GET THE FACTS ~ Healing Homes Guru

MOISTURE CONTROL IS KEY

Here is one of my most favorite Building Biology graphs, from Dr. Elia Sterling’s book, Criteria for Human Exposure to Humidity in Occupied Buildings :

In such a straight-forward and simplistic way, this graph shows how the 8 factors listed on the left fall and/ or rise as relative humidity changes. Bioaerosols like bacteria, most viruses, and dust mites simply can’t live within the middle range of relative humidity. The optimum zone that minimizes the sum of all these factors is a relative humidity between 40-45%, going to show that moisture control inside a home is key to healthy indoor air quality. My homes are designed to keep indoor air moisture within this range.

MOLDS

Given that mold is practically synonymous with unhealthy indoor air quality and given its prevalence in American homes, this topic deserves a discussion on its own.