October 11, 2001

New Publication Provides Guidance on Keeping Your Home Healthy

We breathe about 5,000 gallons of air daily and spend 90 percent of our time indoors. That makes indoor air quality especially important, according to a North Dakota State University agricultural engineer.

"Everyone's health is affected by indoor air quality, but children and the elderly are at higher risk of adverse effects. Exposure to mold can cause respiratory problems and can trigger asthma attacks," says Ken Hellevang, of the NDSU Extension Service.

A new publication from the NDSU Extension Service provides guidance on how to "Keep Your Home Healthy."

"Many of our indoor air quality problems are related to home moisture problems which challenge us all year, such as wet basements during the summer and condensation during the winter. Mold growth depends on moist conditions, so controlling moisture controls mold," Hellevang says.

The publication provides guidance for controlling moisture such as keeping indoor humidity at 30 percent to 40 percent during the winter to minimize window condensation, opening closet doors and keeping items away from exterior walls to limit mold growth, and using a bathroom exhaust fan to exhaust moisture released during a shower. Enough moisture is introduced into the air during a shower to raise the humidity in a 1,500 sq. ft. living area by about 5 percentage points.

"With higher heating costs, people are looking for ways to save money. One idea is to capture the heat from the clothes dryer by venting the dryer indoors. This is a bad idea since more than one half gallon of water is released while drying one load of clothes," Hellevang says. "That much moisture would quickly cause excess moisture in a home."

The use of unvented combustion space heaters is discouraged because the combustion byproducts include many types of chemicals that are unhealthy, and about one-half gallon of water is released into the home for each gallon of fuel burned.

The publication also includes information on ice dams, drainage around basements, crawl spaces, radon, carbon monoxide, and air filters. The publication, AE-1204, "Keep Your Home Healthy," is available from NDSU Extension Service county offices and from the NDSU Distribution Center.

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Source: Ken Hellevang, (701) 231-7243, khj-eng@ndsuext.nodak.edu
Editor: Tom Jirik, (701) 231-9629, tjirik@ndsuext.nodak.edu