Why Ventilation Is Important Effective ventilation is a process that keeps the air circulating and exchanges the over-heated and moisture-laden air in your house with cooler air from outside.

Most homes built today are sealed tight during the construction process and allow almost no air infiltration. This is efficient for heating and air-conditioning a home (heating and air-conditioning systems re-circulate the same old, inside air over and over again) but makes it all the more necessary to ventilate.

Without ventilation, moisture, cooking odors, tobacco smoke, and other foul-smelling odors are locked into the house and cannot escape.

Moisture in the air comes from everyday activities such as cooking, bathing, laundering, and even breathing. Moisture that is allowed to remain in a closed house can create many problems for the homeowner. The most serious is mold growth, which can seriously threaten the health of all the people in the house. Mildew is another problem, which is usually encountered around showers and laundry facilities. The moisture in these areas generally causes problems with peeling paint and wallpaper, but under the surface, structural damage may be taking place.

Moisture can also be present in the attic and this dampness can deteriorate the insulation and also cause structural damage.