Mom's Tip:
If your cold climate home is not getting enough fresh air exchanged during the winter, your indoor, artificially-heated air will get drier and drier, as will your respiratory passages. A moist respiratory system fights colds and viruses, so, at least try to sleep in a cool house. Turn the thermostat down at night to 60 (or lower!). Investing in top quality down comforters will keep everyone comfy and keep your heating bills in check, while keeping colds at a minimum. If you're worried about young children who tend to kick off the covers, buy them footed pajamas and long underwear. I even put pairs of socks on the hands of my infants and toddlers. They looked a bit odd but awful cute, and they had fewer colds than any of their playmates.
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By S.J. Ruffner
Mother of twins age 10 and a 4-year-old.
When we built our Vermont home 5 years ago, foremost on our mind was energy conservation. As you can appreciate, heating a New England home can be very expensive, so we made sure to do everything we could to make the house efficient to heat. This included 2x6 wall construction to allow for extra insulation, wrapping the home in air-barrier materials, installing energy-efficient windows, and more.
The result was a home as air-tight as it can be today; another result, however, that was unforeseen, was a home through which very little stale air escapes nor fresh air enters - the perfect setting for household air quality problems.
We didn't notice any problems at first. We moved in in August and through September, windows were frequently opened, allowing plenty of air exchange. But with the first frost in early October, we closed the house up as tight as we could and it wasn't much later before allergy symptoms began to appear.
The first to develop the perpetually drippy nose was our youngest.. However, her symptoms weren't as problematic as were my husband's, which developed soon after. Not only did he have a runny nose, but he also had headaches and periodic wheezing. After a week or two of this, he saw a doctor who suggested allergies were at fault. I won't bore you with the details of how long it took us to realize we were allergic to the air inside our own new, beautiful house, but that was the final conclusion. You can imagine how heartsick we were to learn that what we had invested so much time, money, and love into was now turning against us.
We quickly became educated about sick house syndrome. We learned, to our surprise, that our lovely new wall-to-wall carpeting in the upstairs of the house was full of synthetic materials, man-made, which can put chemicals into the air we breathe. We learned that our expensive, custom cabinets were partially made of particle board, some types of which can also add pollutants to a home. A windowless downstairs bathroom was growing mold, and, to top it off, we found were using many household cleaning products that are known to contain harmful materials. And all of this was going on in a modern, tight home so that the effects of these harmful materials were building over time, with no way to escape.
Fortunately, we learned about the problems early on and were able to come up with a solution, albeit a fairly expensive solution. We installed an Air Exchanger System (also known as an energy recovery ventilator) to expel stale air and bring in fresh air. Through advanced technology, these systems transfer the heated molecules of outgoing air to the incoming air; the result is similar to having a window cracked open all winter long - without heat loss! For more information about heat recovery ventilation systems, visit this URL: http://www.vent-axia.com/awwebstore/products/wholehouse/lowatt-hre275.asp
There are many issues to look out for and many different approaches to solving the problems. The American Lung Association has promoted a Healthy Home educational movement to help people understand the risks they face in their own homes. They offer a free book of tips at this URL: http://www.lungusa.org/press/envir/air_100402.html. Here is a summary of a few pertinent recommendations:
- Run the furnace fan continuously, regardless of the outdoor temperature. It's important to do so because the filter can only capture particles if the furnace fan is running.
- Check flues and chimneys for blockages and cracks that allow fumes to enter the home. Make sure the chimney has a good draft up the flue and is clear of debris. If a family member has lung disease, you may wish to convert the fireplace to burn gas instead of wood or not use the fireplace at all.
- Test your home for radon, an invisible gas that can cause lung cancer. Test kits are simple to use and may be available at your hardware store. If radon is found, your home can be fitted with ventilation that removes it.
- Make sure that all appliances, including your furnace, hot water heater and gas range are regularly serviced and vented to the outside (not to the attic or basement).
- Maintain low indoor humidity, ideally between 35-55 percent relative humidity to prevent mold growth. Humidity levels can be measured by hygrometers, which are available at local hardware stores. Exhaust fans in high moisture areas, such as bathrooms, vented to the outside, should be run more frequently to help prevent mold.
- Use a high efficiency furnace filter, such as a Filtrete filter from 3M, and replace the filter every two to three months. High efficiency filters capture up to 30 times more allergens (i.e. pollen, dust, pet dander) and particles than standard fiberglass filters.
- Make sure to clean and maintain humidifiers and de-humidifiers since they can be breeding grounds for mold and bacteria.
If you're planning a building a home, why note build a healthy home the first time through. To help you do so, spend some time first at this web site: http://www.hometime.com/projects/howto/healthy/pc2hh02.htm You'll learn important things to avoid and to implement, based on real-world strategies.
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