Indoor Air Quality and Mold testing surrey
Indoor Air Quality Testing
Canadians spend an average of 90% of their time indoors. The air that we breathe in our homes, in schools, and in offices can put us at risk for health problems. Some pollutants can be chemicals, gases, and living organisms like mold and pests. Some pollutants cause health problems such as sore eyes, burning in the nose and throat, headaches, or fatigue. Other pollutants cause or worsen allergies, respiratory illnesses (such as asthma), heart disease, cancer, and other serious long-term conditions. Sometimes individual pollutants at high concentrations, such as carbon monoxide, cause death. It is important to be aware of how air contaminants can affect our health and to adopt corrective measures that will improve indoor air quality in our homes.
INDOOR AIR POLLUTION AND HEALTH EFFECTS
Health effects from poor indoor air quality and indoor air pollutants may be experienced soon after exposure or, possibly, years later.
Immediate effects may show up after a single exposure or repeated exposures. These include irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat, headaches, dizziness, and fatigue. Symptoms of some diseases, including asthma, hypersensitivity pneumonitis, and humidifier fever, may also show up soon after exposure to some indoor air pollutants. Such immediate effects are usually short-term and treatable. Sometimes the treatment is simply eliminating the person's exposure to the source of the pollution, if it can be identified.
Certain immediate effects are similar to those from colds or other viral diseases, so it is often difficult to determine if the symptoms are a result of exposure to indoor air pollution. For this reason, it is important to pay attention to the time and place symptoms occur. If the symptoms fade or go away when a person is away from home, for example, an effort should be made to identify indoor air sources that may be possible causes.
Other health effects may show up either years after exposure has occurred or only after long or repeated periods of exposure. These effects, which include some respiratory diseases, heart disease, and cancer, can be severely debilitating or fatal. It is prudent to try to improve the indoor air quality in your home even if symptoms are not noticeable.
Mold Testing
Mold and moisture problems within a building environment will not fix themselves. Roof leaks, foundation issues, poor site drainage, or leaky plumbing can start small but quickly create major problems. A proper Mold Inspection performed by Alliance Home Inspection Services will assist in identifying the source and the extent of any moisture or mold issues. This type of process requires a trained eye and the right equipment.
The following health problems are associated with toxic mould:
- Allergies
- Arthritic-like aches
- Asthma
- Bloody noses
- Chronic headaches
- Coughing
- "Crawly" feeling skin
- Depression
- Dizziness or stuffiness
- Epileptic-like seizures
- Equilibrium or balance loss
- Fatigue
- Flu-like symptoms
- Irritation of the eyes, nose or throat
- Loss of memory
- Loss of hearing
- Loss of eyesight
- Nausea
- Restlessness
- Runny nose
- Sinus congestion
- Skin rashes
- Sneezing
- Trouble breathing
- Unexplained irritability
- Upper respiratory distress
- Toxic headaches
OUR METHOD
Visual Inspection of the building for evidence of moisture intrusion and visible signs of mold growth. Air sampling to determine spore types and level of contamination within specific areas of the building.
First: Tape lift, swab and bulk sampling for source identification.
Second: Laboratory Testing to determine mold spore counts and species.
Third: Complete Mold Assessment Report will be provided within 1-3 business days of inspection completion.
OUR ADVANTAGES
- Precise and thorough investigation
- Ability to locate hidden mold problems
- Ability to detect and identify toxic mold spores and species
- We employ a 3rd party lab for analysis to prevent conflict-of-interest
