Do you get sick often? You better check the microclimate in your home!

The flu and cold season is back. Many of us struggle with annoying symptoms of infection such as fever, coughing or blocked nose. However, if your family has a healthy lifestyle, and the flu, cold or sinusitis get to you more often than others, check if the factor that contributes to the disease is not... a bad microclimate at home.

If we want to reduce the risk of illness, we first try to strengthen our resistance with various specifics - natural or pharmacy. We try to take care of ourselves, fall asleep, avoid stress, eat healthy and often wash our hands, which are carriers of a huge amount of bacteria and viruses. What if it's not enough and despite these actions we still can't get rid of the ghost of disease from our home? Then we should check that our housing conditions do not create an environment that favours recurring infections.

Make sure you have the right microclimate at home

The microclimate, i.e. the thermal conditions in the house, have a huge impact on health. It is best when the temperature of the rooms we stay in is between 19 and 22 degrees Celsius and the humidity in them is between 40 and 60%, depending on the season.

Too much humidity can lead to the formation of fungus and mould, which has a very negative impact on health. This promotes upper respiratory tract infections (e.g. sinusitis) and can also contribute to the development of chronic diseases such as inhalation allergy, skin allergy and asthma. In addition, mould can lead to skin infections, arthritis and irritates the eyes. In rooms with mould, the level of carbon dioxide in the air increases, leading to general weakness and fatigue.

While taking care to keep the humidity at an appropriate level, it is also important to prevent the air from drying out too much and to adjust the radiators accordingly. When the air is too dry, there are more bacteria, pollen and mites in the air, which can be allergenic and lead to further infections of the upper respiratory tract, drying of the conjunctiva or irritation of the throat.

Protect your home from moisture, mildew and dry air

How can you avoid such ailments, take care of the right temperature and humidity in the house? It is worth ventilating the rooms several times a day for a few minutes (even in winter!), as well as checking the permeability of ventilation systems. However, the biggest and most effective ally in the fight for the right microclimate in the house is thermal insulation, a good material that will not only help maintain the right temperature in the rooms, but will also allow the walls to breathe, thus preventing the walls from getting wet. According to many specialists, stone wool is the best insulating material to protect against mould and fungus formation.

- Thanks to its exceptional properties, rock wool perfectly maintains the correct microclimate in the house and is the best material for insulating external walls. - says Tomasz Kwiatkowski, expert of the ROCKWOOL Polska brand - Products such as stone wool consist of 99% air and 1% of fibres by volume, which ensures that air is closed between individual fibres in the insulation material. Such properties prevent air circulation, make it difficult to exchange and cool it down, thus ensuring proper insulation. Stone wool also has hydrophobic properties, which means that it is difficult to soak it - water flows down the surface of the wool without penetrating it, the material also does not absorb moisture from the air. The inner layers of the walls are never moistened and do not provide a nutrient for mould and fungi.

By warming the house with stone wool, it is much easier to maintain such a desirable, appropriate microclimate in the rooms. This provides protection for ourselves and our family against the growth of mould, bacteria, fungi, as well as dry, microbial air. In this way we protect all household members from recurrent and persistent infections as well as chronic respiratory diseases.

See also: Boreliosis Guide