Transforming your house into an energy-efficient Healthy Home™
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October 19, 2021

With the falling leaves comes horror film season, where we all know what’s going to happen to sweet, terrified Judy if she goes down into the basement where the killer might be hiding. But what’s equally as scary as some of your Halloween horror film favorites are these real facts about indoor air quality issues and how they can affect the overall health of your home. 

Here are some common quotes or misconceptions about poor indoor air quality that sound like they could be pulled straight from one of your favorite horror films. 

“No don’t worry, we’re safer inside” 

Have you ever found yourself yelling at the television screen for the characters to get inside, to safety? While heading indoors can save you from a fictional vampire that cannot enter your home unless invited in, the air inside your home may not be the best place to look for exemplary air quality. 

The EPA estimates that at best, indoor air is 200% more contaminated than outdoor air, and in extreme cases can be over 500% more contaminated than the air outside. Add this to the more recent focus on how viruses spread inside, and we’ve got ourselves a pretty scary scenario!

“What is that awful smell?”

One of the most common symptoms of poor air quality in a home is a musty, moldy, damp odor. Are there certain areas of your home that seem to emanate an odor? Or perhaps when you turn your heating or cooling system on, there seems to be a stinky-sock-type smell that wafts through your home. These odors are signs of mold and mildew growth, which are hazardous to your home and your health. 

“It’s... it’s growing!”

Mold, when left unchecked, will continue to grow in a home that provides the right environment. This is often in dark and damp spaces, like the attic or crawlspace. If you notice black spots on your crawlspace walls, attic joists, or insulation, and they seem to be growing, you’ve likely got mold in your home. With a Healthy Home Evaluation or our mold and moisture assessment, we can determine how this mold was allowed to grow in the first place, and fix the issue once and for all. 

“I feel so cold…”

Do you ever get up in the morning to freezing cold floors? It can feel like an unwelcome spirit just sucked all the heat out of the floors—but the true culprit is a little less “ghostly”. Poor insulation and air sealing in the basement or crawlspace can allow the cold outside air to infiltrate the areas underneath your home, making your floors cold to the touch and introducing more contaminants into your breathing air. Basement upgrades like performance-based air sealing and insulation can improve the overall efficiency and comfort of your home, while also ensuring your air stays cleaner. 

“It came from the attic!”

Once contaminants enter the air inside your home, it is tough to get them back out again. Your heating and cooling system sucks them up, and if your filters don’t snatch them out of the air right away they will continue to recirculate your breathing air. This gives each particle multiple opportunities to be inhaled into your lungs. 

When you add in the common air leaks that come with central ductwork, which bring in dirt and dust from unconditioned spaces like the attic, you can imagine how a home’s air could start to feel stale and contaminated pretty quickly. At Healthy Home Energy & Consulting, we find it is best to create an airtight barrier between your living spaces and your unconditioned spaces before we go about properly ventilating and filtering your home’s air. 

Schedule an IAQ Test with Healthy Home Energy & Consulting

If you want to know the scary truth about what is in the air in your home and how to improve your indoor air quality, schedule an IAQ Test with our team. We’ll test for particle allergens, volatile organic compounds, excess carbon dioxide, relative humidity (moisture), and carbon monoxide, giving us a good idea of what is in your air and where it is coming from. From there, we can walk you through the path toward healthier air, using whole-home performance upgrades like insulation, air sealing, filtration upgrades, ductwork upgrades, and more. 

What’s in your home’s air? Schedule an indoor air quality test with Healthy Home Energy & Consulting today. Call 914-242-9733 or get in touch here.

Learn about what is in your breathing air, 

And how to clean it up!

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