At first glance the question, ‘Is your house killing you?’, might seem a trifle overdramatic. That, or it reads like a rejected title for a bad horror movie. However, the threat, as implausible as it might sound, is real. There are lots of questions you should be asking yourself as a homeowner – What is the air quality like? What Are The Signs of Rising Damp? How can I identify mould? The list goes on!
Poor housing conditions can have devastating effects on our health. Citing healthy indoor air as a basic right, the World Health Organization noted, “Exposures to biological agents indoors are a significant health hazard causing a wide range of health effects.”
Primary among these are problems caused by mold and damp, which is why some people look to companies similar to this action 1 restoration water and mold company who might be able to help with their issue. A recent report published by the English Housing Survey found that 5% of households in England live in a home with damp issues.* This can lead to severe respiratory problems – commonly sinusitis and bronchitis – allergies and asthma. Research has shown that people with asthma were twice as likely to live in homes with damp as those without. This is why those people should consider investing in a dehumidifier, the benefits of these are covered in detail at Review Loft if you’re interested. But I digress.
Lung disease – one of the worst outcomes of living in a cold and damp climate – kills around one in five in the UK. This then comes as no surprise to find that some people decide to look into companies like Buildfix, in the hopes of getting this issue of damp resolved once and for all. The sooner, the better.
And at present, the situation doesn’t show any signs of improvement. While deaths from cardiovascular diseases declined over the period 2008 – 2012**, deaths from lung disease-related illnesses remained constant.
As the weather turns colder and wetter – the primary causes of damp and mold – leading high street hardware retailer Robert Dyas has highlighted a number of solutions that will help prevent these twin evils.
