Indoor Air Quality & Healthy Homes

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Are you living with one of the EPA’s list of top five environmental threats to public health?

Are you sick of that musty smell wafting up from your basement – or sick because of it?  Indoor pollution levels are typically two to five times higher than those outside, and even if you’re adamant about maintaining a tidy, smoke-free home, moisture problems, poor ventilation, and contaminants can increase your risk of health problems from allergies and asthma to headaches, nausea, and worse. It’s no wonder that indoor air quality makes the EPA’s list of Top Five Environmental Threats to public health.

The EPA has good news for homeowners concerned about indoor air quality and energy efficiency: Integrated healthy home and energy efficiency upgrade activities can simultaneously lower utility costs and improve indoor air quality.”  Here’s how:

Keep pollutants out
In your living space, this means banning secondhand smoke and chemical-laden household cleaners, vacuuming and dusting regularly to eliminate pet dander and dust mites, and using carbon monoxide detectors to signal the presence of the poisonous gas.

Stop mold and mildew at their source
Damp, smelly basements are a breeding ground for mold and mildew.  If you’re tempted to close the basement door and try to forget about the petri dish beneath your feet, consider this:  you inhale almost 3000 gallons of air every day, and, thanks to the stack effect, most of the air in your home has passed through your basement. Whether the door is closed or not, your indoor air quality depends on having a dry, clean basement.  Basement encapsulation transforms damp, leaky basements into dry, healthy spaces.

Ventilate effectively
Your home depends on a slow, steady flow of air
.  The best way to ensure that a home is healthy, safe, and energy efficient is to pair air sealing with increased mechanical ventilation to make sure that air cycles in and out of the house at a healthy and consistent rate.

Get building science advice from an expert you trust
Unfortunately, the EPA has bad news, too: “Home energy upgrade activities might negatively affect indoor air quality if the appropriate home assessment is not made before work begins or if work is performed improperly.

The key to healthy, effective home performance upgrades is remembering that your house is a system.  You can’t change one part without affecting all the others, so enlist the advice of a trained building scientist before you start.  Evergreen Home Performance offers comprehensive, whole-house improvements, including insulation, air sealing, basement encapsulation, and other energy-smart services.  Typically, our customers see a 25-50% reduction in their overall energy use, and a 10% return on their investment.  Contact Evergreen Home Performance for your FREE energy-smart consult at 207-594-2244 to find out how we can do the same for you!

Contact us today to learn more!

207-594-2244

Nothing but good things to say. The guys that came and did the actual work were extremely nice and did a great job. The energy audit was thorough and I was presented with multiple improvement options, I was even given ideas for improvement that Evergreen didn't offer. I never felt like I was being "sold".

Ryan Adams

Evergreen was so helpful in securing us Efficiency Maine funding for a big attic insulation project early this winter. They did all of the paperwork, and totally guided us through a vermiculite removal process that included a payment from a trust for the procedure. I could instantly feel the second floor being so much warmer than before. The boiler does not kick on nearly as frequently since they completed the job. It was worth every penny! Brian Robinson was so thorough throughout the whole process including a full walk through after the job had been completed.

Todd W.

Camden

My husband and I bought a home on the water in Owls Head and decided to make the investment in Evergreen's recommendations for insulation. Brian Robinson spent 3 hours examining every nook and cranny before he made practical suggestions and explained them thoroughly to us.

Marie McNeely

Owls Head

Evergreen is a terrific company to deal with. Polite and efficient crews, meeting deadlines and major reduction in our heat bills. They corrected a lot of issues we suffered from doing work with a shoddy building contractor. We would recommend them to anyone.

Mary Carey

The Evergreen crew who installed insulation in my attic were fantastic! They were very professional, worked exceedingly hard, and they did an excellent job. They were very pleasant and friendly to be around. They cleaned up beautifully after each work day, and left my home in great shape on when they walked out the door for the last time. I can't believe they were able to accomplish all that they did with heat soaring into the 80s and 90s. It was pretty unbearable up there! They have my highest praise and my gratitude.

Cynthia F.

South Portland

I waited a year to write this review. Evergreen finished our job late last winter. Terrific results!!! we've gone from 12-day propane deliveries to 30+ day propane deliveries. The house is noticeably warmer. The Evergreen crew was/is professional, prompt, thorough, scientific, gracious and immaculate with respect to keeping our house clean. Money well spent.

John E.

Boothbay

Our house still the most efficient home we’ve ever lived in. And we have you folks to thank for that! A special howdy to Brian Robinson please!

Bruce O’Donal and Eva Butler

We just finished a large project of air sealing and reinsulating our 1890s basement and attic which had been completely renovated 8 years ago but still felt cold and lacked proper energy assessment and corrections. We met with Justin in December and were very impressed with his knowledge, professionalism and communication skills and knew Evergreen was who we wanted to work with. Dave was our on hands project manager and was excellent. The office staff has been quick to respond and helpful as well when needed.

Emily Gallant

Evergreen completed the work at my home thoroughly and professionally. An inspector from Efficiency Maine came to inspect afterwards and described it as "state of the art" and "outstanding". The crew was very pleasant and considerate during the project. Their cleanup each day was perfect. Communications with the office were easy and reliable. I am very satisfied.

Catherine H.

South Portland

Our basement was the eyesore of the house. I wanted to make improvements, but first needed to make structural, insulating and moisture mitigation improvements. Evergreen was professional and competent in taking on a complex project of not only encapsulation and insulation of basement and crawlspace, but completed needed improvements to the structural integrity of the wood floor platform above a crawlspace and brought in a concrete contractor to pour where there was once a rotting, tiered wood platform - replacing that area with a more functional and tight tiered concrete area.

Duane B.

East Boothbay

The team members were very professional, worked very hard, paid very close attention to detail and cleaned up meticulously every day. I really appreciated the care they took knowing the smallest details were going to make a big difference to our heating bills. Thank you!

Pam B.

Brunswick

Evergreen did a fantastic job replacing 28 windows in our house. They were friendly, courteous, and very detail oriented. Brian did a great job planning, estimating and executing the project. Our energy use has dropped significantly since the work was done.

Alex B.

Kittery

I cannot say enough great things about working with Evergreen Home Performance. Everything including the initial consultation, the fabulous work crew, the office support and the final resolution was handled in a caring and professional manner. My only regret is that I did not know about them earlier. I enthusiastically recommend Evergreen to anyone with concerns about home energy use.

Darlene R

Bath

Evergreen did everything they said they would and more. I actually don't mind going into the basement now since they sealed it. The air quality in the house is noticeably better and it's warmer in the winter. We can even store clothing down there where before, whatever was in there would mildew. Even the spider population declined! I used to vacuum so many of them from the corners of the ceilings in the house. Not any more!

Loriel Van Dusen

Evergreen is the "go-to" company for improving the efficiency of your home. There are others to choose from but none so effective, honest, and capable as Evergreen. They did a great quantity of dense packing cellulose to improve our home (both for energy efficiency and for sound insulation) and it was totally successful. They are on-time, helpful, and caring. They clean up to a level that can't be over emphasized. This was the second time we employed them and we'd use them again if the opportunity came. You'll not be sorry to select Evergreen.

Dirk F.

Belfast

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