Photo: Contributed

Craig Hostland P. Eng. RHI, Owner of Pillar To Post Okanagan.

Without proper indoor ventilation not only will unsavoury odours build up over time in your home, but also the development of moulds and mildews from excess moisture build up over time. Poor ventilation leads to common health related building illnesses that can leave you literally sick and tired.

Good ventilation is the solution to many household odours and health concerns. This not only includes ensuring range hoods and washrooms vent directly to the exterior, but also that your mechanical system delivers fresh filtered air to all rooms of your home on a regular basis.

You will visually know if your house has inadequate ventilation for your lifestyle by observing condensation on the bottom of the glass portion of your windows. Condensation over time will cause brown/black “gunk” to build up on window sills. If you are wiping up water from the base of your windows weekly, then you are generating too much moisture in your home. Interestingly, the gunk isn’t usually the “bad mould”, but it is does demonstrate that your overall house environment is conducive to “bad mould” growth and requires upgrading. Economical solutions include the following:

1. Install externally venting kitchen and washroom exhaust fans. Most homes newer than the early 70’s are vented this way.

2. Make sure the dryer is properly ducted to the exterior to reduce condensation in the home from poor ventilation.

3. If your house has a ducted heating/cooling system, take full advantage of it by ensuring the fresh air intake is free of air restrictive debris; your furnace runs on a timer to ensure fresh air ventilation throughout the house for a minimum of 6 hours a day; and the induct air filter is at least a pleated well fitting type. There are a range of even better air filters at your local building supplies store depending on your sensitivities (the price increases accordingly.

4. As well, a wall mounted humidistat will tell you what the relative humidity is in your home. If the humidity level is over 55%, then mould growth is possible. Over 65%, mould growth is probable with resulting health effects. Install a humidistat controlled ventilation system to reduce abnormal levels of humidity on the home.

5. Not sure? – do the smell test as you walk into the home from the outside. Proper ventilation will give you a fresh (okay call it healthy) feeling in your home. Inadequate ventilation will leave the house feeling stuffy.

Craig Hostland P. Eng. RHI CIEC is a senior building inspector who has conducted in excess of 10,000 building inspections in the Okanagan over the past 12 years alone. Craig’s professional background in building science, design, and construction supports his expertise in defect recognition and problem solving.