When indoor air quality (IAQ) becomes a concern, it’s usually because residents are struggling with a recurring illness. This might include constantly coughing, wheezing, and being unable to stop fidgeting with their itchy, watery eyes. However, in the modern age, IAQ should be a constant concern. Humans are living in increasingly airtight environments, and they’re always adding new contaminants to their living spaces. Whether using fireplaces, disinfecting toilets, cooking dinner, lighting candles, or enjoying the occasional cigar, your indoor activities are affecting the air that you breathe. With this in mind, the following is everything you need to know about testing the air quality in your Shawnee, KS home.
You Don’t Need Any Special Equipment to Get Started
The best measure of any significant decrease in your home’s IAQ is the resulting decline in resident health. Have you been sleeping less or experiencing a decrease in your overall quality of sleep? Snoring, nasal congestion, sneezing, sniffling, and coughing are all indications of higher levels of airborne particulates. Residents can also suffer from:
- Itchy, blocked, or infected ears
- Decreased energy and malaise
- Headaches
- Skin rashes
If you or anyone else in your home has been experiencing some or all of these symptoms, you need help. You should schedule a professional IAQ assessment right away.
Understand the Limitations of At-Home IAQ Tests
There are also at-home test kits and tools that you can use to perform your own IAQ assessment. However, it’s important to note that the accuracy of these measures isn’t guaranteed. Moreover, many IAQ testing resources are limited in what they can detect. Most don’t go beyond identifying:
- Dust mites
- Mold
- Dander
- Pet hair
Although some testing tools can identify certain strains of bacteria, those strain levels must often be excessively high to ensure detection. This means that volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and countless other chemical contaminants and pathogens will go unnoticed.
Install High-Quality Carbon Monoxide Detectors
For many homes, the greatest IAQ risk is carbon monoxide (CO). CO is produced during the incomplete combustion of fuels like heating oil, natural gas, wood, and coal. Between stoves, water heaters, and furnaces, many homes have multiple sources of CO. Installing high-quality carbon monoxide detectors and keeping their batteries charged is one of the best ways to test for and mitigate the risk of this common and incredibly dangerous IAQ hazard.
Understand the Benefits of a Professional IAQ Assessment
Professional IAQ assessments take a needs-specific approach to improving indoor air quality from the very start. During these examinations, our professionals consider all of the factors that will have the greatest impact on your home’s indoor air. Although we test for all common airborne contaminants, we’ll take special care in measuring the specific hazards in your home. We’ll also offer recommendations for mitigating these risks, even before special air purification or air filtration equipment has been brought in. These can include suggestions like:
- Ventilating your home to loosen its envelope and prevent backdrafting
- Cleaning exhaust fans
- Controlling humidity
- Replacing outdated combustion appliances
Unlike at-home IAQ tests, we can tell which contaminants are present, at what level, and from what source. We can also devise a customized plan for addressing airborne contaminants that cannot be controlled or eliminated by resolving their underlying causes.
We can explain the benefits and drawbacks of air purifiers, media filters, whole-house dehumidifiers, air scrubbers, and more. Once we’ve arrived at the right plan for your household, we’ll install one or more integrated HVAC accessories in your air ducts and calibrate your HVAC system so that everything works seamlessly together.
Recurring IAQ Check-ups During the Maintenance of Integrated Accessories
Another benefit of scheduling a professional IAQ assessment and following it up with the installation of needs-specific HVAC accessories is ongoing IAQ monitoring. Just as HVAC systems need routine maintenance; integrated HVAC accessories require professional care as well. During these visits, we’ll make sure that these additions are having the best possible impact on your IAQ and that common airborne contaminants aren’t present in your home at excessive levels.
We’re proud to serve the residents of Shawnee, KS, and the surrounding areas. Our clients can count on us for reliable furnace, boiler, and air conditioner maintenance, installation, and repairs. We also offer cutting-edge indoor air quality solutions. To have your IAQ professionally assessed, contact Air Care Heating & Cooling now.
