Saturday, January 4, 2020

Guide on How to Check Air Quality in your House

All of our content is authored by highly qualified professionals and edited by subject matter experts, who ensure everything we publish is objective, accurate and trustworthy. At Bankrate we strive to help you make smarter financial decisions. While we adhere to stricteditorial integrity, this post may contain references to products from our partners. Air pumps are set up near your ventilation system or the area you want to test. Contaminants are collected in a closed container where contamination is less likely than with the other types of tests. A simple water and bleach solution can help to identify whether a spot is just dirty, or if it’s mould growth.

how to test air quality in your home

Not all professionals are created equal, and some may be more qualified than others. Make sure to ask the tester about his or her experience and training in indoor air quality testing. Poor indoor air quality can cause several adverse health effects, such as respiratory problems, headaches, and fatigue. In some cases, it can even lead to more serious conditions like asthma or cancer. According to Angi, the average cost of a professional, whole-home air quality test is $420.

At Home Tests for Indoor Air Quality

And if you struggle to remember, try a Second Nature subscription (did you like that segue right there?). We’ll ship you quality air filters when it’s time to change them, so you never forget again. This varies by device, but almost all of them test for particulate matter, chemical pollutants, and humidity. Some will track temperature, carbon monoxide, its less harmful friend carbon dioxide, and even formaldehyde levels. But we wrote more about the detrimental effects of indoor air quality in this complete article. Check it out to learn more about symptoms of poor indoor air quality.

how to test air quality in your home

Beyond getting your air tested, there are a few other ways you can see if your problem is biological. For example, mold can be found in very humid spaces and can smell musty. Carbon dioxidecan rise to unsafe levels in indoor environments but is a natural byproduct of human metabolism.

When To Test Your Indoor Air Quality

Air pumps offer a closed system that’s less likely to get contaminated, though they tend to cost more. Set the mold test up near the home’s ventilation or in the area where you suspect mold or a contaminant. However, always follow the directions on the test kit for the best results. My Mold Detective Not only identifies what types of mold are present but also determines whether mold concentration levels are normal, slightly elevated or elevated.

how to test air quality in your home

We do not include the universe of companies or financial offers that may be available to you. If you are experiencing prolonged symptoms that only subside when you’re away from your house, you might find the air quality in your home is making you ill. Then there are also more serious threats, like radon gases and carbon monoxide, which can be present without you even knowing it until it’s too late.

Benefits of Professional Air Quality Testing

She conducts in-depth research and interviews with industry experts in order to produce a wide range of content for the site. Her main role is to write helpful articles that aid people who are seeking to improve their indoor air quality and comfort. One hedge against poor air quality’s health risks is to live in an area with relatively clean air.

To keep smoke, cooking exhaust, and cooking odors out of your kitchen, invest in a professional range hood. Overnight is best for this because the air quality tends to be better later in the day. PM 2.5 describes particulate matter that is 2.5 microns in size. They are tiny particles produced mainly by factories, cars, and chemical reactions in our atmosphere.

Monitor Carbon Monoxide And Radon Levels

Using a 1 part bleach and 16 part water solution, you can dab an area that you suspect is mould. If it lightens quickly and disappears, it’s most likely mould. Home Air Guides and some products featured on the site are owned by the same company. The easiest way to keep yourself healthy and safe is by finding out what harmful toxins are lurking inside your home and then taking the steps to get rid of them. As you can see, this combination of materials will give you all of the tools you will need in order to make your house a healthier place. Using a lead test kit will help you to determine if you have an issue with lead in your home, so you can keep yourself and especially any children you have safe.

One way to do this is by using natural cleaning products instead of chemical-based cleaners. The best way to test for Carbon Monoxide is to use a carbon monoxide detector. You can install these devices throughout your home and make sure you test them regularly to be certain they are working properly. Every home must have a CO detector, and each level in your home should have at least one of these devices, from the basement up to the top-most floor. The only way to know if your home has high radon levels is to test for it.

This colorless and odorless gas can cause many health problems, such as headaches, shortness of breath, and dizziness when present at high levels. In the worst possible case, carbon monoxide poisoning can even be fatal. Sampling the indoor air for mold spores can help determine if there is a mold problem or not, even if there isn’t any mold colony visible. Molds are fungi that can grow in moist areas, such as bathrooms and kitchens. Molds produce spores that can cause adverse health effects in sensitive people, including runny eyes, nasal congestion, asthma attacks, skin rashes, and fever. Combustion pollutants are gases and particles emitted from burning fuels, such as wood, coal, oil, natural gas, or kerosene.

To learn more about air purifiers and how they work, you can check out our complete air purifier buying guide that goes over everything you could imagine about these machines. There are a wide variety of ways for how to test home air quality, with many testing kits focusing on one particular area of concern. One is to release negatively charged ions, which makes pollutants stick to surrounding surfaces. The other method is to use HEPA filters to screen and collect particulates from the air. In a pinch, you can make a quick HEPA filter air purifier at home for under $40, but it's worth spending the money on a legit air purifier with multiple filters, if possible. While it can be helpful to evaluate your symptoms when identifying problems with air quality, an air quality detector is never a substitution for medical advice.

How do professional services work?

If you test Indoor Air Quality and get 4 picocuries per liter of radon, the best action is to hire a professional tester to conduct the necessary mitigation. If the test kit doesn’t show the numbers but indicates you should fix it, call a radon mitigation specialist ASAP. To determine if current airborne contaminants exceed recommended levels or new airborne contaminants have been introduced into the building. Bankrate’s editorial team writes on behalf of YOU – the reader.

how to test air quality in your home

The most ideal situation is the leave the device running throughout the day, so that if any harmful particles enter the room, then they’re immediately captured by the machine. This includes pollen, mold spores, dust mites, fibers from fiberglass, skin cells and insect fragments. Fortunately, there is no need to worry about any extra costs for testing, because most of the DIY kits include the lab fees in the price of the kit. Symptoms of bad air quality in the home can be both long and short-term.

Many air quality monitors can create confusion by bragging about tracking various substances that may or may not be useful in diagnosing air quality problems. If you suspect carbon monoxide in high or low doses, leave the area. Get outside where you can breathe uncontaminated quality air to release the gas from your body. Contact the proper authorities to get you and the home checked for carbon monoxide poisoning. Carbon monoxide is an odorless poisonous gas that causes confusion, dizziness, and headaches before it causes a loss of consciousness and death.

how to test air quality in your home

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