Air Quality Issues

The Importance of Air Quality

Air quality science is becoming more important to health and even the real estate industry is being impacted by it. Your family spends a huge portion of their time indoors, likely in your home for most of their awake time, but also they sleep there. Assuming most spend about 30-50% of their time home, it is worth considering that air quality can impact your health quickly when there is contamination. 

Air Quality Issues

As a homeowner, the last concern about owning a home was about the air in the home. Easily it seems replaceable with the opening of a window, but no, that is not the case. Indoor air quality is a permanent setting of air quality that impacts us when the window is open or closed. The home is not only a shelter to us, it is a trap to all the components that put it together! 

Impacts to indoor air quality chart.

Most times, the chemicals used in paints, chemicals used in manufacturing appliances, lumbar moisture sealants, caulking, rubbers, dry wall, carpet glue, cabinet sealants, and other building materials ALL “off gas”, this means they release fumes as they age. Professionals agree that a newly built home takes about 2 years to fully off gas chemicals! The materials used in the creation of your home and the installed new appliances are harmful to your health!

 

“Are you suffering from chronic health issues and you don’t understand why? It might be time to consider your environmental factors, including your home, that could be contributing to your health. Discussing this with a doctor might be the first step, but do not get discouraged, your health is worth fighting for!”

Indoor Air Quality is Becoming a Real Estate Concern

Beyond the fact that indoor air quality is not the freshest air, the home can become a breeding ground for more toxic air contaminants! Each home is different, but the battles are often the same. Mold can grow in any home, pests will try to get into any home left accessible, most homes are flammable, and all homes cannot have excess moisture or water build up. For most homes, mold, moisture, and pests are more common and likely threats to indoor air quality. This must be why real estate professionals are looking at air quality testing prior to real estate sales. 

Suspect Mold in Your Home?

Mold can be very easy to detect by smell or visual inspection, but also a small amount of it can spread rapidly and become very evasive to pinpoint all growth sites. Mold is meant to spread, it spores into the air and spreads its microbial growth to multiple sites to spread even more spores. Mold can also spread by water or moisture, making a home the perfect environment for growth as mold thrives in moist spaces with organic materials. 

Consider Consulting a Mold Professional First!

If you believe you have microbial growth, you will want to consider hiring a professional for air quality testing. Do not ignore mold growth! Especially because of the spore’s ability to spread rapidly in your home. Choosing to act might require careful planning; however, it’s essential to prepare before you proceed, do not attempt without adequate time to execute the task thoroughly. We recommend getting professionals involved.

Mold is Not a DIY Project

Each mold has different protocols for cleaning and some molds can be more dangerous to your health. Also, mold cleanup may be more deep rooted than they appear, needing physical barriers removed to ensure full removal. This is a huge reason that a professional inspector is the best place to start for any mold growths in your home. 

Imagine doing all the cleaning just to find the mold was actually growing in the walls and the surface was only the tip of the iceberg. Now you have done work on an unknown mold, possibly spreading spores and exposing yourself to the mold as well, and impacting your air quality! Professionals will need to come in and remove drywall, replace it, and test to ensure it was done completely to eradicate the mold. 

Ultra Fine Particulate Matter and Microbial Growth size chart comparison to a human hair. As these particles are very small, they can quickly move around the home and impact indoor air quality.

Air Quality Testing

Professional air quality testing is an essential part of the mold and fire remediation process and should be emphasized by homeowners. Most remediation companies will not do their own testing, this should be done by a 3rd party to ensure integral work. Our advice is to find a great remediation team; and an even better testing company! Remediation will be required to continue to work until the testing company has approved the test results. 

Avoiding CIRS-WDB

Going back to air quality and suspicions of mold, if you have issues with your air quality at home or at work, you might want to do some air testing. Taking action may become time consuming and feel overwhelming as you fight an enigma of an enemy. If you get moisture testing done and know that your home has moisture problems, you’ll want to get professional air testing done for mold. Any suspicions or water damage should be addressed immediately to avoid any lung health problems, but also for the health of your home. 

This exposure makes it so that your home’s air can either be a comforting relief or a contributor to rapid degradation of health. If you discover you have CIRS, you will learn that air quality is very impactful to your own health. In fact, CIRS-WDB is a whole dedicated class of CIRS caused by Water Damaged Buildings. Air quality is of the most importance to those suffering from CIRS. 

Health Problems Might Require Medically Sound Remediation 

More and more evidence is growing that overall health is impacted by our environments. Air from our home may be deemed the cause of your health ailments. After consulting a doctor and getting professional air testing results showing mycotoxin or mold spores, you are going to have a plan to help guide you to clean air quality once again.

In this case, you will need to consider getting professional help from an Indoor Environmental Professional also known as an IEP. Often with illnesses developing regularly, it is possible to develop Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS). Special care is needed when dealing with a family member or your own CIRS. This will include specialized CIRS Protocol Inspection, Medically Sound Remediation, and strict testing protocol to ensure all areas are addressed in accordance with your IEP’s recommendations.    

Air Quality Issues After Fire Damage

Wildfires are known for having harmful effects when near your home, toxic chemicals can be burned, smoke and ash are not good to breathe. All smoke contains carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and particulate matter. Fire and smoke damage remnants can release a variety of chemicals from the previous burning, including acid gasses, aldehydes, benzene, dioxins, metals, nitrogen oxides, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), styrene, sulfur dioxide, toluene. 

Comparison chart of the surface areas of ultrafine particulate matter, particulate matter and course particulate matter sizes. You can see the amount of surface area is greater with the ultrafine particulate matter, this might add to the dangerousness of these tiny particles. These UFP impact air quality and your health.

 

Ultrafine Particles in Indoor Air

These chemical compounds are known to cause numerous health problems when breathed in, but also Ultrafine Particulate matter (UFPs) can be found in the air after fire. These minuscule chemical compounds are so tiny that they can easily infiltrate our families respiratory system, potentially causing a range of health issues. 

When it comes to air quality, the adverse effects of UFPs cannot be overstated as they are permanent. Also, their nano size allows them to bypass our body’s natural defense mechanisms, and once inhaled, they can travel deep into our lungs and even enter our bloodstream. Again, remember, this damaging exposure can be permanent health issues for your lungs and overall health. 

How do UFPs Impact My Health? 

The concern with UFPs goes beyond their size; it extends to their composition and the toxic substances they can carry, especially after a structure fire. These UFPs are often laden with harmful compounds, including heavy metals, carcinogens, and other dangerous elements that can have severe health implications. As a result, exposure to UFPs from fire-related events may lead to various health problems, from respiratory issues to cardiovascular complications.

Efforts to remove these particles should be an integral part of fire damage remediation and indoor air quality management. Specialized techniques and equipment are often required to effectively eliminate UFPs and ensure that the indoor environment is safe and free from these harmful UFPs. Proper testing and analysis can help determine the extent of UFP contamination and guide the remediation process to ensure a healthier and safer home living environment for your family.

Post Remediation Health Implications

After fire damage, water damage, or mold remediation, your health may still be impacted by the microbial or mold growth. If you have had mold contamination of your health, it will take time to fully detox. 

We recommend going to your doctor to be fully assessed if you have ongoing symptoms after the mold has been remediated. Be clear with your doctor the remediation state, they may make recommendations not understanding the work has been completed and testing showed mold removal process completed. Understand, those who are more sensitive to mold, CIRS, or have allergies tend to need more support to fully detox. After consulting a healthcare professional if this does not reduce your anxiety, you can also consider re-testing the air quality.

 

 

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