Published on 3 April 2020

Ten tips for a healthier home

We’ve been in the business of warming up kiwi homes for more than 15 years.  So not only are we trustworthy, but we are also reliable. Here are our top ten tips for a healthy home.

Why is it important? A warmer, drier home is healthier for you as it reduces the chances of health related issues attributed to poor housing.

1 · Trim back trees and vegetation to let the sun shine in. Papatuanuku is a free source of radiant heat for your home.

2 · Insulate your home, starting with your ceiling and underfloor. These are the two easiest and most cost effective areas to begin insulating your home. We recommend having it professionally checked every five years as it can settle and slump over time.  

3 · Check your windows - Reduce heat loss through glazing, draught protection, window film kit for wooden frame windows and floor length double layer curtains or honey comb blinds. The idea is to trap air between two layers of material to slow the rate of heat loss. 

4 · Heat the home. The World Health Organisation recommends that living areas should be heated to 18°C and bedrooms should be heated to 16°C. Look for energy efficient heating that is affordable to run such as heat pumps which (on average) turn $1 of electricity into $4 of heat.

The kiwi mentality of wrapping up and toughing it out might save a few dollars, but you’ll still be breathing in cold damp air which isn’t healthy.

5 · Ventilate the home for 30 minutes a day. Even if it is cold outside, it requires less energy and time to heat cold, dry air then it does to heat warm, damp air.   

Winter hack - if you open windows on opposite sides property you can cut the time to 15 minutes. Do 15 minutes in the morning (after showers) and 15 minutes in the evening (after cooking). This will replace the damp, moisture laden air created by breathing, cooking, and showering with fresh air from outside.

6 · Don’t dry clothes inside the home. Although tempting, clothes dried indoors and unvented driers can evaporate anywhere from 2-5 litres of moisture into the air per load.  Think - the difference in weight of the clothes from wet to dry is the amount of moisture that evaporates into the air.

Driers cost on average only $1 per cycle to run. If you use it once a week for a month that’s only $4 added to your monthly power bill. You will potentially spend more than that trying to heat the damp air inside the home from drying your clothes indoors for “free”. When using a drier, make sure it vents outside or is a condenser.

7 · Extract, moisture from kitchens and bathrooms where possible. Make sure extraction is working and vented to the outside. A good way to test the extractor fan is to see if it the suction can hold an A4 piece of paper. If it can’t then it may be too weak and might need repairing/upgrading.  

Top tip – keep lids on pots/pans where possible. This will reduce the amount of moisture that evaporates into the air while cooking by condensing the moisture on the bottom of the lid instead.

8 · Install a Ground Vapour Barrier. If you have more than 50 percent exposed soil underneath your house we recommend you install a ground vapour barrier. For every 1m2 of exposed soil, 400ml of moisture is evaporated in a 24hr period. 100m2 of exposed soil can evaporate 40L of moisture per day into the air. 

Not all of this moisture ends up in the home as most foundations have subfloor perimeter vents, but a moisture barrier is like an insurance policy. It insures that the moisture doesn’t have the ability to evaporate from the soil - like a lid on a pot when you’re cooking. Get yourself a DIY Ground Vapour Barrier kit or let us install it for you.

9 · Check for drainage issues, this could be pipe leaks under the home, or surface water entering the subfloor space. Consult a plumber or drainage expert to rectify any issues.

10 · Monitor air quality. Get a hygrometer and stay on top of the air quality in your home. Hygrometers measure the moisture content in the air relative to its absolute maximum capacity at a given temperature.

High humidity levels mixed with low temperatures will result in mould growth. Learn more about reading your Hygrometer and reducing your household humidity.

If you would like free, healthy home advice from one of home performance experts, please fill out the form below and we will give you a call.