Facts on IAQ: I’m Breathing in WHAT?!
Indoor air quality and pollution are a hot topic, and for good reason. The air inside of our homes and offices can be up to 90% more polluted than the air outside. VOCs, toxic cleaners and chemicals can all pollute your indoor air, which is why air quality testing has become important part of keeping us healthy. This is the time of year when we have to be extra careful, as many of us are living with the air conditioning on 24/7, and have little fresh air circulating.
Paints, solvents, cleansers, disinfectants, air fresheners, pesticides, nicotine, glue…the list of chemicals in our homes goes on and on. These all contribute to poor indoor air quality. Even low concentrations of these can irritate your eyes, nose and throat; cause headaches, loss of coordination and nausea; and can damage the liver, kidneys and the central nervous system. Children and older people are particularly vulnerable. So are pets. In fact, they are often the ones who show signs of illness first.
Indoor air quality testing can determine if there are dangerous levels of chemicals in your home, including radon, carbon monoxide, nicotine and particles from furnaces and wood-burning fireplaces or stoves. You can also test for common asthma triggers such as dust mites and insects cells. Once you have the results, we can tell you how to eliminate them, and how to keep future household chemical contamination under control. For information on when you may want to conduct an indoor air quality test, visit our IAQ and Radon page.
It’s a matter of health – yours and your family’s.
