This unit is typically for a home with a crawlspace under the living space.
Intake fan
We at EZ Breathe get this question regularly. We also get this statement often: “Well that is just the way basements are, and the way they smell.” Of course this is timely in much of the country right now… snow is melting, or has melted. Rain is falling…and more water in the soil outside our homes leads to….
When we are talking about DAMP, let’s be clear, we don’t mean WET. If you have liquid water that trickles across your floor at times, or even pools or floods your basement/crawlspace, that is WET, and it needs EZ Breathe, and some other work. Between EZ Breathe and our extensive family of distributors, we can help you solve WET basement problems.
When we are talking about DAMP, we are talking about air borne moisture, “feels damp”, condensation on cold surfaces, usually accompanied by musty odors.
Why is your basement or crawlspace damp? Very simple, even in the absence of liquid water entering your home through the foundation, research has documented “as much as 15 gallons per day of water vapor entering a basement space via vapor transmission through unsealed walls, floors, cracks, and openings and by evaporation from wet surfaces.” (Powell and Rogers, Kansas State University, “Dry Basements and Crawlspaces”.)
And that water vapor can wreak havoc in our homes! What can it cause/exacerbate?
– Mold
– Structural issues
– Bugs, spiders, etc.
– Health issues
How do we handle water vapor in the rest of our homes?
– In the bathrooms, we vent it to the outside
– In the kitchen, we vent it to the outside
– Our clothes dryer? Yep, vent to the outside
Has anyone ever told you to put a dehumidifier in each of your bathrooms, in your kitchen, and behind your dryer?
So you see, it is simple, a great way to handle excess water vapor in our homes is venting it to the outside…and that is what EZ Breathe has been doing for over 12 years!
State of Indoor Air Quality The US Environmental Protection Agency states “The air quality in the average American home is a minimum of 3-5 times more polluted than outdoor air and can be as much as 100 times more polluted than outdoor air” This indoor air quality problem stems from many variables including the tighter, more energy efficient building materials and upgrades, our homes no longer “breathe” in the way the older homes did, resulting in a more stagnant, stale air quality coupled with the increased amount of chemicals in our modern homes, lifestyles, furnishings, cleaning products, beauty products, off-gassing, etc. We have created quite the toxic indoor air cocktail complete with high allergens and irritants.
The US EPA ranks indoor air quality as the #1 environmental health problem reporting “6 out of every 10 homes and buildings are sick, meaning they are hazardous to your health to occupy as a result of airborne pollutants.”
The consequences of poor indoor air quality are often times life altering in many ways, for example Medical Director of Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York, E. Neil Schachter said “If you live in a home with chronically poor air quality, you can experience frequent headaches, long lasting colds and bronchitis as well as chronic asthma.”
Human beings breathe – inhale and exhale – 10,000 to 70,000 times every day just to sustain life. Not really surprising, but what is surprising is how very little attention we pay to the quality of the air we are breathing so often every day. Especially when compared to the countless hours and billions of dollars we spend considering the food we eat, beverages we drink, the lotions we put on our skin and the effects they have on our health and well-being. The time has come for us to recognize the quality of air is having a direct impact on our health and happiness.
With over 60% of the American population reporting some allergy symptoms it’s no wonder that we have seen “Perennial (year-long) allergens are 10- to 100-fold higher indoors than outside” reports William J. Calhoun, MD, chair department of medicine, University of Texas Medical Branch
Sick Home Syndrome by definition is when a person suffers “acute, adverse health effects that can be linked to spending time within a specific structure and are not caused by an illness.” For example, do you get headaches only when you are at home? Do you start to feel better once outside? Or do you regularly stay up at night suffering with a cough and scratchy throat that keeps you from getting a good night’s sleep, only to feel better once you get outside? These are just a few of the symptoms of “Sick Home Syndrome”, others include:
allergies, asthma, sinus and respiratory infections, itchy, dry skin, fatigue, sneezing, coughing, insomnia, scratch throat, dizziness, difficulty concentrating, the list goes on and on.
The good news is that we can help homeowners do something to combat this growing health concern. Even better news is that it does not include major home renovations or serious lifestyle changes…by simply increasing the home’s air exchanges YOU can make a difference.
Helping to reduce the natural stack effect (tendency for basement/crawlspace air to rise up into the living space) you can improve indoor quality. This will also provide a path of escape for the bad air to exit which will further prevent polluted indoor air from accumulating to unhealthy levels and entering the living environment. By exhausting that bad air out and increasing air exchanges you can dramatically improve the indoor air quality…and the health of the occupants!
It’s really a very simple solution to a complex problem. By increasing the ventilation rates in the home sourced at the lowest part of the foundation, you will see a reduction in indoor allergens, humidity levels, trapped gasses and pollutants, as well as all of those nasty chemicals we introduce into our indoor environment every day.
Create a fresher, cleaner, drier indoor air environment naturally, without expensive air filters, air cleaners, scrubbers, etc. When you increase ventilation there is no need for any harmful air fresheners, sprays, plug-ins, candles, chemical masking agents or fragrances. These synthetic compounds do nothing to improve the air quality and oftentimes add dangerous chemicals further polluting an already compromised air quality.
If we need to breathe up to 70,000 times per day just to sustain us, it’s probably a good idea to be sure that the air we are inhaling is the healthiest it can be to support us in being the healthiest we can be!
To Learn more about how the EZ Breathe Ventilation System and CrawlSpace Conditioner System can:
Visit us at www.ezbreathe.com or call us at 1.866.8227328
Seven Products Now on BPI Product ListMalta, NY, August 25, 2015 – The Building Performance Institute, Inc. (BPI) has recognized several new products in its Product Listing Program that meet or exceed industry standards, providing contractors and consumers with quality assurance on products and materials in the residential energy upgrade marketplace.
BPI identifies the appropriate industry standard or efficacy requirement which the product must meet, then ensures the product meets the standard or protocol for its product group, such as ventilation, air sealing, Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) or insulation. Once reviewed and approved, the product is added to BPI’s approved Product List on its website. The manufacturer is then eligible to place the BPI Product Mark on its packaging and marketing materials.
Not all products meet industry standards, so manufacturers included in this listing benefit from: differentiation of their higher quality materials, identification as a leader in the home performance industry and direct connection of consumers and contractors to their website. The BPI Product Mark on packaging, literature and advertising signals to the industry and consumers a high quality product that has been verified by a trusted third party.
There are currently seven products tested, approved and listed on the BPI Product Listing website.
FilterLock is a magnetic filter slot cover that seals a furnace or air conditioning system, manufactured by AllergyZone, LLC. This cover protects air conditioning systems and furnaces and helps reduce energy usage.
EZ Breathe Healthy Home Solutions manufactures two ventilation products that meet industry standards: EZ Breathe A400 Ventilation System and EZ Breathe Crawlspace Conditioner System. The EZ Breathe 1400 Ventilation System provides complete home air exchange that increases the indoor air quality (IAQ), reduces indoor humidity and lowers allergen and pollutant levels. The EZ Breathe Crawlspace Conditioner System satisfies the EPA’s requirements for mechanical exhaust ventilation and conditioned-air supply in crawlspaces. Both EZ Breathe products are maintenance free and operate efficiently at only $2-$4 a month.
Read the full article at: http://www.bpi.org/news_expansion.aspx?selectedID=2195