Beyond the Snowfall: How Winter Storms Impact Your Home & Air Quality

For many across the nation, this has been a year of significant snowfall and cold weather. While that fluffy white blanket of icy precipitation is undeniably magical, there’s a darker side to this weather event, and it’s not just the hazardous road conditions. 

That winter wonderland can also lead to quiet moisture intrusion scenarios for your home. And where there’s prolonged moisture, there’s an opportunity for microbial growth. Once established, the indoor air quality inside will slowly degrade, leading to unwanted exposures. 

Before we dive into the “what” and “how” of safeguarding your home, let’s take a look at the “why.” We take roughly 20,000 breaths each day. While outdoor pollution often gets the spotlight, we spend nearly 90 percent of our lives indoors1. That means that the air shaping our health most consistently is the air inside, like in our homes.

As mold and bacteria grow, they release microscopic particles into the surrounding environment, including spores, fragments, mycotoxins, and endotoxins. Thanks to their small size, these particles float in the air and enter our bodies with every inhalation. As mentioned above, we inhale a lot. The more particles there are in our space, the more exposure we face. 

Exposure can trigger a multi-system immune response, which means symptoms often extend far beyond the respiratory system where it's initially introduced. When the body perceives a threat, inflammation echoes. 

As a result, some commonly reported symptoms include:

• Headache
• Fatigue
• Brain fog
• Muscle and joint pain
• Skin sensitivity and rashes
• Hair loss
• Hormonal imbalances
• Anxiety and depression
• Respiratory distress
• Digestive issues
• And more…

These chronic symptoms typically persist as long as exposure continues.

Establishing a foundation for safeguarding a home during a storm starts with knowing what can cause issues in the first place. 

These are a few of the most common reasons allowing moisture inside your home. 

Ice dams 

Heat from the home's interior or higher daytime temperatures can slowly melt that icy precipitation, causing a slow trickle of moisture toward the gutter system. Cold temperatures on the gutter surface or freezing temperatures as the sun sets can cause the water to re-freeze. As ice continues to build up and expand, it can damage the walls, roof, and gutters, allowing moisture inside. 

Snow & ice melt

As snow melts during the day, moisture saturates the soil underneath. This oversaturation can allow water to seep into cracks, porous materials, or small openings in the home’s foundation while also increasing pressure against the structure. When temperatures drop at night, trapped moisture refreezes and expands, widening existing cracks and creating wider pathways for water intrusion. 

Frost heave 

Moisture in the soil causes other issues as well. Melted precipitation in the soil can later refreeze, creating ice pockets that cause the soil to swell. The larger the ice pocket, the more it will push the soil upward. This expansion shifts the soil surface, which in turn lifts parts of the home’s foundation. That can cause a long list of structural issues in the building, allowing for moisture intrusion.

Tree damage 

Snow and ice accumulation can place significant stress on tree limbs, causing them to droop, scrape against the home, or break entirely. Even minor contact with the home can damage exterior materials, gradually creating structural problems that allow moisture intrusion. Depending on the storm's severity, branches may even snap and fall, causing more substantial damage. In severe conditions, heavy snow and ice can cause entire trees to fall, leading to widespread structural damage and moisture-related issues.

Here are some actions you can take to prevent damage to your home after a snowstorm:

Sometimes moisture finds its way inside, even with a top-tier prevention plan. That’s why it’s important to check your home once the weather clears.

Focus on:

• Attics and rooflines
• Basements and crawl spaces
• Windows and doorframes
• Ceilings and upper-level walls
• Floors and baseboards
• Around plumbing and HVAC systems

Signs to look for include damp materials, holes, cracks, staining, bubbling paint, condensation, or musty odors. Also, pay attention to how you feel. Our bodies are built to provide warnings when issues affect our well-being, such as poor air quality and mold exposure. 

Snowstorms come and go, but the impact they cause can linger long after that icy precipitation melts. With a mix of proactive and reactive measures, we can ensure our homes continue to protect our well-being rather than negatively affect it. That way, you can enjoy the snowfall and focus on staying warm.