Air Apparent

Air is without question one of the most important things in our day-to-day lives. I know – stating the obvious, however when was the last time you thought about the air around you?

Today, our construction techniques are yielding tighter buildings with less and less outside air getting in. Add hurricane windows to the mix and indoor air pollution can become a real concern. Until now, testing air in your home or office would have been a very expensive process, easily running into hundreds of dollars. I am extremely excited to announce that Art Plumbing & Air Conditioning has acquired the latest and greatest diagnostic tool in the history of air quality.

Introducing Air Advice™– In a very short thirty-minute time span, the Air Advance tool measures for particles, chemicals, carbon dioxide, temperature, relative humidity, and carbon monoxide. Then through the magic of wireless cellular signals, the data is sent to a third party server that analyzes all the readings and gives us a detailed report of what is going on in our tested home or office.

All measurements are taken in microgram per cubic meter of air (ug/m3) or in parts per millions (ppm). According to the American Lung Association, particles can trigger asthma or allergies at levels of 35 ug/m3 or higher. Normally healthy individuals can experience diminished lung capacity. They also state that children, senior citizens and pregnant women are more susceptible to lung damage from high levels of particulates in the air.

Next up, we are looking for any chemicals that may be stacking up in our tested area from objects off- gassing in the home, cleaning products, air fresheners and other chemicals we use in our day-to-day lives. These are commonly known as VOC’s (volatile organic chemicals). Again, chemical levels in our tested area become a cause for concern at levels higher than 500 ug/m3. Chemical pollutants can trigger asthma, cause eye and nasal passages to be irritated, and at very high levels, can cause your liver and kidneys to be overworked.

Carbon dioxide is our next subject for testing. All mammals create carbon dioxide when they exhale, and again back to our tighter buildings, it can stack in a building causing fatigue, headaches and itchy skin. CO2 poisoning is very rare according to the EPA, and the recommended levels need to be below 1000 PPM. This is one of the easiest problems to rectify, by simply introducing outside air into our structure.

Carbon monoxide is next up. By definition, carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless, poisonous gas produced by combustion. Carbon monoxide is not a concern in homes that have no gas or propane appliances. In homes with gas burning appliances the levels need to be below 6 PPM. At levels above 25 PPM immediate action needs to be taken to prevent sickness or ultimately death.

The last two things we are going to test for are temperature & humidity. Temperature concerns can be corrected with things such as new thermostats, ductwork corrections, and having the thermal envelope evaluated. Humidity can be a little trickier depending on what is causing high humidity levels to be elevated. High humidity for extended periods of time in a structure can cause comfort issues, as well as possible mold issues. Needless to say, I’m very excited to have this new diagnostic tool to help improve air quality in people’s lives. Please call us at 1-888-TELL-ART to schedule your air quality evaluation today. Let us make what is in the air apparent.

House Whisperer out…..