Most people spend the greater part of their days indoors, be it at home or at work. In fact, indoor air quality is much worse than the air outside. There are a large number of indoor sources that release gases or toxic particles into the air which is why the indoor air in both commercial building and private homes has higher pollution levels than the outside air.
There are a variety of sources for this indoor air pollution in any building, including combustion sources created by oil or gas fired heating and wood or coal burning fires. There are also great variety of common household products like building materials or some kinds of pressed wood products. Ironically, a great many cleaning products create air pollution in our homes as well.
Call 888-217-2719 for an appointment.
As well as Commercial Indoor Air Quality Testing in the entire Concord area we additionally serve the nearby cities of Richmond, Antioch, San Ramon, Walnut Creek, Brentwood, Danville, Brentwood, Martinez, Lafayette and Pleasant Hill. We also offer several other air testing services including mold testing, VOC testing and other services.
Testing indoor air quality is essential because poor indoor air quality has many adverse effects. If you have never tested your building, you won't know if there are any air quality issues, and if you do need remedial treatment, it will guide you on how to fix those problems.
Effects of Poor Indoor Air Quality
If you have never tested your air quality, you should consider doing so especially if you are the owner of a commercial building. Here are some of the results of poor indoor air quality.
Adverse Health Effects
Poor indoor air quality can affect health and cause symptoms that might seem commonplace if you do not know the root cause. At first, you may notice the short-term health effects, and if the air quality is not improved, over time you might start to develop long-term illnesses caused by prolonged exposure to these pollutants.
Some of the short-term effects of poor indoor air quality are:
* Nausea
* Headaches
* Fatigue
* Nose and throat irritation
* Eye irritation
* Allergic reactions
* Headaches
* Asthma symptoms
* Dizziness
These short terms effects can advance into long-term chronic diseases like:
* Respiratory diseases
* Mood swings
* Cancer
* Neurological disorders
* Cardiovascular diseases
* Higher risk of congenital diseases in pregnant women.
Decreased HVAC System Efficiency
A faulty or dirty HVAC system affects the indoor air quality because, as it recycles the air, the particulate matter clogs up the air ducts, filters and other HVAC components. When parts of the HVAC system get clogged up, it reduces its efficiency, causing it to overwork. Apart from diminishing its performance, it can also damage some parts of the HVAC system.
Why Test Your Indoor Air Quality?
Even though testing your indoor air will not automatically improve indoor air quality, it will help you know exactly what is causing the air quality issues that you’re experiencing. For example, it might be that you have a mold problem, in which case you will definitely need to bring in mold remediation experts. If you have some other kind of VOC (Organic Volatile Compounds) problem, you’ll need to get an indoor air quality specialist to recommend remediation of the specific particulate matter that needs to be removed.
Commercial Indoor Air Quality Testing Concord
Here are some benefits you get from testing your indoor air quality regularly.
Improved Health
If one of the major consequences of poor indoor air quality is adverse health effects, you can help prevent this by regularly testing indoor air quality. So, once you get a result showing a high percentage of pollutants in your home or commercial space, you can easily treat the particular issue you're experiencing. This will also help you prevent similar problems in the future.
Reduced Energy Bill
A dirty HVAC system reduces the quality of your indoor air quality and can also impact your energy bill. When the HVAC system is not as effective as it should be, the system needs to work much harder to get the same performance it had when new. This will of course cause an increase in your energy bill.
As a commercial space, not regularly testing your indoor air quality means you cannot maximize your profit as you should. So, it is best to test your indoor air quality and find out the exact treatment you need so that you’ll get better HVAC system performance and reduced energy bills as a result.
Comfort
If you have noticed the house feeling uncomfortable, it might be due to poor indoor air quality. Poor indoor air quality can cause skin, nose, throat, and eye irritation. These can affect your comfort in the home.
If the building is a commercial one, your customers' comfort will suffer.
There's even a greater problem with your employees because they spend much more time in the building. As a result, over time their work efficiency will be reduced due to discomfort in the workplace. Regularly testing your indoor air quality makes it easier to know the right time to treat any issues that may have cropped up.
Factors Causing Poor Indoor Air Quality
When you test your indoor air quality, you will notice some pollutants in the result. If you are wondering how the pollutants came to be, here are some things that can lead to pollution of your indoor air.
1. Occupants Habits
The occupants' habits in a building can add to indoor air pollution. One of these habits is smoking. Tobacco contains some gases which are pollutants. Smoking indoors causes the smoke to get infused into the furniture, especially if you do not let in air for cross ventilation.
The situation may be even worse for certain commercial buildings. For example, if you are working with any potentially dangerous chemicals like the use of solvents in cleaning, paint strippers in remodeling projects, or the use of pesticides. These can all increase the level of pollution in the building. Higher concentrations can persist in the air for long periods after many of these activities.
2. Household Activities
Daily or regular household activities like cleaning, washing, and using chemicals can pollute the indoor air. Some of these activities involve using chemicals that are harmful contaminants if they accumulate over time.
Some of these activities cannot be stopped because they are essential for housekeeping. However, you can reduce the pollution by buying chemicals with less VOC concentration, throwing out empty cans, and keeping remnants in the basement. Another very important way you can reduce these effects is to have effective ventilation so that fresh air can circulate through the building, reducing the concentration of these chemicals.
3. Dirty HVAC system
A dirty HVAC system can mean reduced efficiency of the system. If you do not regularly clean the HVAC system, it can affect the air circulation in the building, increasing the chances of poor indoor air quality. Apart from the affected air circulation, a dusty HVAC system can cause harm by re-circulating the existing dust and debris. This will further contribute to poor indoor air quality. You should regularly clean the air ducts to prevent lowered indoor air quality.
Commercial Indoor Air Quality Testing Brentwood
4. Maintenance Activities.
Some routine maintenance activities can cause contamination of the indoor air. The routine maintenance involves pest control activities, renovations, remodeling, and decoration. These activities use chemicals that emit pollutants that we test for during an indoor air quality test.
This is why it is best to test a building's air quality before moving in, especially if it was just renovated or remodeled. And it is advisable to evacuate a building while maintaining, repainting, or renovating it. If that’s not possible you should always make sure that there is good air flow throughout the building so that contaminated air is removed.
Why Call Us for Indoor Air Quality Testing
Knowing the negative effects of poor indoor air quality, you should not hesitate to test your home or business for pollutants. Our company replies promptly to a call for indoor air quality testing, and we will set up an appointment as quickly as possible. It’s important to note that we are not affiliated with any mold remediation agencies, so all our results are honest and independent. Call us today to test the indoor air quality of your home, restaurant, or commercial building.
Source:
https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/inside-story-guide-indoor-air-quality