Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Is the air in your home, school, or office safe to breathe? If you cannot answer this question honestly, you are in good company. Most people don’t know how to tell if the quality of indoor air is good or bad.

Generally, people only become aware that there is something wrong with the air if it becomes clouded or smelly. But there are a lot of things that can go wrong with air quality that does not leave it hazy or with a bad odor, warns Lonnie Bush Management.

Being able to tell if the air we breathe is good quality is important. Because there are several substances around us that can negatively impact the quality of the air we breathe. And many of them are in everyday products we consider safe. Everyone should understand how indoor air loses its quality and how to tell when this happens.

What is good air quality?

Air has good quality when it does not impair people's health or affect their comfort. This means it does not contain materials that could make people ill or uneasy. There is a long list of contaminants that could affect the quality of air in an indoor space. They include:

Tobacco smoke, carbon dioxide (CO2), perfume, and body odors from the occupants of a building.
Dust, asbestos, fiberglass, gases, and formaldehyde from building materials.
Toxic vapors - Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) - released by cleansers, solvents, paints, pesticides, disinfectants, and glues.
Gases, vapors, or odors from furniture, carpets, and paints.
Dust mites from fabrics, carpets, and foam chair cushions.
Microbes - fungi, molds, and bacteria - from damp areas, stagnant water, or condensate pans.
Ozone from photocopiers, electric motors, and electrostatic air cleaners.

From this list, it is clear that maintaining good indoor air quality is not an easy task. There are so many things that can compromise indoor air quality, and many of them can be present without ever knowing it. This is why even though the best way to ensure good air quality is to eliminate contaminants, it is not enough.

In addition to doing it, it is essential to constantly monitor the space and people in it for signs of bad air quality. What are the telltale signs of bad air quality?

Signs of poor indoor air quality

1. People's health

One of the best indicators of poor indoor air quality is the health of a building's occupants. Poor indoor air quality can result in a range of health problems. These include:

Hypersensitivity, allergies, incessant headaches, and dizziness
Shortness of breath, fever, chills, sinus congestion
Fatigue, nausea/vomiting, muscle pain, dizziness, unremitting coughing, and sneezing
Rashes, shortness of breath, and dryness and irritation of the eyes, nose, throat, and skin.

Many of these problems can be due to other causes, but if they are widespread among a building's occupants, the cause is usually poor air quality. Moreover, because of the sealed nature of indoor spaces, they can be more polluted than outside. If people's symptoms go away when they are outside, but return once they are indoors, the cause is almost certainly poor air quality.

2. Chemical signs of poor air quality

Bad air quality also reveals itself in how materials react when they come into contact with contaminants. These can include blackening of copper wiring, unusual coloring, discoloration, cracking or withering signs on items made of silver, wood and leather, and gaseous odors.

3. Excessive dust buildup

Excesses dust accumulating around air vents and on surfaces in the space is not a consequence but a cause of poor air quality. If this is happening, an explosion of the health issues associated with poor air quality may be expected among a building's occupants. This is caused by the buildup of pollen, dust mites, pet dander, and other allergenic particulates in the area.

4. Humidity Issues

The optimal level of relative humidity that ensures human comfort, but prevents the growth of microorganisms is 35-50%. If the humidity falls below this level, it will result in dryness of the body, accompanied by dry & itchy eyes, skin, and sinuses, as well as, a surge in respiratory illnesses.

Alternatively, if humidity is too high, it will encourage the growth of mold, mildew, and microbes. If the space suffers from humidity issues, poor air quality will be a big possibility.

5. Mold & mildew growth

Excessively high relative humidity is synonymous with mold and mildew growth. Another condition that favors their growth is poor air circulation. The buildup of mold spores can trigger allergic reactions in the people inside a building. Mold also releases a musty odor that hangs in the air inside any space where it grows.

6. Uneven temperatures

If some rooms in a building are cool, while others are warm, there is a problem of inadequate air circulation. This will result in uneven temperatures and relative humidity levels around the building. This will lead to stale air not being circled out of some parts of the building and a buildup of contaminants in that space. Additionally, it could create temperature and humidity issues that would favor mold and mildew growth.

What Are Indicators for Good or Bad Indoor Air Quality?