Why proper ventilation is necessary

In Georgia, poor ventilation can cause damage to the house and affect your family’s health. The most important aspect of how to fix poor ventilation in a house is to increase the airflow. But how do you know your home needs more ventilation? Here we cover the signs in your home and the health symptoms of poor ventilation.

Signs of Poor Ventilation in the House

How do you know if your home has poor ventilation? It’s not as evident as a leaky faucet, but it can affect your entire experience within the home. Without proper home ventilation, you will start to notice these things around the house.

• Damp walls and windows. Without sufficient ventilation, warm moist air becomes trapped. As the humidity rises, the moisture drops out of the air. The condensation is most noticeable on windows but can also appear on the walls or the carpet.
• Mold on the walls. Can poor ventilation cause mold? Yes. Because warmth and high humidity are ideal for rot and mold growth, you may also notice mold collecting on curtains, other fabrics, or even the walls. Reducing the moisture level is the best option to prevent damage from mold.
• Smells last for days. If your home is full of pungent odors that continue to linger, it’s a sign that the ventilation is not exchanging your air or diluting it with fresh air. Musty smells may also develop around dank or moldy parts of the house.
• It’s hard to breathe. A buildup of carbon dioxide will make the air feel stuffy, making it hard to breathe. Increasing the ventilation will allow stale air to flow out and fresh filtered air to flow in.

Related Content: Improving Indoor Air During Allergy Season

Effects of Poor Ventilation in the Home

Your house can feel unpleasant when the air is stagnant and stuffy, but so do you and your family. Whether you’ve noticed it already or not, poor ventilation causes illness and discomfort. These are symptoms to watch out for.

• Sleep can’t energize you. A sign that you are suffering from poor ventilation is when you are tired. Not tired from work, but tired when you get up. Tired in your bones, regardless of how long you sleep. When your body is low on oxygen, it responds by sending signals for you to exert yourself less—essentially to use less oxygen.
• Flu-like symptoms plague you. Coughs and colds can happen all year round, but if you or your family are largely symptomatic at home, it could be a sign that your ventilation needs improvement. A buildup of dust and bacteria-sized pollutants makes your family more susceptible to sickness.
• It’s hard to breathe deeply. The low levels of oxygen in stuffy air can make it hard to breathe—especially if the air is overloaded with dust particles that could trigger allergies—even in those who don’t normally suffer from allergies.
• Your head throbs. Poor ventilation causes a lack of oxygen, which results in headaches and drowsiness. If you have a recurring headache at home, it’s worth checking if your ventilation needs improvement.
• You feel moody. Serotonin is a brain chemical that moderates mood. When you are low on oxygen, your brain gets less serotonin and has less control over sharp changes in mood. If you find yourself cranky or depressed with little explanation, some fresh air might help.

How to Fix Poor Ventilation in Atlanta

The time you spend at home should be relaxing and refreshing. If, instead, the poor ventilation is draining your energy or making you sick, open some windows, use a fan to increase airflow, and reach out to a professional for help optimizing your ventilation.