It is very uncommon for home owners to consider the air quality inside their home until they start exhibiting certain symptoms. Issues with indoor air quality could be the cause of an irritative respiratory issue, allergies, musty odor, or an increased discomfort level inside the home. One of the major causes for poor indoor air quality is mold.
IAQ Cleaning assists home owners with the quality of their indoor air through a process of mold inspections, moisture control, and the right professional air quality solutions.
What is Indoor Air Quality?
Indoor Air Quality, more commonly known as IAQ, is a term that describes the condition of the air inside of your home or a specific building. Through professional IAQ testing homes may have mold spores, humidity levels, carbon monoxide, VOC’s (Volatile Organic Compounds), bacteria, allergens and particulate matter checked. Testing of the indoor air samples will usually be compared with a sample of outdoor air as well.
How is indoor air quality affected by mold?
Mold growth on a surface releases micro spores into the air. When there is increased growth of indoor mold the mold can circulate throughout the HVAC systems, the rest of your home, and potentially cause uncomfortable conditions for the household occupants. Hidden mold growth in an attic, crawl space or within an HVAC unit can contribute to the homes poor indoor air quality with minimum visual signs of mold.
What are common causes of Poor Indoor Air Quality?
There are several causes that contribute to poor indoor air quality, including:
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Humidity
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Water damage
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Low ventilation
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Contaminated HVAC systems
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Mold growth
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Dust contamination
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Chemical irritants
Both humidity and moisture levels in a home are key factors that affect mold growth and air quality.
Do I have poor indoor air quality?
Warning signs could include:
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Musty odors that do not go away
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Persistent allergy-like symptoms
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Stale indoor air
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Condensation on the inside of windows
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High level of dust within the home
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Headaches and/or lethargy that worsen when inside
What are the benefits of testing?
The main reason you would get professional air quality testing done is to locate and diagnose specific air quality problems in your home. Some of the forms of advanced testing that may be included are: air spore testing, surface testing, VOC testing, moisture mapping, HVAC analysis, and humidity testing. The benefit to this type of testing is it allows for targeted remediation instead of guessing what the problem might be.
How to Improve IAQ
In most cases, improving IAQ will involve taking several steps: humidity control, removing mold contamination, improving ventilation, and cleaning of the HVAC system as well as controlling indoor humidity levels and use HEPA filtration to help remove contaminates. Improving the quality of your indoor air starts by identifying and eliminating the source of the contamination.
Protect your Home and Your Family
Your home should be a safe place to breathe. IAQ Cleaning can help home owners identify the presence of mold within the home, control their indoor air quality, and improve it for a clean and healthy environment.
