Indoor Air Quality – 3 Reasons to Worry About Dampness in the Home | Minneapolis, MN

Posted by Andre & Erika Lacroix on
Minneapolis, MN | Basement Ventilation | EZ Breathe indoor air qualitiy professionals can guide you with choosing an EZ Breathe System that will improve your homes indoor air quality

Have you noticed a leak in your home? Is your home damp? It doesn’t matter whether the leak is in your basement or in your bathroom; the fact is that it is likely to cause your home to become damp. It doesn’t matter how small the leak is. Ensure that you have it attended to as soon as your notice it.
Why you should be worried about moisture
It can be tempting to ignore that little leak in your home. However, not repairing the problem won’t make it go away. In fact, it is only likely to become worse. If you’re concerned about indoor air quality, you ought to also be concerned about those leaking pipes.
Several scientific studies have linked high levels of moisture in homes with respiratory problems. This is a result of the following agents that occur in homes with higher levels of moisture and humidity.

ew York, NY | Basement Ventilation | EZ Breathe indoor air qualitiy professionals can guide you with choosing an EZ Breathe System that will improve your homes indoor air quality1. Bacteria
Bacteria loves moisture. Moisture provides the perfect environment in which they can breed and thrive. It doesn’t matter how much antibacterial products you use. They cannot compensate for the effects of a damp house. The bacterial colonies will re-establish themselves. It is therefore vital to get rid of the moisture and maintain low levels of humidity.
2. Mold
This is one of the most common concerns linked with damp spaces. Mold thrives in damp spaces. They cause a musty smell which can be used to detect their presence.
Exposure to molds can result in various health conditions. Top on this list are respiratory conditions.
Investing in mold remediation will help to get rid of an infestation. However, if you want to prevent the infestation from recurring, you should ensure that you deal with the moisture problem and maintain live levels of humidity.
3. Dust mites
Dust mites are a common allergen. Those who are allergic to them develop symptoms such as sneezing, stuffy noses, itchy eyes as well as respiratory problems. While dust mites are ever present, high levels of humidity will result in higher population of these microscopic critters.
Dust mite growth can be stopped if you keep your home’s humidity levels below 50 percent. This will mean addressing any moisture problems and investing in a system that will keep the moisture levels down.
Don’t wait for your symptoms to become serious in order to take action. Ensure that your home’s moisture levels are low for good indoor air quality.

Contact EZ Breathe 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.