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AirAdvice IAQ
AirAdvice Home Analysis
Get The Facts:
The AirAdvice IAQ Analysis
Pinpoints air quality problems in your home that can affect you or your family's health, as well as their comfort and safety. Your HVAC professional places an AirAdvice IAQ monitor in your home for a few days where it measures temperature, humidity, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and airborne particles in one-minute cycles. Then once a day it transmits the data via phone line to AirAdvance for analysis.
Sources Of Indoor Air Pollution
Information You Can Understand and Use.
AirAdvice uses the data to generate personalized reports about your home's indoor air quality. You'll receive a nine to twelve page report, which contains large, easy-to-read graphs that make it easy to see how pollutant levels changed over the duration of the test.
The information can help you determine the source of the problem. The report also suggests ways to solve your air quality problems. Using the report, you and your HVAC professional can work together to select the best solution.
Indoor Air Quality Problems and Solutions
Airborne Particles:
The Problem: Airborne particles can irritate the eyes, nose, throat, and lungs and increase respiratory problems, especially in those with preexisting medical conditions, such as cardiovascular illness and immune system diseases. Many types of particles such as smoke, pet dander, mold spores, and pollen can trigger asthma found inside the home. In addition, if certain chemicals attached to particles are inhaled on a regular basis, they may cause lung cancer.
Airborne Particles Include:
Allergens, such as dust mites, pet dander, pollen, mold and dust. Allergens can cause allergic reactions, respiratory problems and asthma attacks.
Biological Particles, such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi. They can cause infectious and non-infectious diseases, such as colds, influenza, and respiratory infections.
Toxic Particles, such as cigarette smoke, wood smoke, lead dust and asbestos.
Humidity:
The Problem: People tend to feel most comfortable at a relative humidity of about 45%. High relative humidity (greater than 55%) can lead to the growth of mold, mildew, bacteria, fungi, and dust mites. these pollutants can have adverse health affects.
Low relative humidity (less than 25%) can aggravate asthma and bronchitis, and lead to sinusitis, nosebleeds, dry eyes, and dry skin. It increases static electricity and makes your home feel cooler, so you may require a higher thermostat setting (which uses more energy) to feel comfortable.
The Solution:
- Check for leaks in your home's plumbing. Even slow leaks can raise humidity levels in the home.
- Arrange for an AirAdvice IAQ test to determine if humidity levels in the home remain within the recommended range.
- Have Danny Heineman and Sons determine if your heating and cooling systems are properly sized and functioning at optimum levels. If air conditioning equipment is oversized, it can't adequately dehumidify your home.
- In winter, use humidifiers to raise relative humidity.
- In summer, use air conditioners or dehumidifiers to reduce humidity levels.
Carbon Monoxide:
The Problem: Carbon monoxide (CO) is released when wood, gasoline, oil, kerosene, natural gas, and charcoal burn in inefficiently. At moderate levels, CO can cause severe headaches, dizziness, impaired mental function, nausea, and shortness of breath. At high levels it can cause unconsciousness and death.
According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), and estimated 1000 people die each year from carbon monoxide poisoning and thousands end up in emergency rooms. Because CO is odorless and colorless, and symptoms can look line common illness, the effects may not be recognized until it is too late.
The Solution:
Open windows and run exhaust fans to increase ventilation in your home. If this solution doesn't remedy the problem or you are worried about dangerous levels of carbon monoxide and other harmful gases, contact Danny Heineman and Sons to:
- Arrange for an AirAdvice IAQ test to determine if carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide is present in your home.
- Determine if your heating system and gas appliances are vented properly.
- Determine if heat recovery ventilators, energy recovery ventilators or direct fresh air intakes can help.
Carbon Monoxide:
The Problem: Carbon monoxide (CO) is released when wood, gasoline, oil, kerosene, natural gas, and charcoal burn in inefficiently. At moderate levels, CO can cause severe headaches, dizziness, impaired mental function, nausea, and shortness of breath. At high levels it can cause unconsciousness and death.
According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), and estimated 1000 people die each year from carbon monoxide poisoning and thousands end up in emergency rooms. Because CO is odorless and colorless, and symptoms can look line common illness, the effects may not be recognized until it is too late.
The Solution:
- Have central air handling systems, including furnaces, flues, and chimneys, inspected and repaired annually. Even new furnaces are susceptible to damage and require regular maintenance.
- Keep gas appliances, heater, fireplaces, wood burning stoves, barbeques in good working order and ventilate them outside the home.
- Make sure wood burning stove doors fit tightly. Open flues when fireplaces are in use.
- Don't idle cars inside an attached garage and prevent car exhaust from entering the home.
- Install a CO detector on each floor of the home. Choose a model that can measure low levels of CO
If you are concerned about dangerous levels of carbon monoxide in your home, contact Danny Heineman and Sons to:
- Arrange for an AirAdvice IAQ test to determine if carbon monoxide is present in your home.
- Determine if your heating system and gas appliances are in good working order and are vented properly.
Radon:
The Problem: he E.P.A. recommends every home in the US should be tested for Radon. Radon is a naturally occurring odorless radioactive gas that can be present in any home. It is the 2nd leading cause of lung cancer after cigarette smoking.
Radon gas is produced by uranium deposits in water, soil and rock. It enters a home through cracks in the foundation, unfinished basements, volitization during showers, and building materials. Radon gas is measure in pococuries (pCi/L). If Radon is measured in a home at levels above 4 pCo/L, mitigation is necessary.
Both the Surgeon General and the E.P.A. recommend testing and reducing elevated levels of Radon.
The Solution:
- Seal cracks in basements and crawl spaces to limit Radon's ability to infiltrate the home.
- Install a continuous fan, often called a Radon fan, that vents above the roof line.
- Install ERV/HRV equipment to reduce Radon levels.
- Arrange for an AirAdvice IAQ test to determine if Radon is present in your home.
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)
The Problem: Many common products around the home (solvents, fragrances, and cosmetics, carpeting, furniture, paint, hobby products, cooking, cleaning agents, pesticides, new flooring, tobacco smoke, and car exhaust) emit volatile organic compunds (VOCs) into the air. Inside your home, these compounds can freely mix together. Individual VOC's are known to be harmful to human health and some are known carcinogens, such as formaldehyde. Introduction of new furnishings can be a major source of VOCs in the home.
The Solution: To keep VOCs to a minimum, try these solutions:
- Avoid using particleboard, which often contains glues that give off VOCs.
- Air out dry-cleaned items outside the home.
- When remodeling, use gypsum plaster or wood. Avoid materials made of plastic or wood fiber.
- Use low VOC paints and air out rooms after painting.
- Avoid using aerosol products and use low VOC cleaners.
- Use glues and solvents only in a well-ventilated area.
- Never leave a car, truck, lawnmower or other gasoline-powered machine running in an enclosed space.
- Store recycling materials out of the home or keep them to a minimum when stored indoors.
- Make sure the air intake for your home's heating and cooling system is well above ground and upwind of local pollution sources.
- Arrange for an AirAdvice IAQ test to determine if VOCs in your home are within the recommended range.
(All Specialty test are prepaid only with signed contract)
Homeowners: Make Your Home Safe, Healthy, Comfortable, and Efficient
- Do you know if the air your family breathes is unhealthy or unsafe?
- Are conditions (temp, humidity, stuffy air) sometimes uncomfortable?
- Does anyone in your home suffer from allergies, asthma, or COPD?
If you answered ‘Yes’ to any of these questions, AirAdvice experts can help. We provide a home diagnostic program to contractors that makes the invisible visible and shows you how to make your home as healthy, comfortable, and as safe as possible.
