Indoor Air Quality Testing and Health

Posted in Air Quality, on April 05, 2016

We receive a lot of calls on a daily basis where people ask us if they should have an air quality test performed in their home or office. In many cases, the caller is experiencing health issues and allergic reactions and is unsure if it could be their indoor environment.

It is difficult to guarantee that the negative health issues or allergic reactions are from an indoor air quality issue. Besides poor indoor air many symptoms could be caused by a variety of other issues. As with any ailment it could be caused by a bacterial infection, viral infection, food allergies, genetic predisposition, poor immune system, etc. However, poor indoor air quality or an indoor environmental issue can lead to a worsening of any ailment even if it’s not the underlying cause. In other words, you may be reacting to something outside of your indoor environment, but since your indoor air quality is poor, your health issues or symptoms will not improve. We receive numerous referrals from doctors and clinics where the patient or patients they have been treating are not reacting well to the treatment that has been administered. It’s actually quite simple. If you live with poor indoor air quality and are breathing in toxins, your body will not be able to fit off any allergen or infection. The poor indoor air quality may not have caused your illness or be responsible for your symptoms. However, poor indoor air quality, mold growth issues, high particle counts, mycotoxins and VOC’s will have a serious effect on your immune system and your body’s ability to recuperate.

We recommend that if you’ve been battling a recurring cold or flu like symptom this winter, or have had allergic reactions, skin issues, respiratory issues or sinus problems that you give us a call. An indoor air quality test can uncover a wealth of information about the air you breathe every day. Keep in mind, if in this hectic world, we still spend 90% of our time indoors. We also spend 6-10 hours on average in one area of our home...the bedroom.

A proper indoor air quality test will look for the following:

• Proper ventilation or air flow.
• Uniform temperature and humidity throughout the home.
• Normal humidity levels.
• Normal CO or carbon monoxide levels.
• Normal CO2 or carbon dioxide levels.
• Normal airborne particulate levels.
• Normal VOC or chemical off gassing levels.
• The absence of sewer gases.
• Normal fungal ecology or absence of actual mould growth.
• Normal moisture levels of walls, floor and ceiling.
• No unusual odours.

As with any business. The company performing the assessment or indoor air quality test should not also be able to sell you the solution. This is a clear conflict of interest. A consulting company doing the air quality test or mold assessment, should only provide you with recommendations. They should never be able to sell you any equipment or services mentioned in their report.

Environmental consulting companies that sell HEPA filteres, HEPA vacuum cleaners, water filters or perform clean up or mold remediation should not perform mold assessments or indoor air quality testing. They will be motivated to find an issue in your home or office that may actually not really exist. They will also be motivated to sell you or recommend to you equipment that they have readily available. This may or may not be the solution to your problem. In many cases, we have seen recommendations for HEPA filters for a mold growth issue instead of mold remediation. The reason? The consultant only sold HEPA filters and could not perform a proper mold remediation. The client’s interests were clearly not served in this case.

Call us today at 416-414-5690. We will be happy to speak to you in detail about your needs and help you identify issues in your home or office that may be causing or contributing to your health issues or symptoms. All of our reports are easy to understand and show you the following:

• What we tested for.
• How this can impact your indoor air quality
• What your levels or results were.
• What should be done to rectify or improve the issue
• Who you can call to have it solved.

Our reports are detailed enough that you can find your own supplier or contractor and just show them our report. In other cases, people ask us for referrals and we are happy to refer products or contractors that we have worked with before.

Whatever your concern, we are confident that we can help.

We can provide you with a detailed quote on what is needed to perform and indoor air quality test in your home or office. In many cases, we can perform the air assessment within a few days and have a report to you within 4-5 business days.