaukee along with serving the south east and central counties of Wisconsin. DJ has been licensed by the State of Wisconsin and is certified by the National Association of Certified Home Inspectors (NACHI).  Please visit the company website at Safeguard Inspection Services, Inc. or feel free to call the office at (414) 768-1250 for more information.  

Safeguard Inspection Services, Inc. is available for home inspections through out the Greater Milwaukee County and out lying communities to include Waukesha, Kenosha, Racine, Ozaukee, Dodge, Jefferson and Washington counties.