Where does the air we breathe in the apartment come from, and why is it cleaner than outside?

There is air in our apartment anyway. The whole issue is the quality of the air, which comes in the efficiency and productivity of removing polluted air from our apartment into the environment.

In Soviet times, standards were developed according to which gravity exhaust ventilation from the bathrooms and kitchens (places of high humidity and temperature). In the rest of the rooms, exhaust pipes were not made, but this does not mean that air exchange in the rooms was not calculated and was not taken into account.

By default, there were two ventilation modes:

1. When the windows are closed, air flows through the cracks of window frames, doors, through the auditory holes (remember there were holes in the kitchen under the windowsill?)
2. With the windows open, everything is clear, through a window or a window. In this case, the thrust was created such that the supply of air according to mode 1 was no longer required.

Today, when the frames have become denser and there are no cracks, we have lost 47% of the air entering the apartment according to mode 1. In order to return everything to its place, it is recommended to install ventilation valves along with plastic windows. The valves not only regulate the air pressure inside the apartment, but also filter the air entering the apartment from mechanical impurities, in other words, they retain dust. Typically, a valve is a pipe through a wall filled with a filter material similar to a synthetic winterizer.

Some window mechanisms have a micro-ventilation mode. This will work too.

If you neglect the organization of mode 1, you can end up with condensation and mold formation. Sometimes this happens in new houses, when, after carrying out wet construction processes (screed, plaster), the whole house is quickly glazed with PVC frames. In this case, moisture leaves the concrete, but is not carried away by the exhaust ventilation outside, but rises through the ceilings to the upper floors, where the concentration of water vapor reaches a critical level and falls out in the form of dew.

To solve this problem, developers also resort to other known solutions. For example, installation of wooden frames with double-glazed windows. Due to the properties of wood, moisture can pass through such frames. A more common option is that the upper floors are not glazed to the last. Valves are also used by developers. There is also an option when plastic windows are equipped with a sealing rubber that does not press against the frame. If, when closing such a window, put a sheet of paper between the frame and the sash, then it will be possible to pull it out without much difficulty. It is clear that such a window will always blow.

In everyday life, you may also encounter the following effect. When the windows are closed, the ventilation stops working or works for the inflow - you start to smell the smell of tobacco or food coming from the neighbors. This is because after replacing the windows in your apartment, mode No. 1 stopped working.

That's where the air in the apartment comes from. And this is what will happen if he stops flowing.

Where does the air in the apartment come from?

Doors and windows do not close too tightly, ventilation, there may be through holes around the heating pipes. As you can imagine, heat goes up, cold goes down. This is how ventilation works. By the same principle, the air moves in the crevices of doors and windows, and when they are opened, it is cold air that blows down the legs. But the volume of this air is usually not enough to keep the air in the apartment perfectly clean.

What affects the cleanliness of the air in the apartment:
- you smell (even when you wash, you smell like a person)
- your things smell like
- your flowers smell.
- you farts (sorry for the details)
- things on the gas stove cook and smell.

And that's the minimum. Now let's imagine that this is all within a limited space. Gradually, the air / odor ratio gets worse and worse. But since we are in this environment, we do not notice the changes. But if someone accidentally enters the apartment after a long absence from the apartment, he will feel the difference. And if you consider that smells are not only in the air, but also permeate things around you, then conclusions about the required frequency of ventilation suggest themselves.

Thanks to the exhaust ventilation system, the atmospheric pressure in the apartment becomes slightly lower than outside (ventilation takes air from the apartment and carries it out into the street). Air rushes into the area of ​​reduced pressure through open windows, doorways, cracks and gaps in windows and doors, keyholes (from the street or entrance).

If the ventilation system is supplied, then this mechanism works the other way around: in the apartment is forced to air from outside through the ventilation, creating a slightly higher pressure than outside. Excess air rushes through windows, doors, cracks, keyholes into the entrance or onto the street.

The air in the apartment is dirtier than on the street - the concentration of dust in it is much higher. This is the meaning of airing (especially during periods of SARS and influenza epidemics).