How healthy is your home?
Every home in America needs a healthy basement and or crawlspace. Why do I say this? Over 50% of the air you breathe on the 1st floor of your home comes from your basement or crawl space through a natural occurrence called stack-effect. If your basement or crawl space is not healthy, then your home is not healthy. A wet & damp basement or crawl space can create an unhealthy indoor living environment. Even a small corrective step can make a major difference in someone’s home or work place.
Pollutants can enter from lower levels.
Most people spend as much as 12 hours a day in their homes. Since the 1970s, homes have been built increasingly airtight to save on gas and electricity reducing the amount of air exchange. Air tight (Energy Efficient) homes have drawn more attention to all of the pollutants a basement or crawl space has to offer through what we call “stack effect”.
Stack effect is the movement of air into and out of buildings, chimneys and flues and is driven by a difference in indoor to outdoor air density resulting from temperature and moisture differences. Less dense hot air rises and is replaced by denser, cool air. The greater the thermal difference and the height of the structure, the greater the stack effect. The stack effect is also referred to as the “chimney effect” and it helps drive natural ventilation in a house. So if the air is unhealthy in your basement and or crawlspace, that same year is most likely permeating the upper levels of your home or workplace.
Studies have shown that people who occupy damp buildings are at an increased risk of health problems.
The WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION PUBLISHED GUIDELINES reporting that occupants of damp or moldy buildings have up to a 75% GREATER RISK OF RESPIRATORY SYMPTOMS. Studies have also established an association between indoor dampness with respiratory infections and disturbing the immune system.
Dampness is a problem in buildings because it provides the moisture that supports the growth of bacteria, fungi (i.e., mold), and insects. The INSTITUTE OF MEDICINE found sufficient evidence to link exposure to damp indoor environments in general to upper respiratory tract symptoms, cough, and wheeze in otherwise healthy people and with asthma symptoms in people with asthma.
Americans spends approximately 90 percent of their time indoors. Studies of human exposure to air pollutants by EPA indicate that indoor levels of pollutants may be 2 to 5 times – and occasionally more than 100 times – higher than outdoor pollutant levels. Indoor air pollutants have been ranked among the top five environmental risks to public health.
Improve the air quality in your home by correcting the environment in your basement or crawlspace. Call us and a friendly Project Manager will visit you and provide you with information and solutions on how you can improve the health of your home. To learn more, call us today at 828-759-5522.
