Breath Easy In Your Own Home
There are many toxins lurking in your home. Some of these we bring in to our homes in the forms of furniture, carpeting, and cleaning supplies, others are not as noticeable like dust mites, radon gases, and other allergens. Even our own breathing can create condensation and increased CO2 levels. Proper ventilation can improve your allergy symptoms and provide fresh air to your family without compromising the energy efficiency of your home. Fresh air and more money in your pocket. Now that is something to breath easy about!
7 Signs of a Sick Home:
1. Condensation on the windows
2. Allergies are worse inside the home
3. Uneven temperatures
4. Mold
5. Musty odors
6. Sniffles or stuffy nose
7. Furnace or Air Conditioning cycling often
Seven Principles to a Healthy Home. Ideally a healthy home is:
1. Dry
2. Pest free
3. Clean
4. Toxic chemical free
5. Well ventilated
6. Comfortable
7. Combustion by-product free
Dry Water and humidity support the growth of mold, insects, rodents and dust mites. Keeping a home dry controls mold and pests, and discourages dust mites.
Dust Dust is a source of contaminants, provides food for some of the pests that trouble people in buildings and physically damages flooring. The amount of dust in a building can be reduced by ensuring it’s clean before occupancy, designing it to stop tracked-in dirt at the door and using finishes and equipment that are easy to clean and maintain.
Well ventilated Ventilation provides a mechanism to remove pollutants and control humidity. Windows that open and fans that run control pollutants.
Combustion by-product free Combustion by-products — such as carbon monoxide, sulfuroxides, nitrogen oxides and soot — should not be in a healthy home. Furnaces, water heaters and fireplaces that burn fuel must vent to the outside. Stoves, ovens and cook-tops that burn fuel must be used with fans that vent the combustion by-products to the outside.
Pest free Pests can lead to allergic reactions and to the use of pesticides. Food and water attract pests. Controlling food and water helps to minimize pests.
Toxic chemical free We are surrounded by chemicals, so no environment can be made completely chemical free. But we can control our exposure. Many things found in houses can be toxic in large doses. Some we can control by design and construction such as selecting materials that don’t smell or release chemicals. Others we can control by the way we live in the home. For example, many cleaning compounds, pesticides, oil- or alkyd-based paints and solvents can lead to problems. Many containers that these products are stored in slowly release the chemicals. It is best not to store these products inside. When in doubt, safely dispose of these products. Many municipalities operate household chemical disposal programs.
Comfortable Uncomfortable homes can make people take action that makes a home unhealthy. Too hot or too cold is usually uncomfortable. Operable windows can control heat and provide ventilation. But sometimes when it is too cold windows will not be opened, and sometimes when it is too hot opening windows can make the home hotter.
And what happens when people are scared to open windows?
Sometimes the outside air has pollutants such as ozone, smoke, and pollen that may require some people to keep windows closed and filter incoming air.
If people are cold they won’t ventilate their home. If people can’t afford to heat their home they won’t ventilate their home.
Indoor Air Quality
A healthy home has windows that open and fans that run — but a healthy home must also be healthy when windows are closed because it is too cold, because it is too hot outside, because people feel unsafe or because pollutants are present in the outside air.
Uncomfortable can also be too dry or too humid.
When a home is uncomfortably dry, people often humidify. Many times when people humidify they over-humidify. Over humidifying may result in mold and mites and other pests. A properly built or renovated home will not require a humidifier to be comfortable.
The above information comes from the following document on Building Science Corporation’s website http://www.buildingscience.com/documents/primers/plonearticlemultipage.2006-12-05.5229931729/section-1-the-building-connection
We invite you to explore the complete range of energy improvement services that we offer to help improve the indoor air quality and health of your home by using the menu at the top of the page, or…
Call Energetechs and Save Heat Now!
(406) 721 2741
615 Oak St, Suite 101, Missoula, MT, 59801