WHO concludes that excess home moisture can lead to increased levels of illness in homes.

Over the past two months Indoor Environment Connections (ieconnections.com) has reported directly on a release by the World Health Organization of conclusive data relating to a direct correlation between increased levels of home moisture and illness in the occupants of the home.


Both in August and September, the newsletter of ieconnections.com has made direct quotes from this release of the WHO, which finally concludes on a theory that many indoor air quality experts, basement waterproofing, and HVAC companies have had for the better part of 30 years.

The publication states that occupants of buildings with high moisture content are 75% likelier to become ill then the occupants of buildings with better indoor air quality. This figure isn’t astonishing to the companies and professionals in the field, however, for many home and building owners it’s helping to motivate them to change their Indoor Air Quality conditions.

In September the WHO announced it’s official guide lines to help building owners and homeowners get a better handle on the ways they can better their individual air quality.

http://www.euro.who.int/document/E92645.pdf


The next logical step.
Many basement waterproofing companies, including the entire contractor network of Grate Products, has believed that the upward migration of air from the basement to the rest of the home plays a huge part in this. More than 40-50% of the air you breathe on the first floor has been linked directly to the basement or crawl space holding up the home, so one would think that if to completely control the moisture levels of the home, one would have to also control them in the basement.

“I’ve been saying this for the better part of the last 20 years,” says Steve Andras, President of Grate Products LLC, “If people want to truly control the moisture content in their homes, get control of the odors, must, and dampness in their air, then they need to look at the basement.”

Multiple methods of basement waterproofing and moisture control have been installed over the past hundred years, but it’s only with the most recent technology that homeowners have a better chance of actually getting close to 100% control over the moisture in their basements.

The WHO hasn’t made a distinctive point about the best methods to repair, but have made arguments for why a household should manage the moisture content of their home. On page 36 section 3.2 of their guide they also discuss the various methods that water does infiltrate the space.

On page 61 the WHO makes some basic recommendations about how to limit the amount of moisture with basic instructions.

Having some distinctive differences between this list and some of the Building Science’s findings, it will be interesting to see how the guide evolves in the future.