A
Primer on Indoor Air Quality
Indoor
Air Quality is a big concern for today's homeowners. Tighter homes,
the out gassing of synthetic materials and malfunctioning natural gas
appliances in the home can contribute to indoor air pollution problems.
If your
HVAC system, including the duct delivery system is improperly installed,
it can lead to a number of evils. Carbon monoxide can get sucked into
your house from gas water heaters, gas furnaces and automobile exhaust
from the start up of cars in attached garages. Fiberglass can get sucked
in from the attic, mold and mildew can get sucked in from the crawlspace.
An untested HVAC system is potentially an unsafe HVAC system.
 Delta-T,
Inc. assures that duct systems do not suck pollutants into the house
by performing tightness testing and thoroughly sealing ductwork. We
also troubleshoot backdraft problems and tune gas appliances to minimize
carbon monoxide production within the home.
Let's
look at types of pollutants:
Biological pollutants
|
Pesticides
|
Gases |
Volatile Organic
Compounds (VOCs) |
Metals |
Arsenic salts |
dust mites
|
indoors--
termites, flea sprays
|
carbon monoxide |
contain carbon |
lead |
Minerals |
mold and mildew
|
outdoors--
(house under negative pressure)
|
kerosene heaters
|
evaporate easily
|
mercury |
asbestos |
pollen, fungi
|
1 |
gas ovens and ranges
|
can be a sensitizer
|
1 |
fiberglass |
Legionella pneumophila
|
1 |
gas water heaters
|
in excess of hundred VOCs
|
1 |
calcium (humidifiers) |
| 1 |
1 |
gas and oil furnaces
|
neurotoxins
|
1 |
1 |
| 1 |
1 |
1 |
carcinogens
|
1 |
1 |
| 1 |
1 |
1 |
mutagens
|
1 |
1 |
| 1 |
1 |
1 |
irritants
|
1 |
1 |
| 1 |
1 |
1 |
formaldehyde
|
1 |
1 |
Special
Category for pollutants such as Radiation including radon, EMR and the
byproducts of Smoking
| Without
sounding holier than thou, be aware that nicotine, tars, nitrogen
dioxide, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide are found in your house
if someone smokes indoors.
For
the record, non-smoking spouses of smokers have a 30% increased
chance of lung cancer than spouses of non-smokers.
An
estimated 53,000 non-smokers die each year from second hand smoke.
|
Strategies
for improving IAQ
| Source control
|
Separation |
Filtration |
Ventilation |
| smoke
outside |
vapor and
air barriers |
air filters
in HVAC equipment |
uncontrolled
infiltration |
| use non-toxic
building materials |
drywalling
over lead paint |
stand alone
units |
exfiltration |
| 1 |
ground
cover in crawl space |
1 |
accidental |
| 1 |
1 |
1 |
clothes
dryers |
| 11 |
11 |
1 |
duct leaks |
| 1 |
1 |
1 |
door closure |
|
|
|
mechanical
bath fans |
| 1 |
11 |
1 |
kitchen
fans |
| 1 |
1 |
1 |
other spot
ventilation |
| 1 |
1 |
1 |
air to
air heat exchangers |
| 1 |
1 |
1 |
balanced
ventilators |
| 1 |
1 |
1 |
combustion
equipment |
|
|
