Rumsrent, Katarina Johansson

In recent decades the building industry has seen a number of scandals in which materials once hailed as clever innovations turned out to harm both people and the environment. In the middle of a renovation it is easy to be persuaded by a salesperson or carpenter promoting a fast, cheap, efficient and easy-to-use material. We may end up accepting hormone-disrupting phthalates in vinyl floors, allergenic biocides in paint or nanoparticles whose long-term health effects nobody really knows.

The author Katarina Johansson began to wonder what insulation she had had built into the walls and roof of her old cottage and regretted not taking the time to research the materials. In Rumsrent she gets to the bottom of the chemicals and environmental factors in the building industry to raise awareness among home improvers.

"Dare to break the norm and look at the alternatives. Use your nose and your common sense," writes Katarina Johansson. The book is in Swedish.