Suspended particulate matte is the spm full form. Suspended particulate matter is called that because it cannot be seen with the naked eye.
Suspended particulate matter are any solid or liquid droplets of microscopic size that are completely, or almost completely, suspended in air. They can also refer to materials suspended within any other type of fluid. Atmospheric examples include dust, leaves, pollen,, smoke and smog whilst automotive ones might include brake particles and tyre fragments. The most common suspensions found indoors consist of human hair and skin cells which typically come from shedding. Suspsension may also contain molds which are often found growing on damp surfaces but they son after some time son after some time dissolved by water vapor within the air.
However mould spores are said to carry aller genic properties. This article aims to present the case that mechanical ventilation may be able to remove suspended particulate matter from indoor air, but this cannot always be achieved because of leakage in the ducting system.
Suspended particulate matter are only visible when they are large enough to interfere with visibility. Suspended particles can also affect human health by lodging in the nose, throat and lungs. Those particles can cause breathing problems for people with asthma or other respiratory conditions. The presence of suspended particulate matter, especially mold spores, can also affect indoor air quality by causing bad odors.
The best way to protect your health is probably to get rid of water condensation (and mold) in your environment. All you need to do is make sure that the humidity level in the room is lower than 50%, or at least try to keep it around 40%. The reason why mold spores are suspended in air is because of water vapor which carries them up even if they are attached to walls, ceilings, ventilation systems etc.
The thing with humidity and mold spores however is that more humid environments allow for faster growth of molds. In case you don’t want to lower your indoor humidity by getting rid of all sources of excess moisture within the building infrastructure (a valid option only when water damage has been seen) then you can also use mechanical ventilation connected directly to a point outside where a powerful fan extracts a large amount of moist air from inside before it mixes with the ambient air. In this way humidity can be kept under control and suspended particulate matter as well as mold spores can be removed from indoor air.
The only drawback to using mechanical ventilation is that there may sometimes be leakage in the ducting system which allows some of the moist air to escape back inside. As a result, depending on the amount of such leakage and on how large your building is, it might take longer for moisture levels to drop down to acceptable levels.
Mechanical ventilation is not necessary when you have enough infiltration present but you should always keep an eye open for problems such as condensation or high humidity indoors because those issues could become important later on as they may lead to serious damage within wall cavities if they are not dealt with.
DUCTS LEAKAGE AND DEVELOPING AIRBEDS
In case your ductwork is attached to a source of moist air, for example a bathroom or kitchen, then the system becomes an important source of ventilation in itself with connected rooms allowing fresh air from outside to enter and rooms which have been recently ventilated allowing air from inside to leave through their windows which usually stay open after mechanical ventilation has started. However you should know that if there is too much leakage in your ventilation system then there might be the development of indoor pressure differences between zones within the building. Those differences will favor the movement of fresh air from outside into zones that have been recently ventilated, thus causing a buildup of air pressure in those rooms. In order to prevent this from happening you should use more powerful fans for mechanical ventilation and you could also raise up the level of humidity indoors by adding steam to bathrooms or using humidifiers so as to increase the amount of water vapor inside the building.
Possible alternative solutions
In case you don’t want to install a new ventilation system within your building there is still hope because there are certain products on sale which can significantly reduce condensation if they are used as an additional insulation layer between sheetrock and metal ducts. These flexible tubes called “Air Krete” (homepage) will insulate air that moves through them and will also allow you to attach flexible ducts directly on walls, partitions etc.
What they do is reduce air velocity which in turn reduces the amount of heat transfer, thus avoiding condensation of moisture within metal ducts. Air Krete can be painted with specific chemicals so as to protect them from mold development inside moist environments. For more information about these products check out this webpage .
Another interesting solution which doesn’t require any investment but does require some effort is to use exhaust fans connected before bathroom vents or kitchen chimneys so as to create negative pressure within those rooms. This way the problem of condensation buildup at least on cold surfaces will be solved by exhausting moist air towards outdoor. Unfortunately it won’t solve condensation on hot surfaces within bathrooms or kitchens.
OTHER BATHROOM-RELATED DISEASES
Another typical case involving condensation accumulation indoors is that of mold development. Bathrooms are extremely prone to the presence of several kinds of molds due to humidity and ventilation issues which develop over time. The previously described situation will often cause the appearance of mold on sheetrock located behind metal ducts which develop a thicker layer of corrosion over time.
Condensation issues in the bathroom are very important because molds which have been allowed to grow for an extended period will release spores into the air when they dry out. As a result, especially when moist environments remain present during winter months.