House "Air Quality" Testing?

[DarkHorseRacing]

Hi all,

I feel like I have more nasal/allergy/sneezing issues at home than anywhere else. Is there a company (or a recommendation) for doing an indoor air quality test in a home to test for the prescense of mold or other allergens? I don't know if this house is making me sick, but I'd like to know. Also sometimes people tell me the house smells "musty" but I can never smell it, seems to happen more when the weather warms up than over winter.

How much do these tests normally cost? Can I get it done without getting upsold on air filtration systems?

 

[Icky]

Watching

 

[OldSchoolBoats]

Hi all,

I feel like I have more nasal/allergy/sneezing issues at home than anywhere else. Is there a company (or a recommendation) for doing an indoor air quality test in a home to test for the prescense of mold or other allergens? I don't know if this house is making me sick, but I'd like to know. Also sometimes people tell me the house smells "musty" but I can never smell it, seems to happen more when the weather warms up than over winter.

How much do these tests normally cost? Can I get it done without getting upsold on air filtration systems?

Depending on where you are located I may have a couple recommendations for you to get an ambient air test to determine if there are elevated levels of mold in the home.


Going to run you about $600 for that test.


When is the last time you changed your air filters?

A lot of people are experiencing similar issues, I get calls for mold tests everyday. In my opinion, a lot of it has to do with the weather we have been having, cloud seeding and the pollen in the air.

 

[OldSchoolBoats]

Another call to make would be to @Riverbound

I had similar issues, with allergies at hkme and some upgrades to our HVAC system worked wonders. We have UV filters, ionizers and HEPA filters.

 

[badgas]

Hi all,

I feel like I have more nasal/allergy/sneezing issues at home than anywhere else. Is there a company (or a recommendation) for doing an indoor air quality test in a home to test for the prescense of mold or other allergens? I don't know if this house is making me sick, but I'd like to know. Also sometimes people tell me the house smells "musty" but I can never smell it, seems to happen more when the weather warms up than over winter.

How much do these tests normally cost? Can I get it done without getting upsold on air filtration systems?

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I was listening to this guy on a podcast pretty eye opening. Could be a LOT going on, My wife and I have similar issues.

 

[Flying_Lavey]

I've been a big proponent of the use of ERV's in homes. Essentially it allows the HVAC system to do air exchanges in the home without dumping all the heat into the home in the summer or outside in the winter (it transfers heat through a heat exchanger).

That, coupled with a quality filter or ionizer will help indoor air quality a TON.

Lots of different ways of going about it though.

 

[Warlock1]

I need to do this as well.

 

[DarkHorseRacing]

Depending on where you are located I may have a couple recommendations for you to get an ambient air test to determine if there are elevated levels of mold in the home.


Going to run you about $600 for that test.


When is the last time you changed your air filters?

A lot of people are experiencing similar issues, I get calls for mold tests everyday. In my opinion, a lot of it has to do with the weather we have been having, cloud seeding and the pollen in the air.

Hi OSB, thanks for the reply. I change my filters once a year, just before winter as that is when we start running the heater a lot. I am in Arrowhead so we don’t run the HVAC after spring when it warms up enough to not need the heater. So I don’t bother changing twice a year as the heater sits idle from spring to summer and starting into fall in most cases.

The house “smell” seems to occur as the house warms up in spring.

The filters I buy are the best 3M Filtrete filters I can get (HEPA or nearly so). From either Lowes or HD.

I think $600 sounds reasonable for a one time test. Do they typically sample the air in each room?

 

[Flying_Lavey]

Hi OSB, thanks for the reply. I change my filters once a year, just before winter as that is when we start running the heater a lot. I am in Arrowhead so we don’t run the HVAC after spring when it warms up enough to not need the heater. So I don’t bother changing twice a year as the heater sits idle from spring to summer and starting into fall in most cases.

The house “smell” seems to occur as the house warms up in spring.

The filters I buy are the best 3M Filtrete filters I can get (HEPA or nearly so). From either Lowes or HD.

I think $600 sounds reasonable for a one time test. Do they typically sample the air in each room?

Do you not have AC on this system? I would not buy the expensive high rating 1" filters from the big box stores. They are HIGHLY restrictive and get plugged up very easily.

Being you're in Arrowhead, I'm guessing you are on a raised foundation? possibly underfloor ductwork? I'd investigate if there are odors working their way up through the floor and/or duct work.

 

[DarkHorseRacing]

Do you not have AC on this system? I would not buy the expensive high rating 1" filters from the big box stores. They are HIGHLY restrictive and get plugged up very easily.

Being you're in Arrowhead, I'm guessing you are on a raised foundation? possibly underfloor ductwork? I'd investigate if there are odors working their way up through the floor and/or duct work.

So I have two HVAC units. One on the old side of the house, heater only, vintage to the house I’m sure (house is 1979). Doesn’t smell on that side.

The new side of the house (a 2000’s addition to the original house) has a totally separate HVAC and doesn’t share ducting or anything But does have A/C (compressor tower outside). This is the side that smells. I honestly never run the A/C on this side (i have portable A/C in the bedroom only).

If you don’t like the big box filters, what should I be getting? The least restrictive 3M filter?

I will investigate the crawl space and any underfloor ductwork under the new side per your suggestion.

 

[traquer]

Not sure, but my buddy hired an asbestos company after that hangar burned down in Irvine and apparently had a crap ton of it. He was right next to it, locals were pissssed.

I don't think mold is a big problem in SOcal? I might be wrong.

 

[Flying_Lavey]

So I have two HVAC units. One on the old side of the house, heater only, vintage to the house I’m sure (house is 1979). Doesn’t smell on that side.

The new side of the house (a 2000’s addition to the original house) has a totally separate HVAC and doesn’t share ducting or anything But does have A/C (compressor tower outside). This is the side that smells. I honestly never run the A/C on this side (i have portable A/C in the bedroom only).

If you don’t like the big box filters, what should I be getting? The least restrictive 3M filter?

I will investigate the crawl space and any underfloor ductwork under the new side per your suggestion.

If you have a 4+" filter then the higher MERV filters are fine. The 1" high MERV filters are just too damn restrictive for the residential systems and can cause issues from reducing airflow too much. If you are using a 1" or even a 2" filter, I suggest a MERV 8. Others may suggest otherwise, I just find that to be a good balance between filtration and airflow. Specially for a 20ish year old unit.

 

[azsunfun]

Air sampling is a point in time test, you can have different results 5 minutes later. Go to the allergy Dr. And see exactly what your allergic to. Swabbing areas of concern can give more accurate results.

 

[Justfishing]

I guarantee you have mold. Everyone has mold. There are over 100k types of mold and its in the air.
Your house has mold and mold food. Two of the 3 things for mold. The 3rd thing needed is moisture and its the only thing you can control.

Do you have bathroom and kitchen exhaust fans blowing to the outside? Do you use them.

How big is your bedroom and who is sleeping with you. A spouse, pets . House plants? Aquarium?.

You would be surprised by the build up of co2 in a bedroom with the door closed. Thats why i asked who sleeps in the same room. With 2 or more people and or animals you need vetilation and maybe a room air purifier and or dehumidifier.

You can have a very leaky house but you have to have a driving force to help the air exchange. When the temp inside and outside are close to the same you have very little driving force unless iits windy. Given no ac i would say very little air exchange.

Media air filter like hepa catch particulates but not vapor. Carbon filters absorb chemicals. A good quality room air purifier may help. I would recommend "austin air". Hepa filter with pounds of charcoal. Only 1 I know of like that.

The other thing is track humidity. You want to keep it below50%. A dehumidifier may be in order.

 

[Justfishing]

I just read about the crawl space. It should be treated as a mini basment. Sealed to the outside. If it doesnt have a rat slab then it needs a thick air/vapor barrier sealed to the walls and around piers.

A lot of moisture will migrate up from the dirt. Could have radon and other unhealthy stuff.

Go to building science corp .com and read about crawl spaces

 

[DarkHorseRacing]

If you have a 4+" filter then the higher MERV filters are fine. The 1" high MERV filters are just too damn restrictive for the residential systems and can cause issues from reducing airflow too much. If you are using a 1" or even a 2" filter, I suggest a MERV 8. Others may suggest otherwise, I just find that to be a good balance between filtration and airflow. Specially for a 20ish year old unit.

Yeah all the filters are like 20x30x1 types.

 

[Flying_Lavey]

Yeah all the filters are like 20x30x1 types.

Yeah, I would suggest the HDX MERV 8 filters or equivalent from Lowe's. I absolutely would not go more than a MERV 11. And even then, figure replacing them once a month in the winter time.

Also Justfishing made a good point about the humidity. Not running your AC in the summer doesn't help to keep the house dry. Not moving air throught the ductwork and various other places allows condensation to form and thus can promote growth. If you really dont want to run the A/C, that is fine, but I would highly suggest running some fans and the A/C fan fairly frequently to keep the house well ventilated and help reduce moisture build-up.

BTW, for those not familiar...... hot air can contain a lot more moisture than cold air. Air with a 50 degree dry-bulb temp (typical temperature measurement) with 50% humidity has a quarter of the amount of water in the air as does a 90 degree dry-bulb temp at 50% humidity.

 

[NicPaus]

Not sure, but my buddy hired an asbestos company after that hangar burned down in Irvine and apparently had a crap ton of it. He was right next to it, locals were pissssed.

I don't think mold is a big problem in SOcal? I might be wrong.

Mold is common in SoCal. See it a lot. 2 in the last week. Kitchen and a bathroom. Lots of common household molds. Few bad ones. Customer had there house torn down and rebuilt cause of Stachy.

 

[Orange Juice]

It’s Spring. I suggest you take allergy pills for 3 weeks.

 

[dezertrider]

Here is an easy way to upgrade your filtration and get MERV13 filtration without breaking the bank. Adding a good Photo Catalytic Ocidizer (PCO) UV air cleaner will do wonders.

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