4 Things Compromising the Indoor Air Quality of Your Home | Nashville, TN

Posted by Andre & Erika Lacroix on
Indoor Air Quality | EZ Breathe | Macedonia, OH

Whether you’re sleeping or awake and active, the quality of the air you breathe matters. Indoor air quality has a big impact on your health. Poor quality air can lead to the development of allergies and other respiratory problems.

The following are five things that commonly compromise indoor air quality.

Indoor Air Quality | Nashville, TN

  1. Dirty air ducts

The air flowing through your ductwork is distributed throughout the home. It is the air you breathe. It is therefore important to ensure that this air is of good quality.

If you are not getting the ductwork in your HVAC system cleaned often, there’s a good chance that the air in your home is packed with dander, dirt, dust and other particulates. Your dirty ducts could be the reason why your allergies are flaring up or the cause of that persistent headache. Be sure to have your ducts cleaned by a certified expert at least once a year.

  1. Indoor smoke

This is a rather obvious one. Many people understand the dangers associated with smoking. However, few understand that smoking an E-cigarette will also compromise indoor air quality. While E-cigarettes are not as bad as traditional cigarettes, they still result in the production of pollutants. It is therefore advisable to restrict all forms of smoking to the outdoors and maintain a smoking-free zone within your home.

  1. High levels of humidity

Moisture is essential for our health. It helps to keep our airways and skin healthy. However, too much moisture can lead to problems.

High humidity in the home will create the perfect breeding ground for mold and mildew. Once an infestation is established, spores will be released in the air. When you breathe in these spores, they can cause all manner of health problems including allergies and respiratory issues.

If you want to safeguard the health of your household, you should invest in a dehumidifier. This will keep humidity at an optimum level and keep mold infestations at bay.

  1. Pets

Your pets may be lovable and loyal friends, but they also may be causing you to be ill. Pet dander (or fur) can result in the development of allergies and other respiratory issues when inhaled. It is made up of not only the fur but also dried skin cells. These fall off regularly, float in the air and settle on different surfaces around the home.

Make it a point to clean your pet regularly. You should also give your home a thorough cleaning every once in a while.

Improve your indoor air quality, contact the professionals at EZ Breathe Systems today! (866) 822-7328

Written by Andre & Erika Lacroix

We are a 2nd generation family owned and operated business that has been working in homes with basements and crawl spaces for over 40 years.  We have been waterproofing and sealing about 500 foundations a month during that time as the largest Waterproofing contractor in the Midwest with 15 locations servicing 8 states.

20 years ago we would seal a foundation and recommend a standard dehumidifier to address the additional water vapor (humidity in the air) inherently found in below grade environments, such as basements and crawlspaces.  Back then, dehumidifiers were the industry standard to help with this problem. However, many of our customers were looking to us as the “foundation expert”, asking…

“What else do you have? I really am not getting results with this messy, expensive dehumidifier. My foundation is dry, walls are dry, floor is dry, so why does it still smell and feel like a basement?” 

We needed to find something better. Our company’s core values include offering world class customer service to every customer, every time.   So, we challenged our Research and Development department to find a real solution for our customers to combat not only the moisture, but also the odors, pollutants and unhealthy environment our customers were concerned about. We found, tested and installed a ventilation product for a period of three years. We private labeled that product as the EZ Breathe Ventilation System. The feedback in those first three years from our customers, as well as our installation crews, did not live up to the standard of quality to be included in our waterproofing process that offered a life time warranty. Once again, we needed something better.

We valued not only the results, but what we were learning from our customers. So, we went back to the drawing board, took matters into our own hands and made quality improvements to that first generation ventilation unit.

Our own EZ Breathe Ventilation System was born…reengineered, redesigned and much improved! We quickly learned that our crews were thrilled with the quality improvements, ease of operation and installation, but more importantly, our waterproofing customers loved the new, improved EZ Breathe unit as well.

Their feedback told us the air in their basements and crawlspaces felt better, but their entire home was benefiting from their EZ Breathe as well. We received countless letters thanking us because their whole house felt different, less odors, fresher air upstairs too, family members were feeling better, needing less allergy medicine, husbands were no longer snoring, children were no longer coughing as much, the home and it’s family were living healthier lives!

It was time for us to move beyond simply offering this innovative technology to just our waterproofing customers. Our passion and commitment to helping people improve their indoor air environments is what drove us to incorporate EZ Breathe Ventilation Systems as an independent company in 2003. We strongly believe that homeowners everywhere deserve a healthy indoor air quality.

We have spent the last 20 years dedicated to learning about the relationship between our home and our health; indoor air quality, the home as a system, building science and how it relates to indoor air quality as well as the challenges our modern day practices pose to the quality of air we breathe in our homes.