Indoor Air Quality – 3 of the Most Common Household Air Pollutants | Philidelphia, PA

Posted by Andre & Erika Lacroix on

Indoor Air Quality – 3 of the Most Common Household Air Pollutants

According to EPA, you may be surprised to know that indoor air is much more polluted than the air outside. There are a wide variety of household pollutants that are responsible for this. The following are the most common pollutants that are compromising your indoor air quality and putting the health of your household at risk.

1: Mold

This is a fungus that produces spores that become airborne when the fungus is disturbed. These spores land on various surfaces around the home to establish new fungal colonies. Mold infestations are often the result of high levels of humidity.

Mold spores are difficult to control once a mold infestation has established itself in your home. They can trigger allergic reactions and worsen asthma symptoms. You may experience sneezing, red eyes and skin rash. We Can Help! Contact Us! (866) 822-7328

 

The best way to deal with mold is by getting rid of it. This is possible through mold remediation. You can prevent the establishment of an infestation by ensuring that humidity levels in the home are controlled and the home is ventilated. This is possible with a whole-home ventilation system.

2: Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)

These compounds are chemicals that evaporate into the air. They are present in paint thinners, glues, adhesives, finishes, upholstery and many other items in the home. VOCs can cause serious health problems including damage to the central nervous system, liver and kidneys in the long term.

It is difficult to control the levels of VOCs in the home because they are present in many of the products we bring into our homes. You can opt to limit bringing such products into the home and instead rely on natural or organic products. You should also ensure that the home is well ventilated to keep concentrations of VOCs at a minimum. The EZ-Breathe family of home systems can provide the relief, and best indoor air quality possible.

3: Carbon monoxide

Carbon monoxide is one of the biggest pollutants. It is often released as a result of common activities in the home including cooking and heating the home. Carbon monoxide is odorless and colorless. It can be deadly in high concentrations.

You can reduce the levels of carbon monoxide in the home by venting stoves, heaters and dryers. You should also ensure that the entire home is well ventilated to reduce the concentration of carbon monoxide in the home.

Investing in a whole home ventilation system can help to reduce exposure to the above mentioned air pollutants and improve indoor air quality a great deal.

 

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.