Snuff out that cigarette for a moment and learn more about a valuable resource for your home or office.
What’s that smell?
Have you ever walked into a room and been slapped in the face with a wave of mildew smell? Perhaps your olfactory senses weren’t triggered, but your sinuses went into overdrive, producing an embarrassing amount of mucus and phlegm. Have you ever felt dizzy and lightheaded after spending some time in a specific enclosed space, feeling the need to take a long (too long) nap? These are all signs of poor and/or dangerous air quality. And as we have repeatedly learned, good air quality (indoors and outdoors) is vital to our health!
So many pollutants
At-home air quality test kits can measure different biological, chemical, and combustion pollutants. (If this doesn’t explain enough, you can learn more about these pollutants in this article: How to test At-Home Air Quality
Excuse me, Can you Not shed your Dander in my space please?
Biological pollutants like mold, dust mites, and dander can be very common (especially if you live in the Pacific Northwest, own animals, or simply live in your house). No need to worry about pet dander if you happen to be in the market for a dog. Some dogs are grown hypoallergenic now. (They’ve thought of everything)
Radon? Isn’t that from a superhero movie?
Chemical pollutants can be things like radon, lead, and formaldehyde. Hopefully, you’ve phased out the lead in your paints and other household items. The hazards of lead have been known for a little while, at least.
What tipped you off?
Combustion pollutants, such as carbon monoxide and dioxide, are well-known, sometimes deadly pollutants. Tobacco smoke is considered a combustion pollutant, though I imagine you would know if that was lingering in your space. The ashtray full of cigarette butts and smoky tendrils hanging in the air would be an efficient tip-off.
Keep your fluids to yourself
The cool thing about at-home air quality test kits is that they don’t require any blood, saliva, urine, or sampling of bodily functions. That’s a nice change of pace from the other kits we’ve talked about (and probably not surprising). These test kits take samples from the air in various spaces, and most offer the results instantly on a screen in front of you.
What’s that growing in the corner of the shower?
If you’re testing for mold, you’ll need a petri dish and results read by a lab. Or, you could save yourself the money and make a note of the mold growing on your bathroom walls or the bedrooms’ window sills. What you do with those results and cleaning up the mold is up to you… YouTube?
I know money doesn’t grow on trees, but neither does clean air…oh, wait…
These air-quality test kits do tend to run more expensive than the other kits we’ve mentioned, but air quality affects everyone that walks into the space, so you’ll undoubtedly get your money’s worth. Learn more about the best at-home air quality monitor kits here: Best At Home Air Quality Monitors
Vote for better indoor air quality (and a lot of other things we desperately need)
We may not feel we have much control over the air quality outside (especially not with the new Supreme Court ruling involving the EPA’s ability to regulate), so take your power back where you can. Test your indoor air quality, clean it up, and keep those windows closed (and remember, you have power in the voting box…you could even bring along a portable monitor and test the air quality).