indoor air quality

Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) is a general term that is used to characterize indoor environmental conditions that can impact or influence the building occupant’s health and comfort.

Due to rising heating and cooling costs over the last 3 decades we have gone to great lengths to make our homes air tight. The result is that indoor pollutants have become trapped in our home making indoor air quality worse than outside. Clean air is vital to the body, and it's important for you and your whole family. So, if air is so important, shouldn't it be the best it can be.

Studies have shown that poor indoor air quality can have a major impact on occupant safety, health and comfort resulting in health concerns, lost productivity, liability issues, and decreased property values.

what is indoor air pollution?

Indoor air pollution sources include attached garages, carpets and furniture, adhesives, water leaks and condensation, dust/particulate, pets, chemical storage, poorly operating heaters, and inadequate ventilation.

Indoor air pollution has increased over the past few decades for a variety of reasons such as:

  • Construction of more tightly sealed buildings and consequently reduced ventilation rates to save energy
  • The use of synthetic building materials and furnishings, solvents, paints, varnishes, carpets, pesticides, formaldehyde, radon, asbestos, causing long term and short term illnesses
  • Increased use of chemical products such as pesticides, housekeeping supplies, and personal care products
  • Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS)
  • Biological contaminants like bacteria, viruses, fungus exhaled by humans or due to presence of high humidity

Common Indoor air pollutants:

  • Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)
  • Dust mites
  • Formaldehyde
  • Mold, Bacteria
  • Carbon Monoxide
  • Radon
  • Smoke, Soot, Particulate
  • Pet dander, Pollen
  • Ozone
  • Asbestos, Lead
  • Pesticides

Here are some facts:

  • Studies indicate children spend more and more time indoors, and less and less outside.
  • People may spend 90% of their time indoors.
  • Indoor air pollution may exist at levels 2 to 5 times more than outdoor levels.
  • Sometimes, the concentration indoors is 100 times the outdoor pollutant concentration.

what are the potential health effects?

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ranks indoor air pollution among the top 4 health concerns today. People will react very differently to exposure to indoor air pollutants.

Symptoms frequently related to poor indoor air quality:
  • Dryness and irritation of the eyes, nose, throat, and skin
  • Headache
  • Fatigue
  • Shortness of breath
  • Hypersensitivity and allergies
  • Sinus congestion
  • Coughing and sneezing
  • Dizziness
  • Nausea
  • Inability to concentrate, irritability
  • Lethargy

Generally with indoor air quality problems, most people feel better as soon as they eliminate the source of the pollution. However some pollutants, depending on the chemical, its concentration in the air, and the length of exposure, can cause diseases that show up much later. These effects, which include asthma, chronic bronchitis, heart disease, decreased lung capacity and performance and cancer, can be severely debilitating or fatal. It is important to try to improve the indoor air quality in your home even if symptoms are not noticeable.

the dangers of indoor air pollution for newborns

The impact that indoor air quality has on children is significant however, for infants there is an even greater concern. This is primarily due to several aspects of a baby’s developing body.

There are three main reasons why air quality concerns could even prove fatal to a baby.

  • A baby's lungs are still developing and therefore are more sensitive than an adult's. In this phase of development, the lung tissue is more easily damaged and unlikely to recover even in adulthood.
  • The overall size of babies' lungs makes them very susceptible to air quality ills. What would represent a small amount of air pollution for a pair of adult lungs would constitute a huge problem to lungs that are less than a quarter the size of an adults'.
  • Because of their small lung capacity, babies take many more breaths per hour than an adult, so they have greater exposure to air quality problems.

The beginning of a baby's life is marked by his or her first breath of air. Amidst nursery renovations and the exciting preparations for that day when you bring home your newest family member, sadly, there is one element that is often over-looked; the quality of the air that your baby will breathe. This basic facet of your baby's health will impact the rest of his or her life. It is only logical that most of a baby's exposure to airborne contaminants will take place indoors, since at first so many hours are passed sleeping and playing inside.

Research published in The American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine found that babies growing up in damp homes where mold and mildew or water damage are present had an 86% higher risk of developing upper respiratory infections in the first year, such as croup, pneumonia, and bronchitis.

The lead researcher, Paul C. Stark, PhD, a professor of environmental health with Harvard University School of Public Health, found this to be significant stating that “Children's immune systems develop in the first year of life. Young children with respiratory infections have significantly worse problems later on”.

The quality of the air your child breathes, during the first several years in particular, is a major factor in determining whether the rest of life will be enjoyed in health-- or be compromised by illness.

Pets

While it's been known for many years that mold can cause respiratory problems and pulmonary hemorrhage in humans, the first documented case of it causing illness in pets didn't come until 2005 when it was proven that mold exposure caused the death of two Himalayan cats. Before then, mold had not been typically associated with disease in pets. Now we know that pets are often the first to experience the symptoms and health effects caused by mold. Many times pets get sick and some even die without it ever being known that their illness was mold related.

The effects of mold poisoning in pets can range from skin disorders to mild respiratory disease to lung trauma. In dogs and cats mold poisoning can cause weakening of the capillaries in the lungs and when the capillaries are stressed, they burst and bleed. A complication from the hemorrhaging of their lungs is what killed the two Himalayan cats.

Some molds can cause severe and often fatal infections in dogs that can affect the kidneys, the liver, lymph nodes and many other organs and muscles. With these infections your dog may show signs of circling, staggering, and changes in behavior, accompanied by sneezing, coughing, nasal and eye discharge, and in some cases, blindness.

The unfortunate fact is that, unless we recognize mold as a potential health risk for pets, many illnesses will be misdiagnosed. The unfortunate result is needless suffering, expensive and unnecessary medications or procedures and preventable deaths.

indoor air quality specialists

The issues concerning Environmental investigations are diverse, and can be complex. We believe that taking a general approach to these issues cannot be effective. We are committed to providing our clients with the right services by first understanding the needs of their unique project.

While every investigation is unique, each has these essential core components.

  • Interview process to gather pertinent information
  • Physical inspection and site assessment (sampling when appropriate)
  • Report and review

All Thermal Solutions consultants are certified indoor air quality specialists. Our attention to detail, comprehensive data collection methods and more than 10 years experience ensures you’ll receive accurate results and the most effective solutions.

From the first day of the project to the last and beyond, we provide each customer with unmatched customer service. Because we will work closely with remediation contractors, making sure we are available to answer questions about our report and protocol, or if needed to quickly provide any necessary clarification or updates to the scope, our clients can avoid contractor delays, which often saves them money and overall means less stress. We believe that is why our repeat customers and customer referrals continue to be such a large part of our business.



Real Estate

what you should be aware of as a real estate professional

  • You could potentially be liable if you sell a home with undisclosed mold problems.
  • A standard home inspection DOES NOT address mold related issues.
  • Beware of home inspectors, termite inspectors, or any company that is performing mold tests as a sideline. The majority of them don’t have the necessary experience nor do they carry the proper insurance for any such testing or assessments, leaving you vulnerable.

how thermal solutions can help

We understand both the unique dynamics and the demanding time limitations of real estate transactions and have developed services specifically geared to meet those needs. We work closely with real estate agents, brokers, buyers, sellers, and lenders to assure everyone has the information they need when they need it. We pride ourselves on quality inspections that are fast, accurate and affordable, and on providing clear, concise reports that are written in plain language with intent to inform instead of alarm.

Selling a home in today's market is a challenge. As the inventory of available homes increases, sellers face increasing competition, requiring higher standards for maximum home sale price. So whether you are looking to show case a home’s energy efficient features, help increase buyer confidence by certifying a home’s healthy air quality, assist a seller in meeting disclosure requirements, or you plan to negotiate price and need documentation to submit to the bank as part of a short sale package, you’ll find that our inspections can be powerful and innovative tools that help you “close the deal” – not lose it.

Contractors

Thermal Solutions offers special hourly rates and services to contractors. Regardless of what phase of the project you are in we may be able to save you time and money. From locating leaking pipes under a concrete slab to mapping out the framing of a house behind the siding, infrared technology can provide vital information to make jobs run smoothly and efficiently. Our indoor air quality inspections will put any mold or allergy concerns your client may have to rest. And if you’re looking at going green, our building envelope and insulation inspections are a great way to document the quality of construction. With an extensive construction background and the number of projects under our belt our knowledgeable and certified staff will be a great addition to any job site.

Schools

Our children are the most important thing in the world to us. When they are not at home they are spending the majority of their time indoors in a classroom. Along with being overcrowded, many classrooms are in aging buildings that receive only the most necessary maintenance as the budget can barely keep the teachers employed. It’s widely believed to be only a matter of time before these conditions result in significant impact to our children’s health. We recognize how serious this problem will become and we are currently developing exciting solutions that will prove beneficial to everyone. Ask us about special school programs for your child’s school.

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