Improving Your Basement Ventilation: Benefits And Useful Strategies
Copyright (c) 2015 Matt Reardon
If your house basement has a musty, damp and mouldy smell that makes you want to avoid being anywhere near there, possibilities are very high that you have a serious ventilation problem.
The Environmental Protection Agency has in fact noted that the air inside your house could be at levels that are 3 to 5 times higher in terms of pollution when compared to the air outside. The situation in your basement could even be much worse than that!
Because of space constraints, a basement is now being viewed as very cost-effective way of adding extra space to the living quarters in a home without having to incur the huge cost of adding new house extensions.
Why Ventilate The Basement?
However, because of its location, the basement typically experiences challenges of ventilation. The most appropriate time for making your basement more hospitable and healthier for living is during a renovation project.
a) Compared to all other rooms in your home, the basement has the potential of being a rich repository of mouldy growth, unpleasant odours, indoor pollutants and moisture problems.
b) In most homes, the basement is commonly utilized as the household store for chemical products and other less used formulations and items. Solvents, paints, cleaning products and automobile products stored in the basement slowly release into the air chemical emissions.
c) In a place that is unventilated like the basement, these chemicals will continue building up to produce an extremely toxic environment. Properly ventilating the place will help in exhausting the musty and polluted air as well as in drawing in fresh and cleaner air from outdoors.
Basement Ventilation Advantages
Although the advantages of facilitating boosted basement air flow are quite many, the most notable ones are:
- Adds living space to your home. - Cuts out those mouldy and musty smells. - Makes your basement a safer, more environmentally friendly living space. - Reduces the potential harm that can be brought by radon gas. - Save you on your cooling and heating bills.
Ventilation Options For Your Basement
To improve ventilation and airflow in your basement, there are a number of viable options from which you could choose that which meets your specific requirements.
Some Of Them Include:
1. Ducted Glass Block Windows
It is possible to fabricate your glass block windows using vinyl hopper vents to provide air flow. Such windows are could be customized for each of your openings for security and privacy purposes. They are cost-effective, require zero maintenance and provide high levels of energy efficiency similar to any thermal pane window.
2. Vinyl or Hopper Style Awning Windows
You can have vinyl or hopper windows customized for every opening in your basement to provide air inlet with a screen that is easy-to-remove.
3. Basement Exhaust Systems
Basement exhaust systems will not just provide your home with fresh air, but will also remove the stale air and regulate the moisture levels. This is done by exhausting moisture and replacing it with incoming fresh dry air.
If you are interested in acquiring additional details and information regarding the requirements you may need to be aware of as you take into consideration your ventilation strategies; there are several useful hints. The National Construction Code of 2014 which contains the Building Code of Australia would be excellent places to start.
However, no matter the option you select, remember that it has to be done according to the Australian Standard (AS 1668) and the Plumbing Code of Australia guidelines.
About the Author
Matt Reardon has been with Mould Buster long enough to master the ventilation needs of any type of house. When Matt takes you through the available options, you will be highly pleased with what Mould Buster has to offer. Visit http://mouldbuster.com.au/basement-ventilation/ now for quality ventilation solutions.
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