Classic Notes - 'Tis The (Pollen) Season: Is Your Home Helping or Hurting?

*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.*


Editorial Note: Although this article was written about the springtime, we here in the South experience seasonal allergies...well, seasonally! November and December can be especially difficult for allergy sufferers due to dramatic changes in temperature and humidity that always accompany the transition from Autumn to Winter.  

Spring is in "full bloom" here in the Southeastern United States. And everything is coated with a fine (and sometimes not-so-fine!) layer of yellow powder. Pollen. It's everywhere. On your car. In your house. Up your nose! It seems to infiltrate every nook and cranny, no matter how small, through seemingly supernatural and diabolical methods. You leave your windows closed. You do not run your attic fan. And, yet...it is everywhere. How? Why? WHY ME?! The answer is simple: insulation. Or more accurately, a lack thereof.

Your house is not as tight as you think it is. Drafty windows, gaps in insulation, microscopic holes in the flashing around windows, doors, and junction boxes all contribute to letting drafts in and heating and air out. And this time of year those drafts that enter don't just bring the warm air in, they also bring the pollen which can trigger allergy and asthma attacks. Both of which compromise your immune system, leading to spring-time colds, upper respiratory and sinus infections.

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has recognized that indoor air quality should be a major component for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification. And the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) established Indoor airPLUS to provide a set of guidelines and specifications to home builders who wish to incorporate both passive and active clean air/air filtration elements into their construction. Essential Living LLC, along with its parent company, New World Home LLC, builds LEED certifiable homes, and is a Builder Partner of the EPA’s Indoor airPLUS program.

Last spring, I spent my days working out of one of our model homes in East Cobb County, Georgia. This home holds the distinction for being the first LEED Platinum Certified modular home built in the state of Georgia. As a usually miserable seasonal allergy sufferer, it was a lovely spring for me – the best I’ve ever had here in the South. While the pollen count rose to unheard of levels – 200 is considered high, and we had several days with a count over 6,000! – I enjoyed the clean, fresh, pollen- and dust-free air inside an astonishingly well-insulated home. I worked and breathed freely without the assistance of allergy meds all day. Returning to my own (non-EcoClassic Homes) house in the evening was a different story.

Take away lesson? I’m “allergic” to drafty houses! And I’d be willing to bet you are, too. Before the next Pollen Season rolls around, I hope to be enjoying the air inside my very own EcoClassic Home. What about you? In the market for a new home? Ready to breathe easy? Visit http://EcoClassicHomes.com for a complete selection of floorplans. Then contact me at diane@ecoclassichomes.com or by calling me directly at 678-323-1405 to begin planning your very own EcoClassic Home. And…BREATHE!