Every house and building must have a good air ventilation system. Otherwise, dirty air will only continue to circulate in the room so that it will have a very negative impact on the respiration of each occupant. Indeed, what kind of a good ventilation system?
Types of universal ventilation applied in homes or buildings
The ventilation system is a system of exchanging air from outside to inside and vice versa which aims to control the quality of indoor air. The existence of an air exchange system can produce pollutants that settle in the room so as to provide healthy air for us to breathe.
Ventilation is a system that must exist in every building. Even though it looks clean and shiny, every home will create a dirty air, which is either from a combination with light dust flakes or from vehicle fumes outside the room.
Usually there are 3 types of ventilation systems that are universally used by residential or office buildings.
1. Natural
Natural ventilation systems that must be in every building are windows that can be opened and closed and air holes are usually found at the top of each door. This opening is useful for pushing out the air in the room and entering clean air from outside.
In addition to windows and air vents, certain buildings and housing may also have a chimney above the roof to allow for optimal air exchange.
The form and how much natural ventilation in your home will depend largely on the needs, climate of the area, and the design of your building.
2. Machine
If using natural ventilation is not enough, you can install an engine to allow air exchange in the house. Engine ventilation is generally in the form of a fan, AC (air conditioning), or exhaust fan.
These machines aim to speed up the circulation of air in the room by inhaling the air in the room at once in large quantities to be expelled outside. At the same time, this machine will draw fresh air from outside and supply it into the room.
3. Combination model or hybrid model
Sometimes some rooms, such as kitchens or bathrooms, need to use a different type of ventilation so that the air exchange is more optimal.
Usually, not only windows, kitchens and bathrooms will also be installed with exhaust fans. This equipment serves to suck and expel the air in the room, and replace it with a new one.
The fast air exchange process allows the air in the room not to be too humid or stuffy for long. Exhaust fans must be installed in a room with one side facing the outside of the building through a cubicle or roof.
How to know if the ventilation in your house is good?
To find out whether the house or office building where you work has good ventilation, all of these basic questions must be answered with a “yes”:
Do you have the right amount of ventilation needed? For example, 2 bedrooms, dining room, bathroom, kitchen, and living room must have at least 3 ventilations. Can be a combination model or natural.
Is your house free from odors?
Does every cooking room with a stove, wood stove, or grill have ventilation such as windows or exhaust fans?
Is there an exhaust fan or air gap in the cubicle of each bathroom?
Does each exhaust fan work properly and the air is discharged outside? (not into the attic or garage of the house)
What is the impact if the room ventilation is not good?
Dirty air trapped in the house can affect the health of you and your family. For the World Health Organization, buildings that are poorly ventilated can be a means of spreading bacterial inflammation that causes diseases, such as flu, tuberculosis.
The majority of these inflammatory diseases spread through the air. When someone is sick, then coughs or sneezes are not covered, the bacteria will continue to fly in the air. Now if the ventilation of the room is not good, the air that has disease bacteria will always remain in the same room so that it is easily inhaled by other healthy people. Moreover, people who were previously sick and have recovered can relapse suffering from the same disease if they are still sucking the same air.
The transmission of the umpteenth disease in the same building is often referred to as sick building syndrome. This risk is also not only vulnerable to occur in office buildings or housing. Clinics and hospitals that are not well ventilated are equally vulnerable to spreading inflammation for workers, tourists and patients who live there. The spread of inflammation in a hospital is called a hospital-acquired infection.
Ventilation is not good for the house easy to mold
Not only that. If there is no exchange of fresh air, the room in the building will gradually smell musty because it is constantly left damp. For example, from the smell of food, the smell of garbage, and the smell of animal feces that mixes and keeps turning around in the room.
Not only that, the air exchange system also indirectly controls the humidity level of the air. Home furnishings such as wooden floors, wooden tables, and other wooden furniture are prone to absorb moisture left in your home. This excess moisture will continue to collect in the house and stimulate the growth of mold and mildew in the room, which can affect the health of you and your family.
Moldy cubicles and floors are one of the most common sources of allergy triggers in the home. Symptoms can include a runny nose, itchy eye irritation and redness, sneezing, and an itchy throat.
You may also be prone to headaches or recurring fevers. Moldy house rooms are one of the reasons why people at home often get sick because the spores can weaken the body’s immune system.
Here are some guidelines for better air circulation at home:
Use an exhaust fan, or at least there is an air gap to the outside in the bathroom to remove moisture and gas odors from the house.
Make sure your kitchen has an exhaust fan that lets the air out. Use a fan or open a window when cooking to eliminate smoke and odors in the air.
Do not use the stove without ventilation. Install carbon monoxide detectors in several locations in your home.
Take the washing machine or clothes dryer outside as well. Rinse the vents regularly to ensure dust doesn’t restrict airflow.
If you have a hobby of coloring with watercolors or using some chemicals in your home, add extra ventilation. Open windows and use a portable window fan to draw air out of the room.
If the air in the room is always very humid, look for sources of humidity that need to be controlled. If that still doesn’t solve the problem, use a dehumidifier. If you use a dehumidifier, make sure you clean it in an orderly manner.