Why does your home need ventilation?
Good Ventilation = Healthier Homes
Kitchen and bathroom fan extraction benefits occupiers by providing a healthier living environment.
Extraction fans reduce:
- CONDENSATION - Damp walls, peeling wallpaper and rotting window frames.
- MOULD - Black mould can grow on damp surfaces and airborne spores can be inhaled. Ventilation will reduce mould and make your home a healthier home.
- BACTERIA - Bacteria need humidity to survive and multiply: the higher the humidity and temperature, the more they multiply.
- FUMES - Many common household items including; cleaners, insect sprays, soft furnishings, carpets, candles, gas and oil appliances give off fumes that contain chemicals. These invisible chemicals can concentrate to unhealthy levels.
- HOUSE DUST MITES - House dust mites which can cause asthma, rhinitis, bronchial and other allergic conditions thrive in moist conditions: a dryer home means less house dust mites.
- ODOURS - Good ventilation removes annoying odours.
Preventing damp and condensation, eliminating mould:
In Great Britain, condensation and mould growth problems are reported within about 15% of properties.
Rodger Edwards “Handbook of Domestic Ventilation” Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann, 2005
HOW CAN I PREVENT DAMP, CONDENSA TION AND MOULD?
Firstly, it is necessary to make cooler surfaces located on the external walls less prone to condensate and mould. You can achieve this by improving air circulation around these areas and to let the ambient room temperature get at the cold surfaces and thereby increase the surface temperature above the dew point. This can mean using thinner curtains, pulling the bed/wardrobe away from the wall and rearranging the room to stop insulating the cold external wall surface.
Secondly, you need to regularly clear any signs of mould. Polycell 3 in 1 Mould Killer (please remember to use gloves) will kill mould spores. You need to throw out any material items that smell of mould and will not wash out.
Thirdly, you need to establish where and why certain areas in your house are affected by condensation and mould. Please think about the following moisture sources: metabolic evaporation, cooking, washing clothes, drying clothes indoors, dishwashing, washing/bathing, etc. All of these generate moisture in to the air.
Fourthly, what is happening to the moisture created in your kitchen and bathroom? Do you have automatic ventilators/fans? Are they effective? Do they have humidity controllers? Ideally, you should also have a pas- sive air vent at high level in your bedroom.
HUMIDITY AND CONDENSATION
Humidity is a term used to describe moisture carried in air. Relative humidity (RH) is a measurement of the amount of moisture carried that the air can hold at a specific temperature. If the air in a room holds 50 per- cent of the moisture it is capable of holding at that temperature, its RH would be at 50 percent. Absolute humidity permeates uniform throughout a room, while RH varies from room to room. One hundred per- cent RH means that the air is completely saturated and can hold no more moisture.
Warm air holds more moisture than cool air. As air cools, it releases its moisture, which is why the highest RH in a room is near the coldest surface where warm air cools – as a result cold windows mist up, dew is forming up behind wardrobes and inside the back of wardrobes, or behind curtains, beds, etc.
HUMIDITY AND MICROBES
Bacterial growth increases below 30 percent RH and above 60 percent. Dust mites thrive in humidity levels above 50 percent. Hay fever incidents increase at levels above 60 percent RH and below 40 percent. Con- trolling humidity is essential to preserving quality indoor air. Note that humidity conditions and moisture are not solely to blame for microbial growth. Poor ventilation must also be improved to correct problems.
CONTROLLING HUMIDITY
Many buildings need to be dehumidified at various times of the year, based on changes of the season and other factors, to prevent indoor air that is too humid. Another integral component of controlling humidity is to locate and remove unwanted sources of moisture in the building, such as roof or plumbing leaks.
RHL’s ventilation systems feature:
- AUTOMATIC CONTROL - The advanced Autostat IV control unit provides perfect control of extraction without householder intervention.
- LOW RUNNING COSTS - Modern high technology fans use very little electricity, less than 6p a week for both kitchen and bathroom ventilation.
- VERY QUIET OPERATION - RHL’s high technology fan design and manufacture ensure very quiet operation.
- KITCHEN FAN GREASE FILTER - RHL’s kitchen fan has an easily removable stainless steel grease filter which is dishwasher safe.
- BUILDING REGULATIONS COMPLIANCE - Current building regulations require fan assisted ventilation of all moisture generating areas.
