Defective Toxic Chinese Drywall Testing Kit

Chinese Drywall is a defective drywall imported from China between the years of 2001 and 2007. In most cases, this chinese drywall emits noxious odor due to sulfur gases emulsion, which is toxic for the human body. This gases run through the free air sapce among walls corroding metal surfaces and copper, damaging your air conditioner, electrical wiring, copper plumbing, appliances and electronics. All drywall made in china is not necessarilly toxic.

While the manufacturer's process and materials differ from one another, making it hard to have a complete understanding of the cause, the source of the problem is fully identified.

At the beginning the belief was, that chinese drywall was manufactured in gypsum mines in china with Fly Ash, a waste material from power plants using coal. After United Engineers tested some samples, they only found 5% to 15% organic material, discarding the theory that Chinese Drywall was made of waste from coal fired power plants. The theory now, is that tainted drywall from China comes from mined gypsum, not synthetic gypsum, which is made from coal ash, containing high leves of strontium, visible as inclusion in electron scanning microscopy.

Another Theory mentions that Chinese Drywall contains bacteria which degrades iron and sulfur compounds to produce sulfur odors. This theory is disputed by CPSC.

Remodeled or renovated homes between 2001 to 2007 are also in danger for Toxic Chinese Drywall.
If you just renovated your home during this period of time, you still need to check for common symptoms.
One or many of your walls might have the toxic Chinese Drywall, converting your home into a hybrid homes where there's a mix of good and toxic Chinese Drywall.

Determine if the air smells like rotten eggs.
Evaluate Health symptoms below
Determine if you have had excessive corrosion to metal components in your home
Check the coil of your A/C system
Check electrical outlets
Check for Electrical failures
Check for Knauf or made in china letters on the backside of your ceiling drywall
Chinese Drywall is thinner and lighter than normal drywall
Chinese Drywall has a darker grayish color than regular drywall.
Light bulbs in homes with toxic Chinese drywall may burn out at a much faster rate than specified by the manufacturer
Jewelry silver plated utensils may be tarnished
TV sets, radios, DVD players, smoke detectors microwave information display panels may failed in homes, where the toxic Chinese drywall is present

Remove your switch plate cover randomly around the house.
Check the copper wire inside your wiring .
If this copper wire is shinny then most likely you do not have chinese drywall.
If the copper wire is blackened, this is a sign that your house contains some toxic Chinese drywall.
Check your circuit breaker. Check your copper wires.
If they are shinny, there is no chinese drywall evidence
If they are blackened then you have Chinese Drywall evidence.
Go to the Attic and inspect the back side of your ceiling drywall, crawl through.
Look for the words "Knauf", "Knauf Tiajin" or "Made in China" on the back of the drywall.
Any of these is an indication that you may have toxic Chinese drywall in your home.
Do a costly home inspection, or buy a less expensive alternative, our Do-It-Yourself Toxic Chinese Drywall Test Kit which detects the presence of toxic Chinese Drywall without having to open large holes or spend lots of money on repairs.

Our easy to use Test Kit will detect the emiting sulfur gasses, which are trapped between drywalls.
No more open holes, or long waits to know if you need to take further action.

The most frequently reported symptoms are irritated and itchy eyes and skin, difficulty in breathing, persistent cough, bloody noses, runny noses, recurrent headaches, sinus infection, and asthma attacks. Since many consumers report that their symptoms lessen or go away when they are away from their home, but return upon re-entry, it appears that these symptoms are short-term and related to something within the home.

The staff of the CPSC and CDC agree that the levels of sulfur gases detected in the affected homes in the fifty-one home study were at concentrations below the known irritant levels in the available scientific literature; however, it is possible that the additive or synergistic effects of these and other compounds in the subject homes could potentially cause irritant effects to consumers.

Homeowners exposed to Chinese Drywall have been reporting similar health symptoms.
Some of this symptoms are:

acne
asthma attachs
bloody noses
congestion
coughing
hair loss
headaches
hives
irritated eyes
joint and muscle pain
miscarriage
nausea
nosebleeds
phlegm
rashes
runny nose
shortness of breath
sneezing
sinus problems
sore throat
chest thigthness
trouble breathing
urinary tract infections

Up to today there is no scientific proof that Chinese Drywall is the cause for this symptoms since they can also be caused by a number of factors. Certain people appear to be more prone to symptoms, including children, the elderly and those with compromised immune systems.

The key is homeowners who did not have these symptoms or did not have the same severity prior to moving into contaminated home. Many see vast improvement after leaving their home - unfortunately, the symptoms reoccur when they return home. Recent reports (unverified) also include an increase in cavities (possibly caused by the strontium) and fertility issues.

PETS ARE AT RISK TOO. Please see your vet if your dog or cat has a cough (wet or dry), sneezing, difficulty breathing or wheezing. Ask your vet to check WBC, plateletes, monocytes, lymphs, eosinphils and neutrophils.

To date, the CPSC has received about 3,628 reports from residents in 39 States, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, and Puerto Rico who believe their health symptoms or the corrosion of certain metal components in their homes are related to the presence of drywall produced in China. State and local authorities have also received similar reports. We received our first incident report from a consumer on December 22, 2008. The majority of the reports to the CPSC have come from consumers residing in the State of Florida while others have come from consumers in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

US Consumer Product Safety Commission
Number of Drywall Incidents by State
as of October 1, 2010

Consumers largely report that their homes were built in 2006 to 2007, when an unprecedented increase in new construction occurred in part due to the hurricanes of 2004 and 2005.Common features of the reports submitted to the CPSC from homes believed to contain problem drywall have been:

Consumers have reported a "rotten egg" smell within their homes.
Consumers have reported health concerns such as irritated and itchy eyes and skin, difficulty in breathing, persistent cough, bloody noses, runny noses, recurrent headaches, sinus infection, and asthma attacks.
Consumers have reported blackened and corroded metal components in their homes and the frequent replacement of components in air conditioning units.

What are the electrical or fire safety concerns and what I should I watch for in my house?

Consumers have reported blackened and corroded metal in their homes. Particularly, consumers have reported failures of certain components such as: (1) premature failures of central air conditioning evaporator coils located indoors as part of the central air conditioning unit air handler; and (2) intermittent operation or failure of appliances, such as refrigerators and dishwashers, and electronic devices such as televisions and video game systems.

Power outages - a circuit breaker which needs resetting frequently without any apparent cause; especially if a ground-fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) or arc fault circuit interrupter (AFCI) trips frequently. Arc-fault circuit interrupters are a special kind of circuit breaker that is designed to detect arcing conditions in the electrical wiring.
Dim/flickering lights - lights dim often without any specific cause, such as the air conditioner or the refrigerator turning on.
Arcs/sparks - bright flashes or showers of sparks anywhere in your electrical system.
Sizzles/buzzes - unusual sounds from electrical system devices.
Overheating - parts of your electrical system, such as switch plates, dimmer switches, receptacle outlet covers, cords and plugs may be warm as a normal consequence of their operation but should not be discolored from heat or painful to touch.
Odors - pungent smells such as strong fumes from overheating plastic or electrical insulation materials.
Electrical shocks - any shock, even a mild tingle.