Wendie Trubow, MD, MBA, IFMCPPresident at Five Journeys, Functional Medicine & Wellness Provider, Best Selling Author, Passionate Champion for Health

How an Airtight Home Protects Your Health @EkoBuiltPassiveHomes

23 Jul 2026 · 1 min

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In this brief monologue, Dr. Wendie Trubow explains that homes which are not sufficiently airtight continuously allow exterior pollutants and toxins—both from outdoor air and from the building envelope—to infiltrate indoor spaces. She argues that an airtight home can more effectively control its indoor environment, especially when paired with a fresh‑air ventilation system, because outdoor air quality is optimal only about a quarter of the time. Airtight construction also prevents toxins that may be present within the building envelope from entering the living area, thereby protecting occupants’ health.

Chapters

Houses that are not airtight or airtight to a certain degree are constantly going to be bringing in a lot of exterior toxins, whether those toxins are either from outside air or toxins within the building envelope itself. The answer to a house that is able to easily control its environment is ultimately one that is airtight. So it doesn't let in any exterior toxins either from outside air quality, which is known to be only optimal approximately 25% of the time. And a house that is airtight is easily able to control its own indoor air environment with a fresh air machine. And the airtightness, you know, the second part to it, benefit, what I mentioned a little bit earlier is airtight homes do protect against toxins that might be in the building envelope itself from coming into the home.