What is Subfloor Ventilation? What it Is and How it Works

Subfloor ventilation Sydney is an important investment in your flooring. Not many people realize just how important subfloor ventilation is. Your subfloor is an essential part of the building, which is why you need to do what you can to ensure the longevity of this part of your flooring. Reading on, you can learn all about what subflooring ventilation is and how subfloor ventilation works.

What is Subfloor Ventilation?

The subfloor ventilation system works to extract damp air from inside of the home and then allows the dry air entering into the home, all through the areas underneath your floor. This system is installed in the subfloor area of the home with the purpose of preventing any excess moisture from getting inside of your home. If you don’t have proper subfloor ventilation, you can experience the following:

• Mold growth in wardrobes
• Mold growth on or in your walls
• Issues with allergies and asthma
• Signs of termites, as they love damp subfloors

How Does Subfloor Ventilation Work?

As previously mentioned, the subfloor ventilation is supposed to replace the moist air with dry air. The simplest way to do this is through installing a number of vents in the wall throughout the building or home to offer natural ventilation for the underfloor ventilation. Sometimes this natural approach is sufficient enough. However, sometimes there needs to be a subfloor ventilation system installed using subfloor fans, which helps you to take the damp and stale air from the subfloor area. The system will then replace it with fresh air that is drawn from the outside by the subfloor fans.

These fans are installed to create a cross flow ventilation, which pulls the fresh air from one part of the home or building through the subfloor and extracts moisture on the opposite side. This increases the underfloor ventilation. For this cross flow to be effective, the air should only enter in from one side of the building and the subfloor fans should be extracting this from the opposite side of the building. If the cross flow isn’t really an option, you can create ducts for the subfloor to other locations in order to extract the moisture from the central locations or other specific damp locations.

You need to choose where to install your subfloor ventilation system in order to ensure how effective it will be. You need to think about how the system can only remove the moist air if there is replacement dry air available. This replacement air will typically enter into the subfloor area through strategically placed vents. There are other alternatives that you can look into, such as roof vents, but subfloor ventilation can be a highly effective approach that can be the preferred choice.

Conclusion

Zenith Ventilation wants to share the best information about subfloor ventilation to make sure that customers can make an informed decision. Choosing the right company for your subfloor ventilation needs can make a significant difference in the quality of your subflooring.

Ventilation Is a Must for Clean Air in Your Home

There are plenty of reasons for making sure that your house is properly ventilated. Ensuring that clean, healthy air is moving around your home and that the bad air is going out is vital for your family's health and wellbeing. It also means that your house is a nicer place to be in, as proper ventilation helps to eliminate odours and reduce condensation.

More people than ever are discovering the benefits of installing a ventilation system in their homes. There are two main types of systems that you can install - HRV and ERV.

HRV stands for Heat Recovery System and ERV stands for Energy Recovery Ventilator. If you are unsure which system would be best for your home, Zenith Ventilation can answer all your questions. As specialised HRV Installers Zenith Ventilation are the number 1 choice for all residential ERV and HRV installations. 

 

Here are the main reasons for ensuring that your home is well ventilated.

1. Reduce Symptoms of Health Conditions

Health conditions such as asthma and hay fever can be aggravated by poor ventilation. Mould spores resulting from dampness in the house are a common trigger for many asthmatics. House dust mites found in bedding and on other furniture can also be a trigger.

Hay fever can also be aggravated by poor ventilation as pollen can build up and make symptoms worse. So, while you may think you are better off inside during hay fever season, staying in could make your symptoms worse if your house is poorly ventilated. Some ventilation units contain a filter that can reduce the amount of pollen in the air, which could help relieve symptoms.

A well-ventilated home will not 'cure' asthma or hay fever, but it could go a long way to relieving symptoms.

2. Reduce Condensation

If left unchecked, condensation due to poor ventilation can lead to damp and even black mould. Condensation develops when the outside air temperature falls below the temperature inside. Moisture in the air then condenses into water droplets, leading to the collection of water on your windows. Installing a ventilation system will ensure that moisture levels in the house are kept in check, thus reducing or eliminating condensation.

3. Reduce the Impact of Harmful Compounds

Radon gas has been linked to lung cancer and is a naturally occurring gas produced from the breakdown of uranium in rocks and soil. Improving ventilation in your home is a sure-fire way of preventing a build-up of radon gas. Volatile Organic Compounds or VOC's as gases that can build up from various sources, from air fresheners, products used to lay flooring and some cleaning products. A build-up of VOC's can contribute to certain health conditions, but build-ups can be prevented by installing a good quality ventilation system.

A Home Without Ventilation Will Become Unbearable in Time

More people are turning to subfloor ventilation to adequately ventilate their home. While most people know that a stuffy house can be highly unpleasant, few consider the major health risks that come with a poorly ventilated home.

This article covers the problems caused by living in a house without sufficient ventilation. It will also discuss the services offered by Zenith Ventilation, one of the most reliable companies providing subfloor ventilation in Sydney. 

What Causes Poor Ventilation?

The majority of us have experienced being in a room that has no windows or is overwhelmed with elements like smoke or steam. It can be uncomfortable to be in a poorly ventilated room and all homes are at risk of this. However, certain factors will greatly exacerbate poor levels of ventilation:

• Poorly built home: whether this is because of an inefficient floor plan or it’s simply a very old property, structural problems run a very high risk of poor ventilation
• Not opening windows often enough – especially if there are smokers in the home and/or strong household cleaners are used frequently
• Cold weather: can contrast with the heat of your home to generate condensation
  

The symptoms caused by poor ventilation will soon become unbearable if left untreated.

The Impact of Living in a Poorly Ventilated Home

Just like our own lungs, the home needs to “breathe” to function. Without access to enough clean air, there will be a build-up of pollutants and toxins within the household, which can lead to a myriad of symptoms.

• Low oxygen levels caused by a build-up of carbon dioxide – can induce drowsiness, breathing problems and severe headaches
• Allergies will be exacerbated by irritants in the air; including an irritated nose/throat/eyes and skin problems (eczema)
• Mould/mildew (caused by condensation) will carry its own health risks and be of particular risk to sufferers of asthma, COPD, etc.
• In more serious cases there can be a build-up of radon and other highly dangerous toxins, increasing the risk of cancer and nervous system damage.

The risks of a poorly ventilated home are particularly serious for those with existing lung conditions, as well as babies and the elderly. No matter what, though, good ventilation should be a priority for any homeowner.

Why Choose Subfloor Ventilation (and Why Zenith?)

Subfloor ventilation is one of the most effective ways to prevent mould within the home. With the use of extractor fans within the subfloor, the stale air indoors is replaced with clean, fresh air from outside the home.

Zenith Ventilation is one of the biggest names for subfloor ventilation in the Sydney area, although they will also travel further afield for specialised projects. Since business began they have installed thousands of subfloor ventilation systems with glowing reviews.

Zenith means “peak”, and they certainly live up to this name by working with premium-quality suppliers to build modern, efficient systems.

Initially, the Zenith team will do a detailed inspection of your property to determine which of their specialised ventilation systems will be most suited to your home. During the planning and installation process, they take pride in maintaining a friendly client relationship by providing frequent updates.

Once a subfloor ventilation system is installed, it will require minimal upkeep and attention; however, if there are any issues the Zenith team is on hand to help. They have extensive knowledge of all potential problems, and will quickly solve your issue professionally and efficiently.

Overall, it is vital to keep your home as well-ventilated as possible, and Zenith ventilation can help you do this. If you wish to start the process of installing your subfloor ventilation system, get in contact through our website.