We spend the majority of our time inside.
Most of us spend 1/3 of our day just sleeping in our homes! When you add in the time spent cooking, eating, enjoying family movie nights, etc., you might be surprised at the amount of time you and your family are inside. One thing we take for granted while the inside is the quality of the air we breathe. Since you can’t always smell poor air quality, it is difficult to really know the quality of the air you are breathing.
Poor indoor air quality can adversely impact a family’s health.
Moisture is a leading cause of health, comfort, and home durability concerns for homeowners. As you are probably aware, moisture leads to mold. In fact, mold flourishes at 60%+ relative humidity. Mold spores float in the air until conditions are right (60% humidity) and then they began to grow on surfaces. Also, dust mites are prolific breeders that thrive in humid conditions. Both mold and dust mites are known triggers for allergic reactions and can really wreak havoc on those suffering from respiratory issues such as asthma.
Per the US EPA:*
- 19% of U.S. Households have at least one person with Asthma.
- There is a 20-50% increased risk of asthma in damp houses.
- The annual economic cost of asthma amounts to more than $56 billion annually.
- Molds produce allergens, irritants, and in some cases, potentially toxic substances.
What should I do?
Controlling humidity levels not only in your home but also in the crawl space area is very important as lower humidity levels inhibit mold and dust mites. The air in a crawl space can also be quite “Dirty” as that space is a perfect breeding ground for mold, dust mites, rodents, insects, etc. The air in the crawl space enters the home through cracks and crevices as well as HVAC leaks in the ductwork. In fact, dirty air from the crawl space is the main culprit of poor air quality for a lot of homeowners.
Sealing the crawl space and conditioning the crawl space air will provide the following benefits that will address the problems mentioned above:
- Improve respiratory health by eliminating dirty air from entering the home
- Save money on heating and cooling as ductwork is in a conditioned space so the reduced thermal loss
- Eliminates odor issues
- Reduce bugs and rodent issues
- Increased resale value
Don’t worry! You don’t have to go crawling under your house to figure this all out. LiveGreen offers free consultation and estimates. We are very happy to assess your situation and to give you peace of mind.
*EPA Building and Verifying Indoor airPLUS Homes Energy and Environmental Building Alliance, September 24, 2013
Have questions?
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