What Can Indoor Air Quality Testing Detect?
We tend to notice the quality of outside air as that’s where we have a more solid perception of things like smog, exhaust smoke or other polluters.
Have you ever stopped to think about the air that you are breathing while you are at home relaxing, sleeping, eating, or enjoying life with your family?
A lot of folks haven’t. But the question still begs, what lurks beneath (and inside) that are we are breathing? That’s why indoor air quality testing is an important step in maintaining a healthy home or business.
What Is Indoor Air Quality Testing?
Indoor air quality testing is essentially the process of determining if there are any pollutants in the environment where you spend a large chunk of your time – your home (or business).
The indoor air quality can be astonishingly bad, especially if you live in an urban area or an older building.
Even if that’s not the case, you can get peace of mind by making sure that what you’re breathing isn’t potentially harmful.
Canadians spend up to 90% of our time indoors nowadays. Therefore, we need to make sure that the indoor air we are breathing doesn’t contain harmful matter.
What Can Air Quality Testing Detect?
Let’s take the Ottawa-based cleaning company First Response as an example to elaborate on what it is that we can find floating about in your home or business.
We offer testing for and removal of all sorts of air pollutants.
That ranges from biological and chemical air pollutants to combustion pollutants that can be just as dangerous.
Biological Pollutants
Biological pollutants that are most often found in residential areas are generally widespread. These can cause many problems if not properly managed. The most common ones are:
- Mold
- House dust mites
- Pollen
All three are very common, but thankfully, there are ways to deal with them appropriately and in a way where they will be gone for a significant amount of time.
Of course, before beginning with the testing, you should know at least a little about what might be causing issues, as medical testing for a wide range of allergens at once is both expensive and ineffective. Before making a trip to the doctor, why not start with testing the air you breathe?
Chemical Pollutants
The chemical pollutants that could have found a way to your residence have most likely been there since the beginning, as they are usually parts of building materials.
All of these components, like lead, formaldehyde or radon, can be very volatile and dangerous.
If you live in an older home, you might want to check out the levels of these types of pollutants in the air that you breathe.
Combustion Pollutants
Some pollutants come in as external sources.
Environmental tobacco smoke can cause serious lung damage if the area is not properly ventilated.
Carbon Monoxide (CO) can be seeping from a source like a heater or a stove – even in smaller doses that aren’t actually acutely dangerous. Over time CO can cause symptoms like headaches, nausea and fatigue (which is often linked to a variety of medical conditions but is misunderstood by many people).
Indoor Air Quality Testing in Ottawa
If you want to make sure that the very air you’re breathing at home or at work is safe and not a threat to your health, you should look into indoor air quality testing.
Contact us today to find out more and book your appointment for indoor air quality testing in Ottawa.