Water, Air Purity Key to Creating Healthy Baths

Given the new exposure that many home-related health topics have had, from the exploding rate of asthma in the U.S. to the controversial debate on radon emissions from granite countertops, these issues should gain a certain new importance in the updated dialogue between client and designer.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, indoor air quality is among the five biggest threats to human health.
In their comprehensive book, Green Remodeling: Changing the World One Room at a Time, David Johnston and Kim Masters, a LEED AP, offer a long list of materials and components that could be making consumers sick.

These are categorized into particulates, combustion gases, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), radioactive contaminants (e.g. radon), environmental tobacco smoke, moisture and mold.

Particular attention to moisture and mold should be paid to ensure a healthy bath: Are there any other spots in the home where moisture control and air circulation are more important than in the bath?

Water is the central element in the bathroom experience; whether for luxury reasons or just the daily necessity of handwashing, water defines the bath.

It’s important to note that water quality is not just a topic for the kitchen. Standard undercounter filtration units are good for the pour-point, but what about the rest of the home?

Venting Frustration

Central to any discussion of the bath are the problems that moisture poses. Anyone who has ever been in a hotel room with a poorly ventilated bath has experienced the fogged-up mirrors and windows that occur after a hot shower. This is a bad sign. Moisture with nowhere to go just sits atop any nearby surface, blackening the backs of wallpaper, gathering in hidden crevices and settling into carpets.

Unfortunately the problem of air quality goes well beyond the bath to the HVAC system and to choices made during the original construction of the home. Currently, according to the National Association of Home Builders, more people are choosing to remodel their existing homes instead of building from scratch, and most dealers surveyed by KBDN this year have reported that, indeed, a majority of their business has come in the form of clients looking to update a kitchen or bath.

So, chances are good that you’re designing vent fans into existing HVAC systems. But there’s more to air quality than a fan, and not all fans are created equal.

Newer homes are built to be more air tight than their older counterparts. While this is good for energy and heat conservation on the one hand, it’s terrible for indoor air quality on the other. Negative air pressure, which is often associated wtih forced air or central air systems, will actually pull toxins from cabinetry and carpeting, so it’s critical to have the correct air balance, and not choose vent fans that are too powerful for the amount of air for which they will move and filter.

To address this problem, some manufacturers are creating component ventilation; that is, they have created products to retrofit to a home’s existing HVAC ducts to improve efficiency not just within a single room, but throughout the entire home ventilation system.

Broan launched SmartSense this year which, according to the company, automatically coordinates the operation of ventilation fans, running them intermittently throughout the day when necessary. Up to 10 fans throughout the home can be coordinated.

There are also a variety of products aimed at the green market to fit this need, including Panasonic’s WhisperGreen. Energy Star certified, the fans in this series are designed to work continuously as needed.