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'the stack effect', noun, def: - the natural pulling upwards of air within a structure causing air exchange between chambers
FACT: Americans spend 90% of their time indoors & 15-20% of all respiratory diseases are from poor indoor air quality
FACT: 10-30% of the air in your house comes from the crawl space, 10% w/ no AC in the floor 30% if there are registers in the floor
Billions of dollars are spent on medical bills annually for health issues related to breathing bad air. The chronic nature of lung diseases makes the association of a cause hard to determine. Although the studies on the subject are few, the correlation between poor crawl space air quality, 'the stack effect' & human health problems are becoming more evident,
The natural rise of warmer air upwards within your house pulls the air below your feet into the living space above. If you have AC registers in your floor the exchange of air can be up to 30%. Microparticles of mold spores, dust mites, dander, radon, poisonous particulate matter from pesticides, & contaminates all make their way easily into the living spaces of the atmosphere above & into your lungs.
- when the 'wood moisture levels' reach 18% 'colony mold growth' sets in & produces high spore count consentrations that are dangerous to human & pet health
- uncovered crawlspace ground allows unhealthy 'organic gases' & excessive 'moisture vapors' into the crawl space atmosphere, the crawl space walls trap in these conditions making the air you breathe very unhealthy
- 'wood fungus' sets into the timbers when the 'wood moisture levels' exceed 18%, the higher the moisture levels the faster the rot sets in
- vermin 'feces particulate matter' in the air you breathe up there
- 'poisonous particulate matter', 'organic gases', 'dust mite feces', 'mold spores' & the such gets pulled into the upper part of your house into the air you breathe via the 'stack effect'
- this customer was suffering from severe respiratory conditions that hopefully will go away now that the unmanaged 'ground water intrusions' are fixed
Poisonous particulate matter from pesticides are being sucked into your living environment & you are breathing it. The air exchange between the crawl space atmosphere & the air above is 30% if you have air duct in the floor, 11% if not. Be careful what you allow companies to spray into your crawl space. Annnd remember those whose sell treatments are not likely interested in curing anything that would make them less money. Call HOME MECHANIX to understand how our services can make your crawl space healthy again.