Indoor air quality is key to healthy home insulation

POOR insulation systems and materials could result in a toxic cloud of chemicals accumulating in the home.

The fact is that not enough insulation installers pay attention to indoor air quality.

This week, the Royal Colleges of Physicians and of Paediatrics and Child Health issued a report about pollution.

The study looked at traffic emissions as a contributory factor in causing up to 40,000 premature deaths per year.

It also pointed to sources of lesser known indoor pollution and suggested that people are not aware of the risks in their own homes. These include open fires, faulty boilers and everyday cleaning products.

Fresh air

In the drive to cut energy bills by promoting insulation at all costs, fresh air is effectively stopped from circulating inside buildings.

In a bid to keep warm (which is obviously very important for our overall health) some homeowners have installed low quality insulation solutions which actually trap potentially toxic chemicals. Over time, these can build up to dangerous levels.

Low grade insulation materials which use mineral wools or polystyrene beads can also result in the accumulation of mould-causing damp.

Here at Noreus, we have to do a lot of first aid on existing cavity wall insulation.

We have found that even new build homes experience issues. This is because although insulation has been attached to the inner leaf of the wall, in many cases there is nowhere for rainwater to escape so it becomes trapped and causes damp.

The bigger picture

We would never install insulation just for the sake of it. The Noreus team always looks at the bigger picture.

This means using high-quality spray foam insulation but also checking that the air quality within the home remains sound.

We install filters to keep fresh, healthy air circulating around our customers’ properties and we can also test for the presence of volatile organic compounds, radon gas, mould and carbon dioxide.

To discover more about healthy home insulation, call 01782 756995 or click here to request a call back.