Indoor Air Quality Monitoring
Testing is the first step toward cleaner air
The quality of air in your home can have a huge impact on your health, both now and in the future. This point cannot be stressed enough, and if appropriate measures are not taken to improve the quality of the air you breathe, you may be faced with many health problems in the future. If you are unsure of the quality of air in your home, don't assume it is okay. Chances are it is not. Very few homes produce good quality air without the assistance of any purification or cleaning products.
Determining the quality of air in your home has become very easy over the past few years. Researchers have discovered a very easy way to test the air quality in your home - indoor air quality monitors. Indoor air quality monitors are used to provide you with a diagnostic tool for recording, reporting, charting and analyzing the quality of air in your home.
Indoor air quality monitors are capable of testing for one or a number of the following elements in your air:
- Carbon Dioxide
- Temperature
- Relative Humidity
- Dew Point
- Hydrogen Cyanide
- Air Velocity
- Carbon Monoxide
- Hydrogen Sulfide
- Nitrogen Dioxide
- Ammonia
Portable, hand-held models allow you to test the air in each room. These units have an easy-to-read screen that shows all the results in an easy-to-view (and understand) format.
Indoor air monitoring units are very effective at determining the quality of air in a particular space. If you are at all concerned with the type of air in your home, it is highly suggested that you purchase one of these systems. The average cost of these products ranges between $50 and $80 and is largely determined by the brand and features of the unit. Generally, $50-$80 will get you a well-made, efficient air quality monitor.
Other Testing Kits
You can also purchase kits that test for pet dander and other allergens.
Pets with fur produce dander, dust and odors, which are emitted into your environment. These in turn contribute to poor air quality within your home. Likewise, smoke is made up of over 400 chemical pollutants, some of which are known to remain in the air for up to 10 years. And, if you have carpet (as opposed to tile or hardwood flooring), you are more likely to have allergens in your air because it acts as a trap for dust, dirt and other particles.
If you think the air in your home may be of poor quality, there are air allergen testing kits available to help you to determine whether this is so. These kits can be purchased from many air quality companies and are available in a number of models. The type of kit you purchase will depend on the size and kind of home you live in. Different kits are available for one-bedroom apartments, two-bedroom condos or townhouses, multi-bedroom homes, etc. Make sure you choose the kit that best corresponds with your home; otherwise, the kit will be ineffective.
The proper kit will effectively test the air in your home by detecting the levels of common airborne allergens such as dust and many types of mold. Once the test is completed, you can implement the necessary measures to eliminate these allergens from the air in your home. Most indoor air allergen testing kits include dust collection traps, an instruction booklet, a prepaid shipping envelope and visual instructions on the testing procedure. Once you have your sample, you simply mail it to the lab (using the prepaid shipping envelope) and wait for the results to arrive. This is the most common way of testing the air in your home.
If you are not interested in testing your own air, you can hire a professional to come into your home and test your air quality. Either way, it is important to test your air and make an effort to maintain good air quality in your home.
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