Should You Test Your Home's Air Quality?
In many cases, your nose and a flashlight are just as effective as a testing kit
We spend 90 percent of our time inside, so it’s smart to think about the air in our homes, especially since it’s often more polluted than the air outside, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). But how can you know how clean or dirty your air is? Is an air testing kit the answer?
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Ways to Spring Clean Your Indoor Air
Elliot Horner, PhD, lead scientist for UL Environment, has two words
for anyone thinking about buying a do-it-yourself test kit or hiring an
inspector to take air samples: “Buyer beware.”
The main problem with testing kits, says Horner, is they often check for just one kind of pollutant (though some test for two or more). One kit might test only for formaldehyde, for instance, while another looks only for mold, radon, mouse allergens, dust or some other substance.
This means you’d almost have to know what’s polluting your
air before choosing a kit — so what’s the point? “Often, money is better spent
addressing the problem rather than testing for it,” says Horner.
Related: Clearing
the Air: 3 Dangerous Pollutants in Your Home
It's also hard to know if a kit will yield accurate results. “I do not know of any way to evaluate one that would be available to the general public,” says Horner.
Take mold, for instance. Testing for it in the air is a
difficult process that requires taking 20 or 30 samples. Results can be
unreliable, according to Horner. “It's more practical to
search for
mold
with a good nose and strong flashlight,” he says.
Even if the results do identify pollutants in the air, it's
“almost impossible” to know whether or not they are making you sick, according
to the
Consumer
Product Safety Commission
(CPSC). Some people are very sensitive
to small amounts of a certain pollutant, while others aren't bothered even by
larger amounts. If you have more than one pollutant in your air, it can be
difficult to tell which one is causing your health problems, the CPSC says.
Related: Mold
Allergies on the Rise Due to Climate Change
If you want a professional to test the air in your home,
find someone who is experienced with a variety of pollutants, advises Horner.
This is especially important if you don't know what kind of pollutants they
should be looking for.
“Stay away from the folks who do just one type of problem,
such as mold or radon,” he says. “You want someone with an open mind.”
The Indoor
Air Quality Association
maintains a searchable database of air
testing professionals.
Also be wary of products that claim to provide easy
solutions to your home's air quality problems. Horner recalls the day he ran
across a booth at a trade show, “selling some magic juice that will fix your
mold without taking anything apart,” he says. “I threw the brochure away.”
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