Bad & Good Home
Indoor Air Quality
Sources of Poor Air quality
When building your home or while remodeling or improving the
energy efficiency of it, take the necessary steps to
avoid potential bad air quality. Indoor air quality depends
much on construction details.
Stuffy air, moisture, or mold and mildew growth are common
problems due to construction causes. In fact, indoor air
quality problems have three main
in-home sources:
- Building materials:
new materials (or disturbing materials already in the home),
associated to radon, asbestos and monoxide carbon.
- Deficiencies in
foundations, attics, walls: a common cause for moisture and
connected heath allergies, namely asthma.
- Deficient ventilation:
a cause of excess of monoxide carbon and other pollutant gases, as
well as moisture (cause of mold allergies and asthma).
These problem sources should be
addressed either before or during the home building or the remodeling process.
Radon
Cracks in solid
floors or in walls or gaps
and cavities in walls and pipes
can be associated to radon.
Radon is a odorless,
tasteless, colorless and chemically inert radioactive gas. It is formed by
the natural radioactive decay of uranium present in soils or in
building materials.
In small scale
radon isn't dangerous and is part of the natural environment.
But radon is a cause of many thousands of deaths each year: if
your home has high radon levels, your risk of lung cancer is
especially high.
Testing for radon is inexpensive and easy. See
Epa
information about radon tests.
Asbestos
Asbestos is a mineral fiber used
once widely used in a
variety of building materials. Today, asbestos is most commonly
found in older homes, especially in their pipe and furnace insulation
materials, millboard, coating materials or floor tiles.
Be careful: dangerous high asbestos concentrations can occur after
asbestos-containing materials are disturbed by remodeling activities. Improper attempts to
remove these materials can release high concentrations of asbestos fibers into the
home air.
Carbon monoxide
Carbon monoxide (CO)
is an odorless and colorless gas that can be deadly. In our
homes CO is found in combustion fumes
produced by generators, stoves, lanterns,
gas ranges, heating systems or when burning wood and charcoal.
The solution is in the appliances themselves, or in house
ventilation. Ventilation is particularly important in fixing
problems linked to CO and other pollutant gases.
Molds
Molds
spores - invisible to
the naked eye - are a frequent cause of asthma and several other
allergies. They are part of natural environment, but deficiences
in the home building may multiply their presence, which is
the cause of several health problems connected to indoor home
quality.
Mold spores
begin growing indoors when they land on wet surfaces. In other
words: moisture
- especially common on the foundations or in attached
home garages... -
is the big cause of mold proliferation.
A good ventilation, insulation and appropriate remodeling works
are common solutions of this problem.
Ventilation
problems
Appropriate ventilation
helps control moisture, reduce indoor pollutants and odors,
radon, or contaminants such as formaldehyde or volatile organic
compounds that are causes of health problems.
Indoor
air quality
problems may also bo closely linked to home appliances
Bad indoor air quality may be directly linked to home
equipment and appliances. Be aware with:
- Unvented gas appliances: stove, space heater,
fireplace...
- Filters: air conditioner filters, home’s forced air
heating and/or cooling system filters, vacuum cleaner filters...
- Humidifier/dehumidifiers
- Fireplaces and furnace malfunctions
Other possible
causes of bad indoor air quality
Be also aware of other possible
causes of bad house air quality: wall-to-wall carpeting, members smoke, pets,
rodents,
insects, hobbies conducted indoors (woodworking, pottery,
jewelry making, model building...), fertilizers and commercial pesticides...
See also:
Energy Efficient House Basics
Home Air
Leakage and Air Sealing
Mechanical ventilation: HEV and HRV
Natural
Ventilation: cross and stack
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