Posted on 02/18/2014 10:23:14 PM PST by Olog-hai
Energy efficient buildings are an important part of tackling the world’s energy crisis.
But while these structures can keep drafts out, they also have a hidden threat lurking within.
Deep within their crevices and corners, green buildings are susceptible to trapping humid air in which toxic mold can spread.
The problem, according to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), affects between 30 and 50 percent of new or refurbished buildings.
A number of these homes have become ghost buildings after the damp seeped in and destroyed furniture and belongings. …
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Funny how the left knows “everything” yet nothing.Are energy efficient homes making us ILL? Toxic mold caused by poor air circulation could trigger ‘sick building syndrome’
Hey!
My drafty, holey, 300 year old log house is “healthy”!
Reagan;
“Well, the trouble with our liberal friends is not that they’re ignorant; it’s just that they know so much that isn’t so.”
Just why does naming a species of mold have to be relevant here? People who own homes know what mold is.
I believe it. When my grandparents built homes without a/c. they were just fine. I don’t remember being uncomfortable in any of them in the summer. Hubby’s grandparents built a home in the CA desert. Same thing.
A lot of the problem could be solved by simply setting aside a time to recirculate the air in the home. The newer mobile homes have a fan system that will do this at the flick of a switch while keeping the windows closed.
Woo hoo! Our 200+ year old farmhouse ain’t so bad after all!!
Exactly my question. Why does a general news story have to name the species of mold in order to be credible?
(Although I can understand why a Freeper calling himself or herself ‘Fungi’ would be interested in the detail.)
Oh yeah...same here.
Screw getting new windows, I want to stay healthy...
Importantly, back in the “good old days” when communicable epidemics were common, families who could afford them had special “sick rooms”, walk in closet size, where a sick family member could stay to reduce chances of infecting the others in the family.
An important element of a sick room was a window that could be opened. And only in the last few years were experiments done to find out if this was a good idea. It was.
They determined that in a building, even with a sanitized air conditioning system, “bad” (pathogen contaminated) air tends to remain much longer than if you simply open a window, which results in much larger volumes of fresh air, and faster.
But if you open a window, don’t you lose a lot of heat? Oddly enough, not necessarily. It depends *how* you get your heat.
Americans long had an abundance of firewood, so developed and got used to the idea of air convection iron stoves, that heated a room quickly, and just as quickly cooled off, so needed to be refueled frequently. They also created a lot of smoke and soot.
However, in northern Asia and Europe, where fuel was harder to gather, they used a different approach, called a tile, oven or ceramic stove. (Lots of pretty pictures)
http://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2008/12/tile-stoves.html
http://www.inspirationgreen.com/masonry-heaters.html
http://www.rvharvey.com/kachelofen.htm
These worked by having a much hotter, but smaller fire, that burned up most of the smoke and soot, storing that heat in bricks, stones, or ceramic, that then over a length of time gave off invisible infrared radiation.
So less fuel, less pollution, and long lasting radiant heat that warms everything it shines on. And even if the air is cool for a while, you feel warm when illuminated by the invisible light.
This means that with such a stove, even in winter you can open your windows and still feel warm. And waft out the pathogens, while preventing mold and mildew.
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