What Really Is Good Indoor Air Quality?

What Is Good Indoor Air Quality?

The term indoor air quality has been used from any industry or product from air fresheners, air purifiers, vacuum cleaners even paint manufactures. However, what does it really mean? What Really Is Good Indoor Air Quality?

The quality of the indoor environment or quality of air that you breathe can have many factors. At Verify Air Quality Test we believe that your indoor environment or indoor air quality should be judged or rated on the following categories.

Top 3 Factors that Define Indoor Air Quality

  1. Comfort
  2. Enjoyment as Designed
  3. Health and Safety

The first factor that defines if you have so called good indoor air quality is ‘Comfort’. What is comfort? It can be many things to many people…but we believe that in the indoor air quality field it is meant to be how comfortable the air feels. Two air quality parameters that define air comfort is temperature and relative humidity. In general, indoor air temperature is the most comfortable in heating season between 20 degrees and 23 degrees celsius or an average of 21 degrees celsius in most indoor environments or buildings. In most heated indoor environments the relative humidity for occupants that is the most comfortable is 55%RH. However, in colder climates this can become an issue with condensation on cold surfaces such as walls and windows and is not recommended in winter time. The next best and setting would be in the high 30% to low 40% RH range.

The second factor that defines good indoor air quality is ‘Enjoyment as Designed’. This term can also mean a lot of different things, but we at Verify Air Quality Test believe it to mean that you can enjoy your home or office as it was meant to be when it was built. Indoor environmental issues such as a rodent issue, mould growth problem or bacteria and viral issues causing the closure or relocation of occupants is not enjoyment of how the building was meant to be used. So in short, proper care and maintenance of the building to prevent issues with unwanted pests or biological infestations is key.

The third factor in good indoor air quality is ‘Health and Safety’ of the indoor environment. The best way to determine this is to look at indoor air quality setting or the indoor environment that either sustains health and safety of all occupants, or causes negative health reactions and longer term health issues and disease.

So what can cause poor indoor air quality and negative health reactions. It’s generally the following.

Top 5 Indoor Air Quality Issues:

  1. Poor Ventilation: Poor ventilation can lead to an increase in a number of pollutants that can cause allergic reactions and even infections and death. It is imperative (especially these days) that the indoor environment have proper airflow coming in and proper air flow leaving the building with stale and polluted air.
  2. Airborne Particulate: Airborne particles such as fine dust, fibres, allergens and pathogens can lead to all sorts of negative health reactions, allergies as well as sinus infections (sinusitis, rhinits) and respiratory diseases such as Bronchitis, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease COPD, emphysema and lung cancer.
  3. Airborne mould spores: Airborne mould spores form a mould growth infestation or hidden mould problem can lead to digestive issues, yeast infections, general gut issues, as well as skin rashes, sinus infections, respiratory disease as well as lung disease such as Aspergillosis.
  4. Airborne Bacteria and Viruses: These biologicals (especially these days) can lead to seasonal flu, colds and even death.
  5. Airborne chemicals or VOC’s. Volatile Organic Compounds such as Formaldehyde and a whole host of other aldehydes and chemicals and toxins can be emitted indoors from cleaning agents, paint, decorating materials, furniture and the list goes on.

Best way to protect your indoor air quality…have an indoor air quality testing toronto.

Indoor air quality testing of your home or office can determine if you have good indoor air quality or poor indoor air quality and what to do about it. You can’t protect your family or your health from indoor air pollutants if you don’t know what the status is of the air that you breathe every day. We spend over 90% indoors and these days that number is closer to 99%.

Get your indoor air quality tested and breathe.

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