| U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Partnership for Advancing Technology in Housing (PATH) wants homeowners to breathe easier. With the release of its Tech Set No. 9, PATH presents simple steps contractors and homeowners can take to improve indoor air quality.
In addition to cooking odors, a home's air may also contain excess humidity, dust, mold spores, chemical fumes, radon, combustion products from mowers running outside or furnaces running inside, and other potential irritants. Although most people aren't significantly affected by this indoor air cocktail, the long-term effects are still being evaluated.
"As anyone with asthma or other respiratory problems knows, poor air quality can become a serious matter," said HUD Assistant Secretary Darlene F. Williams. "HUD's PATH program is committed to providing builders, remodelers and homeowners with the information they need to assure a healthy home."
Tech Set No. 9 outlines the three basic steps that ensure a comfortable and allergen-free indoor environment: a) design and build the home to ensure that it continuously performs properly, b) control the contaminants at their source, and c) maintain the home and its environs. PATH shows how quality building practices, occupant vigilance and products such as paints with low VOCs (volatile organic compounds), radon detectors and customized HVAC units can improve air quality.
PATH Tech Sets are collections of advanced technologies and building practices that take the guesswork out of choosing cost-effective solutions for home quality.
Learn more about all of the PATH Tech Sets at: http://www.pathnet.org/sp.asp?id=13675
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