Do you have an asthma garden in your building?

Real Estate Weekly, April 29, 1998 by S. Paul Coburn

Jeffrey Klein, a State Assembly representative from the South Bronx, has dubbed a strip of the borough "Asthma Alley" because 25 percent of the children living there have asthma. Why? Perhaps because we are growing the molds, dust mites and other organisms that cause asthma right in the center of the buildings we live in.

By law (building code), residential buildings must have air exhaust ducts in bathrooms, kitchens and hallways if there is no window in the room. The movement of air through the duct causes static electricity, which makes the walls of the duct attract dust, just like rubbing a balloon on your sweater and then sticking it to yourself. The debris on the walls of the duct builds up, creating an excellent medium for the growth of mold, bacteria and those new celebrities, dust mites. There is no such thing as a self-cleaning air duct, yet.

Many, if not most, of the thousands of air ducts in residential apartment buildings, from luxury properties to city housing, have never, ever been cleaned. They are virtual gardens of asthma. The very cores of the buildings we and our children live in are saturated with the causes of this debilitating disease.

Compactor trash chutes are also lined with grease and garbage residue, perfect feeding and breeding grounds for germs and bacteria. They have been proven to house E-Coli, salmonella, fecal coliform and lots of other appetizing tidbits. Every time we open the hopper door, we add a little more pollution to the indoor air. If you smelled it, you ate it.

Then we started installing new windows. To increase insulation and save oil, Americans installed new thermal, air-tight windows. This "tightening" of the buildings decreased air flow, causing what the Environmental Protection Agency says is increased indoor air pollution of 3 to 5 times outdoor air pollution. We turned our asthma gardens into asthma green houses.

What can we do about it? This is a no-brainer. Clean them!

For the past four years, it has been possible to clean the inside of compactor chutes. Using a new invention that actually goes inside the compactor chute and cleans every square inch from top to bottom, we can wash germs and bad odors right down the drain. The problem with cleaning air ducts has been gaining access to every apartment. This is no longer necessary. A method has been devised to clean the air shafts from the roof down, without having to enter all the apartments.

But what does it cost? Isn't it expensive? We are all sick of hearing, "What's more important, our health or our pocketbook?" Well, it needn't be one or the other. Cleaning air ducts and compactor chutes is not expensive. If maintained on an annual or bi-annual basis, it is an inconsequential percentage of the total annual budget. Interest-free payment programs are available for initial services. There is no excuse anymore.

Chute Master, Inc., a national indoor environmental maintenance servicing company, has new equipment and techniques making cleaning easy and inexpensive. We can be reached at 1-800-234-4656. We will gladly provide a free inspection and report on the progress of your indoor asthma garden. It is time for building managers and tenants alike to "Be Aware of the Air" and do something about it, for the children's sake.