Maybe dust seems to settle again almost as soon as you clean it. There is a musty odor you cannot trace, or smoke from outside has found its way indoors. Sometimes the concern starts after a leak, renovation, or other change to the home.
Poor indoor air quality can have many causes. Some pollutants originate inside the home, while others enter from outdoors. Moisture, ventilation, filtration, and everyday activities can all influence what remains in the air.
Understanding the likely sources can help you decide what needs attention and whether professional air quality testing in Pasadena, CA, would provide useful information.
What Does Poor Indoor Air Quality Mean?
Indoor air quality, or IAQ, describes conditions inside a building that can affect the comfort and well-being of the people using it.
There is no single contaminant responsible for poor indoor air quality. Depending on the property, concerns can involve particles, gases, allergens, biological material, excess moisture, or pollutants entering from outside.
Common examples include:
- Dust and fine particles
- Pollen and pet dander
- Mold spores
- Smoke
- Volatile organic compounds, or VOCs
- Combustion byproducts
- Excess moisture
More than one source can be present at the same time, which is why the cause is not always obvious.
What Commonly Affects Indoor Air Quality?
Moisture and Mold Growth
Leaks, condensation, high humidity, flooding, and previous water damage can leave building materials damp enough to support mold growth.
Sometimes that growth is visible. Other times, moisture may be affecting drywall, insulation, crawl spaces, attics, or other areas that are not regularly seen.
If mold is part of an indoor air quality concern, finding and addressing the moisture source matters just as much as dealing with the growth itself.
Dust, Pollen, Pet Dander, and Other Particles
Particles are a normal part of indoor environments, but their sources vary.
Outdoor soil and pollen can enter through doors and windows or be tracked inside. Pet dander, dust mites, fibers, and particles produced by everyday activities can also become part of household dust.
Once settled, some of those particles can return to the air as people walk, clean, or move around the home.
Regular cleaning and appropriate filtration can help reduce airborne particles, although the right approach depends on what is contributing to the problem.
Household Products and VOCs
Paint, adhesives, cleaners, air fresheners, furnishings, flooring, building materials, and hobby products can release volatile organic compounds into indoor air.
You may notice stronger odors or have greater concerns about VOCs after:
- Painting or refinishing
- Remodeling
- Installing flooring or cabinetry
- Bringing new furnishings into the home
- Using solvents or strong cleaning products
Product selection, proper use, and ventilation when outdoor conditions permit can help reduce concentrations indoors.
Cooking and Other Combustion Sources
Cooking can generate fine particles, particularly when frying, broiling, or cooking at high temperatures.
Other combustion sources include fireplaces, fuel-burning appliances, candles, tobacco smoke, and some heaters.
Depending on the source, combustion can release particulate matter and gases such as nitrogen dioxide or carbon monoxide.
Kitchen exhaust that vents outdoors can help remove cooking pollutants at the source.
Carbon monoxide requires its own safety precautions. Homes should have properly installed and maintained carbon monoxide alarms. General indoor air quality testing is not a replacement for CO detection.
Inadequate Ventilation
Ventilation helps dilute or remove pollutants produced indoors.
When a home does not get enough appropriate air exchange, pollutants and moisture can accumulate. But more outdoor air is not always better.
Opening windows may help when outdoor conditions are good. During wildfire smoke or another air-pollution event, doing so can bring additional particles inside.
Ventilation decisions should account for conditions on both sides of the window.
Smoke and Outdoor Pollution
Outdoor pollution does not stay neatly outdoors.
Smoke, road dust, pollen, vehicle emissions, and other particles can enter through open doors and windows as well as small openings in a building.
For Pasadena homeowners, this becomes especially important during wildfire smoke and other regional particle-pollution events affecting the San Gabriel Valley.
When outdoor air is smoky, California guidance recommends keeping doors and windows closed, limiting outdoor-air intake when appropriate, and using effective filtration or air cleaning rather than bringing more polluted air indoors.
How Does Your HVAC System Fit In?
Your heating and cooling system can influence how airborne particles move and how effectively some of them are filtered.
HVAC filters need to be appropriately selected for the system and replaced according to manufacturer recommendations. Higher-efficiency filtration may capture more fine particles, but not every system can accommodate every filter.
During wildfire smoke events, California air-quality guidance recommends a MERV 13 or higher filter when the HVAC system can safely handle it, along with recirculating indoor air rather than drawing smoke inside.
The HVAC system is still only one part of the picture. A filter cannot repair a plumbing leak, stop a source from producing VOCs, or correct every indoor air concern.
What Are Signs That Your Indoor Air Deserves a Closer Look?
Some air-quality problems leave visible clues. Others do not.
- Conditions worth investigating may include:
- Persistent musty or unusual odors
- Visible mold or water staining
- Recurring condensation
- Unusually heavy dust
- Previous flooding or leaks
- Recent renovation or installation of new materials
- Smoke entering the home during an outdoor air-quality event
Certain pollutants can cause irritation or other symptoms in some people, but symptoms alone cannot tell you which pollutant is present or prove that the home is responsible.
Property conditions provide more useful clues about what should be investigated.
What Can You Do to Improve Indoor Air Quality?
There is no universal air-quality fix. EPA generally groups the most useful strategies into source control, ventilation, and filtration or air cleaning.
Deal With the Source
When possible, stop or reduce the pollutant where it begins. Depending on the problem, that could mean repairing a leak, correcting excess moisture, properly venting cooking or fuel-burning equipment, reducing indoor smoke, or changing how certain products are used.
Removing the source can often accomplish more than trying to filter the resulting pollution indefinitely.
Ventilate When Outdoor Conditions Are Appropriate
Kitchen and bathroom exhaust fans can help remove pollutants and moisture directly from the rooms where they are produced.
Bringing outdoor air into the home may also help when outside air quality is good.
During smoke events, however, Pasadena residents should follow local air-quality guidance and avoid drawing polluted outdoor air inside.
Use Appropriate Filtration or Air Cleaning
HVAC filters and portable air cleaners can help reduce airborne particles.
During wildfire smoke events, California recommends high-efficiency HVAC filtration when compatible with the system and CARB-certified portable air cleaners. Air cleaners sold in California are subject to CARB requirements that limit ozone emissions.
Filtration works best when it matches the pollutant and the size of the space. An air cleaner should not be treated as a substitute for correcting an active source such as a leak or mold problem.
When Can Indoor Air Quality Testing Help?
Sometimes the source is already apparent. If smoke is pouring through an open window or a pipe is actively leaking into a wall, testing may not be the first thing that needs to happen.
- Other concerns are harder to explain.
- Professional assessment or testing may be useful when:
- An odor keeps returning without a clear source
- Mold or moisture is suspected in a concealed area
- The property has a history of water damage
- Indoor conditions remain concerning after obvious sources have been addressed
- You need more information before deciding what to investigate or correct
Green Home Solutions’ indoor air quality assessments may include a walkthrough of the property and, when appropriate, air or surface sampling. Testing can provide information about contaminants such as mold spores, allergens, and VOCs.
No single test identifies every possible indoor air pollutant. The investigation should be guided by the concern, the property, and what needs to be learned.
Air Quality Testing in Pasadena, CA
Pasadena homes and businesses can be affected by conditions originating both indoors and outside, from moisture and mold to allergens, VOCs, and regional smoke.
Green Home Solutions of Pasadena provides indoor air quality testing for residential and commercial properties. An assessment can help provide clearer information when the cause of an indoor air concern is not obvious.
If you are dealing with recurring odors, water damage, suspected mold, or other questions about the air inside your property, contact Green Home Solutions of Pasadena to learn more about your testing options.