1

Identifying Indoor Air Quality Issues

General Aire IAQ

Indoor air quality is a major component in proper comfort. Neglecting or ignoring air quality issues in a home or business can lead to discomfort and illness. However, for many homeowners, IAQ is an afterthought or a reactive solution. This shouldn’t be the case; filters, air cleaners, and air purifiers should be a part of every HVAC system. The Environmental Protection Agency reports that the average American can spend up to 90% of their time indoors and that indoor air quality can be up to 100 times worse than outdoor air quality.

One major reason that IAQ equipment isn’t more prevalent in homes is education. Most homeowners are unaware of the risks of poor air quality and, moreover, they are unaware of the ease with which air quality issues can be corrected. Luckily, GeneralAire has excellent resources available to make it easy to discuss air quality with your clients.

The Problems

  • Poor humidity control
  • Germs, microbes, and gasses
  • Particulates

We’ve covered how to combat each of these issues individually in the past, check out this blog post!

Failure to address any of these problems can negatively affect the health and comfort of a home’s inhabitants. Furthermore, these issues exacerbate one another; poor humidity control makes it easier for germs to grow and poor filtration taxes the immune system making people more susceptible to germs.

The Risks

Poor air quality typically manifests as health issues. These run the gamut from inconvenient to incredibly serious. Below is a list of symptoms to look out for:

  • Coughing and shortness of breath
  • Dry, red eyes and agitated allergies
  • Sneezing, congestion, and runny noses
  • Sinusitis
  • Dry skin and dermatitis
  • Asthma attacks
  • Bronchitis
  • Dizziness, headaches, and fatigue

Poor air quality can also aggravate heart conditions and affect concentration. These issues only compound the longer a person is exposed to poor air quality.

Health issues aren’t the only way to identify air quality issues in a space, though. Look for cracking wood and flaking paint, ask how quickly dust accumulates, take moisture and humidity readings, these things can help you identify potential air quality issues. You should also be on the lookout for lingering or unexplained odors as these can indicate poor airflow which is common in homes with low indoor air quality.

The Solution(s)

We’ve covered a lot of scary ground today but the point of this post is awareness, not gloom and doom. It’s important to be educated about these problems not only because of their seriousness, but also because they can be solved.

GeneralAire’s catalog of air purifiers & cleaners and humidity control products makes it easy for you to help your clients find an IAQ solution that fits their home. Below is a link to our past coverage of GeneralAire products, including recommendations for how to tackle each of these issues individually. Also included are convenient download links for GeneralAire’s educational IAQ resources.

Able Distributors IAQ Blog Posts

What the Experts Say About Indoor Air Quality & Your Health

What Are The Signs Of Poor Indoor Air Quality?

IAQ Diagnostic Checklist for Homeowners