Classic Notes - Breathing Easy: Your House Should Help, Not Hurt

*In our inaugural series of posts, "Classic Notes," we will revisit a number of issues our Blogger-in-Chief Diane E. Curtis previously published under the auspices of our Essential Housing line. Essential Housing was established in part to provide affordable, work force housing to urban neighborhoods in the process of revitalization.*

May is Asthma Awareness Month, and as a Builder Partner of the EPA’s Indoor airPLUS program, we believe it is incumbent upon us to help educate the community on the environmental risks associated with the development of asthma and the exacerbation of asthma symptoms.

Did you know…

• …The air inside your home is often more polluted than the air outside? Chemicals and other toxins, Nitrogen Dioxide and other gases emitted from appliances and building materials, mold spores and mildew, fungus, carpet and bedding fibres, dust mites and other pests, and other airborne particulate matter can actually cause asthma, in addition to irritating symptoms of those who already suffer from the disease.
• …We spend approximately 90% of our time indoors? As such, it is very important that the air we breathe inside our homes, schools and workplaces is free of irritants.
• …Asthma causes more missed school days and emergency room visits for children under 15 than any other ailment or injury? It stresses our healthcare system and contributes to poorer classroom performance.
• …Asthma disproportionately affects lower-income families, minorities and children? African-American children are especially susceptible to developing asthma and have dramatically higher mortality rates.
• …Environmental factors and cheap building materials used in inner-city housing are the primary culprits for this population disparity in asthma sufferers?

At Essential Housing, we have made it our mission to provide affordable, sustainable, healthy housing close to urban centers in an effort to rehabilitate inner-city neighborhoods and the people who call them home. Indoor air quality is a vital aspect of this effort, and our housing solution speaks directly to every one of the bullet points listed above.

We use:

• Non-toxic building materials including low- or no-VOC paints, adhesives, countertops and flooring; and no added-formaldehyde cabinets and insulation.
• Tight insulation to keep out exterior environmental pollutants and HVAC systems that utilize advanced filtration to trap even the smallest airborne irritants.
• EnergyStar-rated appliances which operate more efficiently, reducing Nitrogen Dioxide emissions, and range hoods that vent directly to the outside.

We do this because we believe healthy homes support healthy people. And healthy people support healthy communities which are then allowed to thrive and grow and prosper. That allows schools and workplaces to be better attended than emergency rooms, and resources spared from expensive asthma treatments can go towards improving the lives of our home owners and others in the community.

For more information on the benefits of home ownership with Essential Housing and EcoClassic Homes, please contact Diane at:

Direct: 678-323-1405

Cell: 404-886-6588

diane@ecoclassichomes.com

And, for more information on asthma and asthma causes, treatment and prevention, please visit the following online resources:

http://www.epa.gov/asthma/awm/

http://www.physiciansweekly.com/pw16_10.1.html

http://www.epa.gov/epahome/sciencenb/asthma/index.html

http://www.webmd.com/asthma/default.htm

http://www.lungusa.org/lung-disease/asthma/