Don’t waste your money on the DIY, petri dish style “mold” tests that you can buy in the big box stores. They’re not accurate nor effective in giving a practical assessment of your indoor air quality. In the state of Florida, you must have a mold assessor license to perform mold testing. A certified industrial hygienist also can perform indoor air quality tests and health risk assessments.

There are a variety of factors that contribute to poor IAQ. When assessing a building for IAQ concerns, we look at the humidity levels, natural ventilation, (carbon dioxide levels- CO2), particulate load, chemical/VOC sources, moisture intrusion, and sources of mold contamination. All of these factors take specialized tools and equipment to measure and assess.

Pollutants, Pathways, and Pressures are the three most common causes for IAQ problems. Pollutants such as dust, bacteria/viruses, mold, chemicals, VOCs, pet dander, and cigarette smoke are coming from a source which must be discovered. Pathways refer to the gaps, cracks, and holes within a building where pollutants can move between occupied spaces. Pressures are the driving forces such as HVAC equipment/fans, stack effect, and exterior wind that force pollutants to move through the pathways that ultimately affect indoor air quality and the people in the buildings.

Consult with an experienced indoor air quality expert to create the best plan of action for your specific concerns.

All pollutants can be potentially hazardous. The most common indoor pollutants are, dust, bacteria/viruses, mold, chemicals, VOCs, pet dander, and cigarette smoke.

No, AC units have basic filters that are primarily for protecting the coils and blowers, not necessarily purifying the air. Most air purifying filters are high efficiency, thick filters that are too restrictive for a typical AC unit. However, you can retrofit filtration system that will do a better job than the average 1” store bought filter that can be used as a whole house filter.

Be proactive! Reducing source contamination from mold/moisture, dust/particulates, chemicals/VOCs and having an annual inspection schedule of HVAC system is best line of defense.

The easiest way to clean the air in your home is to use a good quality filter (MERV 6-13) along with a portable or whole house true HEPA air cleaner. Indoor particulates can best be removed by a circulating air through a HEPA filter where it will be captured and later removed from the home.

The most common indoor pollutants are dust, bacteria/viruses, mold, chemicals, VOCs, pet dander, and cigarette smoke.

There are several measures that need to be considered when trying to improve the indoor air quality problems have in your home. Pollutants can be controlled and minimized by having a good HVAC maintenance plan to reduce the potential for these pollutants to circulate and collect within your home or office HVAC system. Common pollutants should be avoided and kept away from occupied spaces whenever possible. We offer a variety of products that each have a role in reducing pollutants. For example, HEPA filters are designed for capturing particulates, mold spores, pollen, dust, etc. Ultraviolet lights will deactivate microbial organisms such as bacteria, molds, viruses. Activated carbon filters will capture and absorb chemicals, VOCs, and smoke. Each of these measures needs to be considered for the overall indoor air quality.

Carbon Monoxide (CO), Mold, VOCs. Carbon Monoxide (CO) by far is the most dangerous indoor pollutant. It is an odorless and colorless gas that can cause dizziness, fatigue, headaches, and even death. Mold exposure in most cases will cause coughing, sneezing, runny nose, itchy/watery eyes.

Vinegar has a variety of household uses and can be used as a “natural” DIY air freshener. Vinegar neutralizes alkaline based odors and can be used in a spray bottle as an alternative to highly aromatic aerosol air fresheners.

They can. Newer home construction is much tighter and, in some cases, will REQUIRE fresh air to be brought into the home. Especially with foam insulation in walls, floors, and ceilings. This typically is mechanical ventilation which consists of a duct that brings in outside air when the HVAC system is operating. You must be careful not to bring in too much humidity when fresh air ducts are installed. We recommended having fresh air ducts go through a dehumidifier first to remove the moisture and then into your homes HVAC system.

UV lights in your HVAC system are an excellent way to reduce and eliminate mold, bacteria, and viruses in the air. UV lights are installed in the central air system where it works continuously to fight mold and other biological contaminants. For over a century scientist have known that certain frequencies of light have a devastating effect on microbial life. We now know that exposure to ultraviolet light in the range of 254 NM (UV-C band) disrupts the DNA of micro-organisms thus preventing them from reproducing, thereby effectively killing them.

A reliable air quality test from a licensed professional that will be analyzed by an accredited laboratory can range from $200-$600 depending on the size and area to be tested.

The most common symptoms and health effects of poor indoor air quality are, breathing-related illnesses, sick building syndrome, headaches, coughing, sneezing, wheezing, asthmatic reactions, fatigue, and more.

Yes, true HEPA air cleaners are an effective way to remove ultra small particles and dust from your indoor environment. The common tabletop and room sized purifiers are not moving enough air to have a significant impact of particle reduction overall. To effectively purify the air, you must have a system big enough to move large volumes of air while collecting the particles in the air and run continuously on a long-term basis. Effective and quality air cleaners/purifiers can be as much as $1200 each. Always refer to AHAM for product reviews and effectiveness when it comes to air purifiers.

In a hot/humid climate the biggest source of pollution is excessive moisture and humidity that leads to mold issues in the home and HVAC system that can go unnoticed for years!

The best and really only definitive way to verify if your air purifier is actually working is to have a specialist use a laser particle counter to see how many particles are going in and how many are being captured and not coming back out the exhaust side. We are always happy to do a comparison of our Medical grade air cleaner and any other products you may own.