What is Indoor Air Quality?

People spend up to 90 per cent of their time indoors – at home, school and work. Air pollution isn’t only an outdoor problem. The air in enclosed spaces, such as home, schools or workplaces, can also be polluted, from pollutants that have seeped in from the outdoors and pollutants emitted from indoor sources. In fact, some kinds of air pollution can be worse indoors than outdoors, such as tobacco smoke, mold, and chemicals released from synthetic fabrics, furnishings and household products.

Effect of Indoor Air Quality:

Poor indoor air quality may cause one or more symptoms such as headache, wheezing, tiredness, and coughing, sneezing, sinus congestion, shortness of breath, dizziness, nausea, and irritation of the eyes, nose or throat. Allergy or asthma symptoms may also get worse because of poor indoor air quality.

NewTech International provide IAQ monitoring services that can cover a wide range of parameters. There are many sources of indoor air pollution in any home. These include combustion sources such as oil, gas, kerosene, coal, wood, and tobacco products; building materials and furnishings as diverse as deteriorated, asbestos-containing insulation, wet or damp carpet, and cabinetry or furniture made of certain pressed wood products; products for household cleaning and maintenance, personal care, or hobbies; central heating and cooling systems and humidification devices; and outdoor sources such as radon, pesticides, and outdoor air pollution.

The relative importance of any single source depends on how much of a given pollutant it emits and how hazardous those emissions are. In some cases, factors such as how old the source is and whether it is properly maintained are significant. For example, an improperly adjusted gas stove can emit significantly more carbon monoxide than one that is properly adjusted.

Some sources, such as building materials, furnishings, and household products like air fresheners, release pollutants more or less continuously. Other sources, related to activities carried out in the home, release pollutants intermittently.

These include smoking, the use of unvented or malfunctioning stoves, furnaces, or space heaters, the use of solvents in cleaning and hobby activities, the use of paint strippers in redecorating activities, and the use of cleaning products and pesticides in house-keeping. High pollutant concentrations can remain in the air for long periods after some of these activities.

All these factors can lead to a loss in productivity increase in sick days and long term illnesses. Hence it is imperative to monitor IAQ regularly.