What’s Black, Green, Fuzzy and lives in your home? The answer is mould, and its very much a living member of most British households. Graham Watkins, Managing Director of Vent Vision Ltd describes how ’without ventilation to control indoor humidity and airborne contaminants, places like the kitchen and bathroom can become health hazards. The Kitchen, a place of food preparation, cooking and eating can easily be one of the most hazardous and unhealthy room in the home’. Air quality within the kitchen, over time can become worse than the quality of air outdoors. Yet the ability to improve or prevent this can be achieved with very little cost and effort. Without the correct ventilation the daily build up of grease, smoke, steam, odours and other pollutants have no escape, especially in the months when the home is sealed against the cold or heat. Kitchen ventilation is both functional and aesthetically pleasing but without the right ventilation home owners are at risk to toxic chemicals from household cleaners, paint, carbon dioxide, dust mites, pollen, bacteria, mould and mildew. All of these can damage a person’s health, not to mention their home. Ventilation is key to creating a healthier environment. The National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA) recommends that ‘all kitchen appliances used for surface cooking should have a ventilation system…’ The American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) are proposing new stringent standards for mechanical ventilation in the home, Vent Vision supports this as introducing new and higher standards will ensure a healthier home.

Ventilation in the Bathroom is also very important to maintain a healthy indoor environment, for example exhaust fans are crucial to proper ventilation in a bathroom. They are the key to drawing moist, warm air out of the bathroom before it causes damage such as mould, rust, swelling doors, slippery floors and bathroom surfaces, peeling paint and loose wallpaper. Leaving a window opens isn’t very effective and in doing so also creates a security risk to your home and allows polluted air from outside into the home. Standard bathroom ventilation calls for fans to move 50 cubic feet of air per minute (cfm) at the very minimum. Vent Vision recommends that you choose a fan with the correct cfm rating before ordering. What size you select will depend on what conditions the fan will be used for and he size of the bathroom and the amount of humidity which will be created. You may also need a larger fan depending on the length of the duct run from the bathroom to the home exterior. The duct diameter and material also affects air movement through the amount of friction generated. For any ducting runs over a few feet, Vent Vision recommends that you use plastic pipe or sheet metal ducts rather than flexible plastic pipe, which restricts airflow and traps moisture. If incorrect or ineffective ventilation is used the health risks accumulate when different types of mould are left to grown and begin to emit chemicals in a competitive bid to kill each other off, and when this happens it can pose serious health risks to you and your family. The key way to preventing this is by eliminating sources of moisture and this can be easily achieved with the right ventilation system.

Vent Vision can provide you with ventilation that is quick and simple to fit using reversible grommets and easy-wire terminals. We can help you choose from a wide range of fans suitable for instillation’s in walls, panels or ceilings at any angle. There is a whole range of bathroom fans, which have varying overrun times or sensors to save energy when a room is empty.

If you would like any further information on Vent Visions extensive range of products please call, 0870 755 116, fax 0870 755 1119 or email us - our details are on the contact page.