You may not realize it, but the air quality in your home fluctuates throughout the year based on how much time you spend indoors and other variables. This makes testing your air quality once per year insufficient to provide an accurate measure of your indoor air quality.
Testing your indoor air quality is essential for maintaining good air quality and monitoring the presence of harmful pollutants in your home. Keep reading to learn how often you should test your air quality.
How Often Should You Test Your Air Quality?
Regularly testing your air quality allows you to measure the amount of particulate matter, VOCs, and other pollutants in your home. You can determine how often you should test your indoor air quality by considering the following factors:
- New furniture
- Seasonality
- Respiratory conditions
- Household cooking and cleaning
- Leaks or plumbing problems
Depending on the condition of your home, there are several factors that could contribute to poor air quality such as mold from leaks or plumbing problems and fumes from household cleaning agents. Seasonality also influences indoor air quality with changes in humidity and varying exposure to allergens. Read on to learn more about how each factor impacts your indoor air quality.
New Furniture
Did you know that furniture and appliances are responsible for 30% of greenhouse gas emissions? New furniture often uses materials like plywood, formaldehyde, and fabric stain treatments that release harmful VOCs. This is why placing your new furniture outside for the first week after purchase is important for reducing your exposure to VOCs.
Seasonality
With the changes in the season, there are different allergens such as pollen that are more common and likely to find a way inside your home. If you suffer from terrible allergies, then testing your air quality can help you monitor allergens and decide whether you need an air purifier.
Respiratory Conditions
The presence of pollutants can trigger symptoms if you or someone you know suffers from a respiratory condition such as asthma and bronchitis. If you have a respiratory condition, then it is crucial that you get air quality tests done and invest in an air purifier to maintain good air quality.
Household Cooking and Cleaning
Particulate matter and VOCs are common byproducts of cooking and cleaning. Since cooking and cleaning are important aspects of household maintenance, you can expect a certain baseline level of pollutant production in your home from daily activities.
Leaks or Plumbing Problems
When leaks or plumbing problems are left unattended this makes your home vulnerable to mold outgrowths. If you think mold might be a problem, then an air quality test can help you determine whether there are mold outgrowths in your home.