Top-Rated Air Quality Testing in Irvine, Orange County, CA

Poor indoor air quality can cause a variety of negative health side effects, including:

• Irritated eyes, noses, and throats
• Shortness of breath
• Aggravated asthma
• Respiratory problems
• Cardiovascular issues
• Heart concerns

The longer a person is exposed to and breathing air pollutants, the more severe these health consequences can be. In general, children and seniors are the most at-risk, as well as people with pre-existing allergies or respiratory conditions.

Exposure to contaminants in the air can affect everyone’s health, not just people who live in big, polluted cities. We should all care about contaminants that could worsen our health and ability to breathe.

Ignoring the signs of contaminated air can lead to many of the health concerns listed above, and in serious cases, even hospitalization or premature death. Air quality is certainly not something anyone should take lightly.

Yes - although not to the same extent that professionals can. There are indoor air quality monitors you can install in your home to notify you when contaminants are present or risks are high. These are small electronic devices that can test for particulate matter, chemicals, and humidity. Some even test for carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide.

Whether you’re using a fancy Wi-Fi-enabled air quality monitor or a simple particle counter, all of these electronic devices work to test your air and alert you when something is wrong. Their sensors detect the presence of dangerous particles including VOCs, CO, CO2, and more.

A simple particle counter will help you understand what’s in your air like:

• Bacteria
• Mold
• Smoke
• Dust
• Plat spores
• Pollens
• Dust

Particle counters provide some general information, but if you want to know more about specific types of particles or gases in your home, you’ll likely need to look for a higher-quality monitor. Today, you can find WiFi and Bluetooth-enabled monitors that will even connect to your phone.

You probably already have a CO detector in your home. Both radon and CO are invisible and scentless, which makes it impossible for humans to identify them without the help of a detector.

Detectors, in general, do work. They are calibrated to measure radon and CO with a high level of accuracy and effectiveness.

You might have seen air cleaners or purifiers touted online - and they do help with many contaminants such as dust and pollen. However, a basic purifier won’t catch anything more dangerous like volatile organic compounds or radon. For that, you need something more high-functioning.

Also - remember to change your purifier’s filter at least every three months. Otherwise, you might be blowing out dust and other contaminants as much as you remove them.

The most effective air cleaners are “HEPA” filters. These will be adequate enough to filter out large particles including smoke and allergens.

The short answer is yes - it’s good to know what your home’s humidity levels are. The EPA recommends keeping them around 30 to 50 percent. You can determine what your levels are with a digital humidity meter from any hardware store.

An EER rating refers to the “Energy Efficiency Ratio,” a standardized measurement of how efficient an air conditioner is. The SEER rating is the “Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio,” which measures how efficiently an air conditioner works over an entire season.

An IAQ test is the best way to truly measure indoor air quality. It can be conducted through various methods and will assess radon, mold, and VOC levels.

If you suspect that something is compromising the air quality in your home or office, scheduling an indoor air quality test is the best way to rule out dangerous pollutants or identify and remove contaminants.

The EPA’s official recommendation is that you have your air ducts cleaned as needed. You should also have your ducts inspected before each heating season to avoid the spread of carbon monoxide from fireplaces, stoves, or other fuel-burning appliances.

• Fuel-burning combustion appliances
• Tabacco products
• Moisture issues
• Humidification devices
• Central heating/cooling systems
• Building materials
• Household cleaning and maintenance products
• Secondhand smoke
• Mold

The EPA lists the four most dangerous indoor air pollutants as cigarette smoke, formaldehyde, radioactive radon-222 gas, and very small, fine particles that can enter human bloodstreams and cause a variety of health concerns.

Many of our clients wonder how often they should test the air in their homes. We like to remind them that as environmental factors and conditions indoors change, so does the risk of contaminants within your airflow.

We recommend that homeowners check their air quality at least once during warm summer seasons or during a yearly dramatic weather change. If you make big changes in your house, like painting rooms or buying lots of new furniture, you may also be dealing with new chemicals in the air and request an air quality check.

The cost of indoor air quality testing can vary depending on a variety of factors; the time involvement required to come onsite and conduct sampling, the type and number of samples or monitoring equipment needed to evaluate the air quality, or surface samples to determine the presence of mold or other contaminants, and generate a report with the level of detail appropriate for each client situation.

Symptoms related to poor air quality exposure vary from person to person. In most cases, individuals with a weakened immune system, immuno-compromised, autoimmune disorder, asthma, cancer, or allergies show worse exposure symptoms compared to a healthy individual. However, prolonged exposure to mold contaminants and toxins can have adverse health effects on anyone exposed to it. Some exposure symptoms include respiratory distress, coughing, skin rash, sneezing, sinusitis, difficulty swallowing, choking, spitting up (vomiting) mucous, Hypersensitivity pneumonitis, Asthmatic signs; wheezing, shortness in breath, coughing, burning in lungs, etc., Irritable bowel syndrome, nausea, diarrhea, sharp abdominal pains, stomach lesions, Memory loss; brain fog, slurred speech, Thyroid irregularities, Headaches, Chronic fatigue, Reproductive system complications, and Seizures, inadvertent body jerking, twitching.

Air quality testing can detect a number of airborne contaminants. Some of the more common contaminants that air quality testing shows are: Identification and enumeration of fungal spores, total dander, fiber and pollen counts, cellulose fibers, dander, fiberglass, and other particles that may affect indoor air quality and bacteria and viruses. 

Each Air Quality test consists of two samples, one from the suspected area, and one base sample from outside to compare the two. General indoor air quality testing duration normally lasts between 10-15 minutes per sample, plus set up a time for equipment. However, if a client would like to determine the prolonged exposure potential to suspected airborne contaminants we also offer a 24-48 hour air monitoring system to show a more accurate depiction of the home's indoor air quality.