What we are attempting to influence you to do is Manage Your Home.  Here’s the background story:

Old houses are typically drafty.  Lots of outdoor air comes in cracks and holes and ventilates the house, so the air is fresh.  Also, the materials that were used to build these old houses were mostly inert – relatively safe, such as plaster, and resilient to moisture and resistant to mold.  So, an old, leaky house could usually recover from a roof leak without major damage, causing materials to be removed and replaced due to water damage and mold.

Newer homes are typically more air tight. Plus, they are built using drywall and OSB (oriented strand board).  When newer homes get wet from high interior humidity or a water leak, the drywall usually has to be replaced.  The OSB can easily be damaged and become structurally unsound.  The newer construction, combined with the less healthy building materials means indoor air quality can be poor.  Poor indoor air quality can cause poor health.

Of course, older homes can be made more air tight by a successful energy retrofit.  Insulation and air sealing materials such as caulk and foam can cause homes to be less drafty, so they don’t ventilate as well as they did before the energy retrofit.

In all cases, homes must be managed.  The home’s systems (such as the furnace and AC) must be managed.  Interior humidity must be managed.  Exterior water must be managed.  Dust, dust mites, dander must be managed.  There is a standard set that specifies the amount of fresh air required for a building to stay structurally sound AND for healthy people and pets. 

In essence, there is a dance that must be carefully done in our homes in order to balance air and moisture.  We’d like to teach you that dance.