Indoor Air Quality Testing: Health Issues, Measuring, & How to Improve

Posted in Air Quality, on June 12, 2020

Air quality testing in the Greater Toronto Area can give you a detailed snapshot of how your indoor environment is affecting your health and provide measurable ways to make improvements. People across the province have been working from home or spending more time inside than usual this year, which has brought indoor air quality issues into sharp relief for many. While some air quality issues - like mold growth - are associated with visible signs or smells, most are invisible and can only be discovered with indoor air quality testing. 

Health Issues Due to Indoor Air Quality

Poor air quality at home or the office has a huge effect on our bodies, from our skin and hair to lungs and brain. Poor air quality is linked with restless sleep, decreased efficiency, and may even contribute to depression. 

Some of the ways poor air quality affects our health include: 

• Skin problems, like redness or itchiness
• Dry brittle hair and nails
• Tiredness
• Headaches or dizziness
• Respiratory issues, like coughing, sneezing, or difficulty breathing
• Itchy, watery eyes
• Confusion and headaches
• An increase in asthma attacks or lung-related disease
• Fatigue

Helpful Tips for Indoor Air Quality Testing

Air quality testing in Southern Ontario can help you to reduce the symptoms associated with indoor pollution and help you start feeling better in a relatively short period of time. Indoor air quality can change throughout the year - variables like the prevailing winds, location, climate, and architecture are all taken into consideration. 

When we do indoor air quality testing at SafeAir, we may do a number of things in order to get accurate readings of your home’s environment. We may need to take multiple samples from different floors or rooms within your home. We may take a control sample, visit on two different occasions, or even set up long term monitoring, like with radon testing.

How Can You Improve Indoor Air Quality?

There are many ways to improve your home’s indoor air quality - some of which you can do when you’ve finishing reading this blog, while others will benefit from a professional opinion. Some easy things you can do to improve your air quality in the GTA include:

• Changing or cleaning your furnace filters every 3-4 months
• Regularly cleaning your house, especially soft furnishings, drapes, or rugs
• Choose scentless household products  - scents are usually artificially created and can be a major source of allergens

Indoor Air Quality Testing in the GTA with SafeAir

A professional indoor air quality test will give you an in-depth look at what’s happening in your home, and help you identify problems like mold growth or radon gas. SafeAir brings over a decade of experience solving indoor air quality issues in the Greater Toronto Area to every job, and we pride ourselves on providing easy to understand air quality evaluations so that you feel empowered to make healthy decisions for your family. To learn more about air quality testing in Southern Ontario, call us at 416-414-5690, or visit our website pages to learn more about mold testing or radon testing.