What Is Sick Home Syndrome?

Posted by Andre & Erika Lacroix on
sick home syndrome

Are You Wondering if Your Home or Office Is Making You Sick?

“Sick Home Syndrome” is a phrase that describes situations in which a structure’s occupants experience acute, adverse health effects and/or discomfort that appear to be linked to spending time within the structure and have no specific link to an illness, can be caused by poor air quality often linked to little or no ventilation. Symptoms can include respiratory ailments, asthma, sinus infections, rash, dizziness, headache, nausea, difficulty concentrating, insomnia, fatigue and others.

It’s common for several building occupants to report varying symptoms which may seem unrelated at first. For example, many experience runny, itchy eyes, headaches, etc. when spending time in their basement and in most cases, the symptoms diminish soon after the individual leaves a specific room or building. However, in some cases, particularly in sensitive individuals, in children and elderly, and those with compromised immune systems, there can be lingering health effects.

What causes of Sick Home Syndrome?

Causes of Sick Home Syndrome can be attributed to both interior and exterior chemical and biological contaminants. According to the EPA, a major contributing factors is inadequate ventilation, a common side effect from our ‘modern’ building and construction practices that favor tightly sealed, energy-efficient strategies for homes and buildings. In short, our homes don’t breathe any more.

Biological contaminants such as bacteria, pollen and molds can be found throughout a home, especially in damp places where stagnant water has puddled in ducts, humidifiers and drain pans, or where moisture has been absorbed on ceiling tiles, carpeting or insulation.

Mold is naturally occurring and easily enters a home in various ways like on our clothing and pets, through our vents and doors, and on organic material we introduce into our homes. While visible mold is an obvious reason for concern, mold and fungal growth also occur in hidden spaces under carpeting, behind wall boards, insulation and paneling. “Toxic molds” have been linked to large variety of illnesses in recent years which can cause serious health problems.

What you can do to help?

If you suspect that your home/building is making you sick there are some things you can to do help improve the indoor environment. The US Environmental Protection Agency and the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America recommend two major strategies to battle “Sick Home Syndrome”,

  1. Source Control – Eliminate any source of contamination or pollution. Dry out damp spaces, fix leaky pipes, remove any source of artificial fragrance (high levels of volatile chemicals), replace cleaning products with non-toxic varieties, do not allow smoking inside the home, clean and dust regularly, use vacuum with HEPA filter.
  2. Ventilate – Increase the amount of outdoor air entering the building envelope. “Solution by Dilution”, ventilation systems can significantly improve a home’s air quality by decreasing the level of contaminants in the air. Reducing the concentration of allergens, pollutants, moisture, mold spores, viral loads, dust particles, etc. with a mechanical ventilation will result in much healthier indoor air environment.

How we can help?

Don’t take chances with your indoor air quality. Call the experts at EZ Breathe Ventilation Systems at (866) 822-7328 or fill out our online form to schedule a consultation.

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.