Poor Air Quality Contributes To Flu…Get Your Air Quality Tested

 

Test Your Indoor Air To Prevent Flu

Poor Air Quality Can Contribute To Flu…Get Your Air Quality Tested 

Winter officially starts today. In the GTA we will likely have roughly 4 months of bitter cold. With this wintery weather comes cold and dry outdoor air. This can lead to several indoor air quality challenges in our homes. Poor air quality can contribute to seasonal flu which is why now is ever more important to have your air quality tested.

Dry outside air also leads to dry indoor air. Normally comfortable indoor relative humidity is 55%RH. However, maintaining an indoor relative humidity in winter at this level will lead to excessive condensation on walls and windows which can lead to mould growth. Most Toronto area homes will need to manage their indoor relative humidity closer to the high 30% to low 40% range. As soon as you see condensation on your windows, your relative humidity indoors is too high.

However, even balancing your indoor air quality at the high 30% range or low 40% range allows certain bacteria and viruses to live longer in the air and on surfaces. So it is crucial that you have the right furnace filtration system and ideally also HEPA filtration systems. In winter you want to make sure that your dust levels are low. Bacteria and viruses can hitch a ride on dust particles and spread farther through the air. Viruses such as the seasonal flu bug can also hide under a layer of settled dust thereby living longer and being able to infect more people.

If you are unsure if your furnace filtration system is working properly or if your air purifier is even filtering anything, you could have an indoor air quality test done. A proper indoor air quality test should determine your relative humidity, airborne dust levels, proper ventilation as well as chemicals such as VOC’s and formaldehyde indoors.

At Verify Air Quality Test, we can test your furnace filtration system, make sure your air purifiers are working and also make sure your vacuum cleaner is not polluting the indoor air quality of your home.

Our indoor air quality assessments can determine if you have good indoor air quality or poor indoor air quality capable of sustaining bacteria and viruses such as the seasonal flu. Proper ventilation is also important in winter when we spend most of our time indoors in Toronto and the GTA.

Poor ventilation can lead to excessive relative humidity and condensation leading to mould growth. Poor ventilation also leads to an increase in viral and bacterial load indoors making the seasonal flu worse. Proper ventilation can be measured through an indoor air quality test concentrating on Carbon Dioxide or CO2 levels in your home. CO2 levels over 800ppm is the start of poor indoor air quality. CO2 levels over 1000ppm indicate a serious indoor air quality issue where the air does not change often enough and is one of the biggest concerns these days with viruses indoors.

In winter, your furnace system and central humidifiers need to be working and draining properly to prevent an indoor mould issue. If your drain lines are not draining into the floor drain or your plumbing drains, you could have a flood in your basement. Furnace drainage problems and humidifier malfunction are the leading cause of basement floods leading to mould growth and poor indoor air quality.

This winter, make it a safe and healthy winter Toronto! If you have never had an indoor air quality assessment and have not had your air quality tested in the last 5 years, you should book an appointment now. We can test your indoor air quality in the new year and make sure that your start your new year happy, healthy and safe.

Contact us for an in-depth indoor air quality & mold testing assessment of your home or office today. We service the Toronto and the GTA and can show you where you need ti improve your indoor air quality.