April is National Asthma & Allergy Awareness Month

Asthma & Allergy Awareness Month

E●Z Breathe Offers a Breath of Fresh Air for Asthma & Allergy Awareness Month

Home Ventilation System Provides Relief from Environmental Irritants

See how EZ Breathe can help provide clean air for those with asthma.

Asthma and allergies are at epidemic proportions this spring. Asthma, a serious life-threatening respiratory disease, affects over 20 million individuals while allergies affect as many as 40 million Americans. According to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA), the number of Americans with these two chronic conditions has at least doubled in the last twenty years. Currently, there are around 60 million people who suffer from either allergies or asthma and this number is on the rise. May is known as the peak time for seasonal allergies with pollen counts skyrocketing and sufferers seeking relief. Asthma and Allergy Awareness Month was put into effect to create awareness about these conditions and educate the public about ways minimize exposure. Understanding these health risks, the E●Z Home Ventilation System, (www.ezbreathe.com) seeks to help families improve the quality of air in the homes during the month of May.The development of asthma and allergies can be caused by several factors including genetics, lifestyle, and environmental factors. Although there is no cure at this time, asthma and allergies can be controlled through medical treatment as well as management of environmental factors. Awareness and prevention are the best defense against asthma and allergies. It is important for people to become aware of the triggers that can lead to allergy and asthma attacks and to minimize exposure to them. The most common allergy triggers include pollen, dust mites, mildew and mold, pet dander, smoke, cleaning products, and fragrances. EZ Breathe combats all of these issues by exhausting harmful contaminants in the air and replacing it with fresh ventilated air from outside.

Studies have indicated that home intervention in the form of a ventilation system is an effective, preventative approach to asthma and allergy symptoms. The E●Z Breathe Home Ventilation System improves quality of air within the home significantly, making it a safer, healthier place for the entire family. EZ Breathe is designed to ridthe home of harmful moisture and humidity, not re-circulate polluted air. EZ Breathe ventilates by drawing moist, stale, contaminated air out of the home, replenishes by replacing moist air with fresh dry air and regulates airflow to reach and maintain a desired level of humidity.

In addition to the unpleasant effects of asthma and allergies, the costs involved are significant. According to a study published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, the annual cost for asthma treatment is estimated at nearly $5,000 per person. The E●Z Breathe Home Ventilation System offers families the option of making a onetime investment towards their family’s health.

“It is very important for people to become aware of what pollutants are in the air that they breathe every day since these contaminants can trigger allergic reactions and/or asthma attacks” states Erika Lacroix, President of E●Z Breathe. “EZ Breathe offers a simple solution to improve indoor air quality and reduce the risk of illness related to indoor air pollution.”

 

USA today, April 12, 2010

http://www.webmd.com/asthma/features/lowering-costs-asthma-treatment

Is Your Home A Moisture Trap?

Is Your Home A Moisture Trap?

As featured in the September 2008 issue of Southern Neighbor, EZ Breathe can help reduce moisture in your home and crawlspace and improve ventilation in your home.

Read the full article in the attached PDF – Is your home a moisture trap?

Check out our Crawlspace Conditioner Ventilation System, the best way to avoid turning your home into a moisture trap.

If you want to see how the EZ Breathe Ventilation System can help with moisture in your home, click here.

EZ Breathe Featured on Extreme Home Makeover!

Give Back To The Community As Part of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition

Think about the things you see every day. Really think about them. Can you imagine waking up and going through your everyday routine without the gift of your eyesight? What about not being able to hear the sounds of life going on around you? These are the challenges that the Anderson family of Maple Heights, Ohio, lives with: Both parents are legally blind and one of their two children is hearing impaired. As part of the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition experience, EZ Breathe Ventilation worked to help to make life a little easier for the Anderson family.

Find out why installing the EZ Breathe System is beneficial for your home.

the gangLead project contractor Marous Brothers Construction of Willoughby, Ohio, contacted EZ Breathe as they were assembling the team of contractors and businesses to work on the high-profile charitable project. “Because we are recognized as the industry leader, they turned to us first,” said Erika DiCello Lacroix, President of, EZ Breathe. “We were so pleased to be able to contribute and be a part of the team to help this family,” she said.

Building A Dream Come True

The process began with representatives from EZ Breathe Ventilation meeting with the lead project manager from Extreme Makeover: Home Edition to assess needed products and services. For this particular project, the project team decided to level the existing structure and build an entirely new home from the foundation up. “This project was about improving the overall quality of life for the Andersons, so it was fitting that the team selected the EZ Breathe Ventilation System as part of the new home construction,” said Lacroix. “EZ Breathe creates an all-around healthier living environment in the home—a benefit that goes hand-in-hand with the mission of Extreme Home Makeover.”erika.bus

Construction on the project started on September 30, 2010, and took less than seven days to complete. “It was an amazing experience to be on that jobsite,” said Lacroix. “Usually on a construction job, there are strictly defined roles…one contactor manages HVAC, another installs the plumbing, etc. But here, the compartmental lines totally blurred and everyone pitched in and helped each other,” she said. “It was like a buzzing bee hive and incredibly organized.”

The Extreme Home Makeover team is a well-oiled machine: These experienced project managers are skilled at pulling off the “impossible” in cities all across the United States. To meet the tight deadlines, many of the sections of the home are assembled offsite and then brought in and set into place, such as the floor, walls and roof. “When we arrived on the job at 10 a.m. there was just a foundation,” said Lacroix. “By four o’clock the walls were up and they were lifting the roof trusses into place.”

DSC03174drillA project of this magnitude doesn’t happen without tremendous support. More than a thousand volunteers from the Greater Cleveland area helped with the building project. “It was really rewarding to be onsite and to see all of the community members who were giving of their time to help out this family,” Lacroix said. “In our job, we do feel good about the products and services that we offer to our customers to improve the living conditions in their homes,” he said. “But donating the EZ Breathe system and being a part of this process reinforced that all of us at EZ Breathe and our extended family of EZ Breathe Distributors had a hand in making a difference for the Andersons.”

The new home features advanced technology designed to make everyday living a little easier, safer and healthier for the family. The exterior doors of the home are equipped with scanners that use thumbprints to activate locks, instead of keys. In the kitchen, the family can wave a hand in front of a cabinet door and the computerized pad will use audio technology to dictate the contents of the cabinet.

erika.tyThe Anderson family moved into their beautiful new home in September and The program aired on December 5, 2010. Past episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition can be viewed at www.abc.com

 

Indoor Air Quality | New York, NY | EZ Breathe Ventilation System

Better Air Quality For Your Home

Better Air Quality For Your Home

Jul 3, 2012 by Jaclyn Fitzgerald

 

family

 

Our homes are our sanctuary so we want to know that we are safe and healthy inside. An important part of that is our indoor air quality, especially since we spend hours at a time relaxing and playing in the home! Thankfully, there are plenty of things that you can do to ensure that you have the highest quality healthy and fresh air inside your home. Here are just a few of them. For more hints and tips for improving your indoor air, speak with a local ventilation specialist.

See how you can have better air quality with the EZ Breathe System.

Ventilate!

This may sound simple but it’s actually key to improving your indoor air quality. Opening doors and windows or installing a ventilation system will let fresh, clean air into the home and flush out all those indoor pollutants such as fumes from cleaning products, gases emitted from paint/carpet/etc (these are called VOCs), carbon dioxide, airborne allergens, smoke and odours from cooking and so on. Of course, you don’t always want to ventilate your home! An excellent example of when to keep the doors and windows closed is when the outdoor air is worse than inside (smoky, lots of cars outside, etc).

Choosy Healthy Paints and Finishes

As anyone will tell you, it can be headache inducing or worse to live in a home that’s being painted, or that is having the floor stained or finished, thanks to the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) contained within standard paints and finishes. The solution here is to look for natural paint or paints and finishes that are classified as being low fume or low VOC. If this isn’t possible, try not to live in your home for the first few days after painting or finishing and be sure to air it out as much as possible.

Be Cautious of Your Cleaning Products

One of the biggest sources for indoor air pollutants is actually the cleaning products that you use. Just think of what an average home uses – disinfectants, detergents, deodorisers, waxes, polishes, and cleaning agents and so on. These all emit fumes and harmful chemicals that can upset the health of the people living inside. At an absolute minimum, you should ensure that your windows and doors are wide open to let the fumes dissipate. Ideally though, you will use low fume or low VOC alternatives or even better, go natural with your cleaning products, such as using vinegar and bi carb. It’s not much more work at all, and they clean just as well if not better than the commercial alternatives!

Get Rid of Mould and Mildew

A huge health hazard in the home is the presence of mould and mildew, which especially loves wet, dark areas. Mould and mildew can cause respiratory problems and other illnesses and it also just plain looks terrible. Get rid of it and you may find that you all perk up instantly! Use a solution of bleach and water or mould killer or for a natural alternative, clove oil works well. To stop the mould coming back, be sure to address the moisture issues that cause it to grow in the first place.

Keep Track of Pets

Pets are part of the family so it’s only natural that they spend time indoors! However, you may find that they’re soon shedding all over everything, and generally leaving a mess. Use a good vacuum cleaner to pick up all the fluff and hair and to remove dander (a potential allergen) from carpets and upholstery. Also make sure to bathe your pets regularly and to groom them outside as much as possible.

Read more: http://www.homeimprovementpages.com.au/article/better_air_quality_for_your_home#ixzz25nNvWhjb

indoor-air-quality-ez-breathe

NEWSFLASH! Garages Are Polluting Our Homes!

NEWSFLASH: Garages are polluting our houses!

Wow, check out this most recent article on About.com that talks about the relationship between our attached garages & our homes:

Stop Garage Fumes from Polluting Indoor Air

See how the EZ Breathe Garage Ventilation System works.

Attached garages are very convenient, but there is mounting evidence that they are responsible for negatively affecting indoor air quality. That’s because much of what we use our garages for (cars, mowers, paints, lubricants) contains or generates substances that are considered toxic. Once the toxic substances become airborne, they can easily migrate indoors.

It’s a bit ironic that we keep a floor mat by the door leading from the garage to the house so that shoe bottoms can be cleaned of largely nontoxic items like dirt, yet we often take no such preventative measures regarding the air.

Car exhaust, toxic chemicals and volatile organic compounds are present in almost all garages at least some of the time. And they can find their way into the house very easily through open doors, gaps around closed doors, ducts and other wall and ceiling penetrations.

There is scientific proof to back up this claim. A study involving 100 houses conducted by Health Canada found that those with attached garages had measurable quantities of benzene inside the house, while houses without attached garages had little if any benzene. Benzene is a gasoline-related pollutant. The study found similar results with other pollutants.

According to the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), long-term exposure to benzene can affect bone marrow and blood production. Short-term exposure to high levels can cause drowsiness, dizziness, unconsciousness and death.

A survey of Minnesota houses during the winter of 1996-1997 found that 74 percent of homes with carbon monoxide (CO) detectors that went off were triggered by CO leaking in from the garage. Other studies from Iowa, Colorado and Alaska have found substantial evidence of garage-generated CO leaking into houses.

Nobody wants to breathe toxic pollutants, especially at home. Fortunately, there are a series of steps you can take to keep your indoor air quality something you need not worry about inhaling. Here are some tips:

  • Keep the garage air clean. Avoid running the car, motorcycle, chain saw or lawn mower any longer than absolutely necessary while in the garage. Avoid placing mechanical systems such as water heaters and furnaces in the garage.
  • Seal the gaps. Make sure the door leading from the garage into the house closes tightly and has proper weatherstripping applied. Seal all penetrations (ducts, wiring, etc.) leading into the house or the ceiling above the garage. Spray foam and caulk are good products for sealing these types of gaps.
  • Finish the walls and ceilings. In new houses it is not uncommon for the garage to be left with open walls or with drywall attached but the joints not finished. Either of these conditions allow garage pollutants to easily find their way inside. Garage walls and ceilings that are completely covered with drywall, with joints properly sealed with tape and compound, and with the surface primed and painted are much less likely to leak. They are also much more attractive. (See How To Install Drywall Like a Pro.)
  • Keep the door shut. Often you find yourself with full arms when entering the house from the garage. The result can be that the door remains open until you set the groceries down somewhere. Or maybe you or the kids simply forget to close the door, or fail to close it all the way. This can allow nasty fumes from the garage to enter the house quickly and easily. You can avoid this problem by installing a self-closing door.
  • Keep the door open. Never start your car or any other internal combustion engine while the garage door is closed. And when you do start the engine after the door has been opened, move it outside as soon as possible and shut the door to prevent exhaust fumes from floating back into the garage. When you pull your car into the garage, shut it off as soon as possible and leave the door open for a few minutes to clear the air.
  • Put a lid on it. Make sure all containers of potentially toxic items are sealed. Don’t let cans of paint thinner, solvents and other liquids sit uncovered.
  • Vent it outdoors. If you spend a lot of time in the garage working with chemicals, paints, wood finishes, combustion engines and other such items, consider installing an exhaust fan that sends the smells and fumes to the outdoors. A decent bathroom or kitchen fan will be sufficient.

If you are planning to build a new house or garage, give some thought to making the garage fully detached from the house. In addition to largely eliminating garage pollutants from migrating inside the house, here are some other benefits of a detached garage.

Finally, make sure your home has at least one CO detector mounted probably. And, if you are curious about the CO levels in your garage, go ahead and mount one out there, at least temporarily, to see if it goes off on a regular basis. Though it might be irritating, it could be educational to learn that the air you are breathing in that space contains a toxic substance.

 

To view this article in full, go to: http://garages.about.com/od/buildingagarage/a/garages_and_indoor_air_quality.htm