Here's How Poor Insulation Can Affect Air Quality

Allergens are the number one enemy for millions of Americans (and non-Americans). Each seasonal change brings along a sizeable chunk of nasty nasal nonsense – say that five times fast! You probably can’t because your nose is stuffy right now, and you’re wishing your house wasn’t letting in all these pollen or dust particles.

Maybe you’ve thought about it; maybe you haven’t – either way, insulation is the keyword here. Insufficient insulation can be the main culprit for poor air quality, whether in the form of the “stillness” in the air, lack of fresh intake, or just that annoying fine dust.

We’ve compiled our reasons why poor insulation can affect your household’s air quality in various unfortunate ways – and we’re here to tell you why it’s in your best interest to change that! For some, poor air quality can be a nuisance, while for others, it can severely impact their health.

So don’t waste too much time – your air quality is as important as the food you eat and the water you drink, after all!

Temperature & Congestion

Poor or inadequate control of your room temperature leads to your room’s atmosphere feeling quite a bit “stuffy” or airless, to say the least. In other cases, your room might be colder than anticipated, and your air quality “still or inert” and somewhat nippy.

It goes without saying that insulation has one of its primary purposes fixated on preventing that ‘exact’ scenario, correct?

Lower-quality or improperly installed materials need to adhere not just to safety standards but to base temperature control guidelines as well. Sadly, too many households forego investing in proper insulation, which also tends to lead to our next point.

Here Comes the Moisture

Alongside the temperature of the air, you also have to worry about moisture. Excess moisture directly results from inadequate insulation, often due to old age but sometimes also partly due to the materials used.

Storms, or (gosh forbid) hurricanes, are the worst for poor insulation, as they effectively render it as useful as a toy gun against a grizzly bear. The insulation cannot withstand all of the buildup, and the moisture weakens the heat resistance as well.

Of course, moisture also leads to something else; something quite nasty – the conditions make your household a fantastic home for fungi…

Mold Is in the Air

Ah, yes. Mold. Because if your sneezing and nasal drips weren’t enough, now you also have airborne spores to worry about. Coughing or even painful wheezing – whatever your symptoms, we know too well what the culprit may be, at least in 90%+ of cases.

Mold spreads through poor insulation pretty easily, so don’t be surprised if your rooms start smelling like a cave when you don’t bother investing in proper insulation materials. If any of your family members are at risk (for example – people with asthma or general allergies), you’re exposing them to unnecessary airborne irritants.

Critter Funk

By this point, you probably got the gist of it – lousy insulation leads to bad air quality. But it’s not always so straightforward; sometimes, it goes through a more roundabout cycle. Lousy insulation, or rather poorly sealed insulation, tends to be an attractive housing option for various unsightly critters and bugs.

You probably know where we’re going with this. Living organisms in your walls are gross and disturbing enough, but it gets even worse when you factor in the smells some of these animals produce. Oh, and it can get even worse…

How much worse? Well, these animals may (read: will definitely) introduce hazardous airborne particles such as bacteria or viruses, which then spread throughout your HVAC system. All of that will quickly spread and circulate throughout your home.

Awful, is it not? And it’s not even the final nail in the coffin – that’s up next!

The VOC Menace

VOCs, a.k.a. – volatile organic compounds – are a well-known problem for certain homeowners who’ve had to deal with insulation beforehand, especially the type that contains asbestos.

The great thing about modern insulation techniques and material utilization is that it’s all relatively safe, for the most part. That’s not to say that poor installation of the materials can’t affect your air quality – oh no, quite the contrary. Even certain modern insulations can fall apart if improperly installed, leading to volatile particles getting scattered everywhere.

In order to protect your home (and family) from allergens and irritants, we can’t stress enough how important it is to invest in proper, well-installed, high-quality insulation. Even if you think you and your family are free from any risks, that doesn’t mean your quality of life isn’t affected, as poor air quality can be a subtle problem.

We hope this article helped our readers and opened some eyes in the process. Be sure to contact professional services much like ours to avoid having a nasty-smelling or poorly-ventilated household!