Are At Home Air Quality Test Kits Worth the Money?

You have your suspicions but aren’t quite sure. Is your indoor air as pure and fresh as it could be? Unfortunately, Phoenix is known for polluted air that is among the nation’s worst­–according to a report from the American Lung Association. You want to have superior indoor air quality (IAQ), but what can you do? Start with at home air quality test kits.

IAQ Home Air Testing Kits

Home IAQ test kits are readily available online. These generally bundle popular test features in different packages, such as:

These partial home air testing kits (they do not test a full spectrum of air quality issues) can cost $30 up to almost $120. For a full analysis, you could spend well over $200 for a single test that samples your home’s air for:

Is an IAQ Test Kit Worth the Money?

At best, an IAQ home test kit is a starting point. It can relieve your stress and offer comfort if the report comes back negative (no alarming concentrations of these common household nuisances). It can point toward a need for further, more refined testing if it supports your suspicions that something in your Phoenix air is not quite right.

For mold, sampling is not very valuable. An inspection by a trained mold remediator is preferable to testing the air. A forensic industrial hygienist and the Environmental Protection Agency recommend against airborne mold testing, since visual evidence is sufficient.

If mold can be diagnosed without the use of an indoor air quality test kit, what about invisible, odorless invaders like deadly carbon monoxide (CO) or radioactive radon?

For other issues, a test can point you in the right direction, and can detect what humans cannot. Consumer Reports indicates six different issues (including CO and radon) to watch for other than mold. Tests can be conducted for all of these:

Path to Protection

Your next step after an IAQ test kit is to recruit professionals to re-test your air for a broad range of issues. Your local HVAC contractor is well-equipped to handle not only the testing, but remediation. Steps to clean and purify your Phoenix home’s air can include better filters, air purifiers, improved ventilation and controlling the sources of indoor air pollution.

For questions about buying and using an indoor air quality test kit, or to arrange a professional service call to assess your home’s IAQ, contact us at Ace Home Services. We’ll conduct a thorough, professional IAQ test and take care of any air quality issues that we discover–allowing you to attain a peace of mind.