Turning the Heat on in winter will show you the actual air quality of your Basement

How would turning the heat on upstairs have anything to do with the air quality of basement? It’s an interesting concept, but it’s one that many air quality experts, including Craig Clark from Ocean State Air in Rhode Island, deals with every winter.

We all know that the condition of the basement affects the air quality in the rest of the home. Lingering water, moisture and water damage, mold or other pollutants in the basement can influence the quality of the air and aggravate sensitivities in the homeowners.

Moisture problems that go unchecked in the summer don’t feel as serious in the winter. The cold air, for the most part, masks the issues in the basement. Humidity and excess moisture build up are as tangible in the winter as they are in the summer months that are naturally humid.

This becomes the combination to cause issues.

Turning on the heat forces warm air through your home, and in many cases your basement as well. This can awaken any unaddressed moisture issues again in the winter. With warm moist air now back again in the basement during winter, people with respiratory issues can be affected again when they least expect it.

“It’s not uncommon for an entire house to get sick because of poor air quality issues in the winter that could have been avoided by addressing them in the summer,” says Craig Clark, president of Ocean State Air in Rhode Island.

“Correcting an air quality issue in the home can avoid complications in months where normally there isn’t a problem.

“If you maintain the Relative Humidity, you can control the dew point and prevent the mold growth on cold surface areas.

“When homeowners turn the heating system on for the first time with mold contamination inside the HVAC system, the dried up mold becomes aerolized and can cause substantial discomfort to persons with mold allergies. A non-viable mold spore or mold fragment can cause as much discomfort as a viable spore or fragment.”

The World Heath Organization back in August finally announced its findings about increased illness in buildings with air quality issues. Occupants of a building with moisture issues are 70% more likely to become ill than occupants of buildings with proper air quality.


Like always, make sure to have your home inspected to make sure that you don’t have moisture or a mold issue. With this new pattern in New England it might be a good idea to have an inspection before cranking the heat this winter.




Read about the Top 6 Basement Mistakes that contractors and homeowners make.

HVAC issue in CT 1

I had a client not too long ago that has a type 1 (or level 1) mold issue in the basement. There's a secure bulkhead and an open stair well to the stairs up to the apartments.

The problem is tha the duct to the window for the ventalation is open. There's a grate on the outside. One vent coming stright down out of the window to about 2 feet from the floor. The second comes straight out at window/ceiling level. The idea is for the warm air to escape through the top vent and colder air from the outside is to come through the bottom vent opening closer to the floor in order to then travel, stir up air away from the furnace and then heat, and escape out the top. Simple right?

Yes, simple, however creating some complications. Apparently there are large piles of leaves and other outside material that has found it's way through the grate into the basement. Which leaves me to beleve that the moist air is coming in through the vents as well. Trying to do research has lead me to noting. Most vents on the furnace are carried through normal ducts to the outside, keeping the circulation in a close ciruit between the ouside and the furnace....right?

Besides having a water issue which will be corrected by installing the Grate Products System I can't see where else the moisture could be coming from. Even having a Santa Fe working full tilt couldn't eleminate an endless stream of moisture from the outside.

I'm vexed by the idea. I don't want them to install and then still experience mold because of the outside. I'll have pictures and I'll have information before anything happens..That's for sure.