We know the importance of indoor air quality and the effect it can have on our health and our home in Pratt, Kansas. We talked about air sampling in the previous blog, but when should air sampling be done?
REASONS FOR AIR SAMPLING
There are several reasons why air sampling may be recommended, as well as reasons why you may want to have air sampling done in your home in Pratt, Kansas. There could physical symptoms that you or your family are experiencing such as:
- Headaches
- Fatigue
- Shortness of breath
- Allergy symptoms
- Asthma/asthma-like symptoms
- Sinus congestion
- Cough
- Sneezing
- Cold-like symptoms
There are even times when families or family members will feel better when they are out of their home in Pratt, Kansas, and then when they return home, symptoms return. This can be a sign that perhaps something in the home is causing these symptoms. Unfortunately, until the culprit is found and removed, the symptoms will likely continue.
WHAT AIR SAMPLING TESTS FOR
As mentioned in the last blog about air sampling, there are many different tests for the different pollutants that can exist in our indoor air in Pratt, Kansas.
Common pollutants that are tested for with air sampling are:
- Allergens
- Mold
- Bacteria
- Asbestos
- Dust mites
- Radon
- Lead
These are the more common air sampling tests that are done to determine if something is and what is in the air that is causing the physical symptoms being experienced. Some may ask if they should just do air sampling without a physical inspection in Pratt, Kansas.
WHY A PHYSICAL INSPECTION BY A PROFESSIONAL IS STILL RECOMMENDED
It is helpful to think of air sampling as just one tool in the tool belt when inspecting a house in Pratt, Kansas for indoor air quality issues. An air sample alone is not enough to confirm or refute the existence of a problem, and such testing needs to be accompanied by visual inspection and other methods of data collection, such as a surface sample. An air sample test will be able to tell you what is in the air, but it is still essential to find the source of the air quality issue and remove it.
For example, with mold, indoor airborne spore levels can vary according to several factors, and this can lead to skewed results if care is not taken to set up the sampling correctly. Also, since only spores are collected with an air sample and may actually be damaged during collection, identification of the mold type can be more difficult than with a sample collected with tape or a cultured sample. So a physical inspection by a mold inspection specialist will be able to determine where the mold has grown and to what extent, and that same specialist will be able to perform the remediation in Pratt, Kansas.
Considering the use of air sampling, one should keep in mind that the results represent indoor air quality at singular points in time, and these may be affected by a variety of factors, including:
- indoor traffic,
- visitors entering the facility,
- temperature,
- time of day or year, and
- relative humidity.
Air sampling can definitely be a crucial piece of that puzzle in determining the indoor air quality of your home in Pratt, Kansas. Yet it should be accompanied with a physical inspection by a professional who can use their expertise to determine the source of the air quality issue and where it is originating from.
If you or your family have been experiencing symptoms that only occur at home or perhaps there is a musty scent occurring in your home in Pratt, Kansas, please give FreshCo Cleaning and Restoration a call. Not only can we perform a physical inspection but we can also perform air sampling as well. We are here to help resolve your indoor air quality issues.
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“Very professional and do what they say they will do. Highly recommend.”
— Jason T. in Wichita, Kansas
