Tag: IAQ

Indoor Air Quality and ChatGPT by OpenAI

Sotirios Papathanasiou4 Comments

This is the first Artificial Intelligent (AI) written article on Indoor Air Quality. I was interested to see if technology understands the issue. I have done zero corrections. What do you think?

Indoor air quality (IAQ) is an important but often overlooked aspect of a home’s environment. Poor IAQ can lead to a variety of health issues, such as asthma, allergies, headaches, and other respiratory and cardiovascular problems. Given the health risks associated with poor IAQ, it’s important to understand the sources of indoor air pollutants, the measures you can take to reduce them, and the steps you should take if you suspect your home has a IAQ issue.

Indoor air pollutants come from a variety of sources, including mold, dust mites, pet dander, pollen, chemicals, and building materials. These pollutants can enter your home through open windows, ventilation systems, and other pathways. Poor maintenance of these sources can lead to an increase in the amount of pollutants in the air. For example, failing to regularly clean carpets and filters can lead to an accumulation of dust and other contaminants.

One source of indoor air pollution that is often dismissed is wood burning. Wood burning can produce both direct and indirect air pollutants, such as smoke, soot, and other particulate matter. The smoke can contain a variety of hazardous compounds, such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, and formaldehyde. In addition, the smoke from wood burning can also contain other pollutants, such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs). All of these pollutants can be hazardous to human health, particularly if the exposure is prolonged.

Fortunately, there are several steps you can take to reduce the levels of indoor air pollutants and improve the quality of your home’s air. Regularly cleaning carpets, upholstery, and other surfaces can help reduce the amount of dust and other allergens in the air. Additionally, regularly changing the air filters in your air conditioning and heating systems can help reduce the amount of dust and other particles in the air. Finally, using an air purifier can also help reduce the amount of indoor air pollutants.

If you suspect your home has a IAQ issue, it’s important to take steps to investigate and address the problem. The first step is to identify the source of the problem. This can involve hiring professionals to assess the air quality in your home, as well as conducting tests to identify the specific pollutants in the air. Once the source of the problem has been identified, you can then take steps to address it, such as improving ventilation, cleaning regularly, and using air purifiers.

In conclusion, poor IAQ can lead to a variety of health issues, including asthma, allergies, headaches, and other respiratory and cardiovascular problems. Therefore, it’s important to understand the sources of indoor air pollutants, the measures you can take to reduce them, and the steps you should take if you suspect your home has a IAQ issue. By taking steps to reduce indoor air pollutants and address the sources of IAQ issues, you can help ensure your home’s air quality is as healthy as possible.

Advertisement

Indoor Air Quality Do’s and Don’ts

Sotirios Papathanasiou5 Comments

When it comes to indoor air we have to be very careful because common activities can deteriorate the air quality very fast. Apart from the fact that we spend a lot of time indoors, an indoor environment needs more time to recover once air pollution become present because houses tend to be very tight and don’t allow the dilution of pollutants as fast as ambient air.

Even people that are very conscious, like myself, commit mistakes. The other day, for example, I was preparing caramel syrup for a holiday dessert, and as I wasn’t paying attention to the caramel (because I was multitasking), the caramel burnt. In a matter of seconds, IAQ dropped significantly. VOCs and PMx concentrations rose. At that moment and based on the outdoor conditions, I decided that it was more appropriate to open all windows in order to dilute the pollutants fast. Cross ventilation to the rescue!

Read More »

Webinar – IAQ from A to Z

Sotirios PapathanasiouLeave a comment

Join my webinar on January 11th 2022 at 10:00 AM EST as I discusses Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) from A to Z. Effective measurement of IAQ reduces the health risks associated with poor indoor air, creating a safer, more harmonious environment for people to thrive.

We spend up to 87% of our time indoors. In some cases, exposure to indoor air pollution can lead to acute and chronic respiratory illnesses, including asthma, lung cancer, pneumonia, systemic hypertension, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Finally, I will discuss the common sources and pollutants indoors, international IAQ standards, and many more.

Register here ⬇️⬇️⬇️

https://forms.gle/isUyLHwykGNXE61G9

How to Eliminate Odors from Indoor Spaces

Sotirios PapathanasiouLeave a comment

Let me tell you from the beginning it is not an easy task. Odors are VOCs, sulfur-containing compounds, and nitrogen-containing compounds. In most cases, odors come from rotten food inside the garbage bin or off-gassing materials that are new and of a low-quality like furniture, paint, and flooring.

Sulfur-containing compounds like hydrogen sulfide (rotten eggs smell), dimethyl sulfide (rotten cabbage smell), etc are produced during the anaerobic breakdown of food waste. They have a low odor threshold, which means that we can smell them even in only very small amounts.

Nitrogen-containing compounds like putrescine (rotting meat smell), trimethylamine (fishy smell), etc have a low odor threshold. Unlike ammonia (pungent smell) which is produced in large quantities, it has a higher odor threshold, so doesn’t contribute to indoor smell as much.

Another source of unpleasant odor indoors is the combustion of cigarettes/wood as the chemicals released from the burning biomass can infuse inside the walls and textiles. They call it thirdhand smoke as the residual contamination from smoke lingers indoors, and the cancer-causing substances such as formaldehyde can harm us.

What NOT to do!

Read More »

The Dark Side of the Wood Stove Industry

Sotirios Papathanasiou10 Comments

You probably have seen “cozy” images of fireplaces or wood stoves with happy people, a blanket around them, and a hot beverage and you may have thought that’s something very appealing, I want that! Well, I would suggest thinking twice before taking that decision and if you have already taken it, maybe it’s time to undo your mistake.

You see, people get sick thanks to these “cozy” elements in houses. It’s very hard to undo the brain wash the wood stove industry has done all of these years but we have to realize that wood burning is neither sustainable nor healthy.

Many claims that biomass is sustainable but this is a myth. A story designed to push people into spending money for status or simple ineffective heating. You see, clean energy (wind, solar, etc) doesn’t require the user to buy fuel, logs, or pellets every season. It is there for us but doesn’t generate constant revenue for the companies.

Read More »

Modern Houses & Indoor Air Quality 🏡

Sotirios PapathanasiouLeave a comment

One will think that the more modern the house, the better the indoor air quality. However, that’s not always the truth as recently I discovered that many houses have inadequate appliances that will create harmful air pollutants and some of them will falsely mitigate contaminants by creating a false sense of remediation.

Example #1

Gas cooktops are a must according to good chefs as the pans are able to heat immediately and you have more control of the heat. That’s not true as the new induction cook tops are able to heat the bottom of the pans as fast without releasing harmful pollutants like Nitrogen dioxide.

Read More »

Review: Mila Air Purifier by Mila Cares

Sotirios Papathanasiou2 Comments

Indoor air purification made affordable!? If you see the competition out there, you will notice that some air purifiers are crazy expensive. Sometimes justified, but most of the time not so much. The problem is that in a modern household we want smart devices that will manage stuff for us automatically and intelligently. Here comes Mila Air, an air purifier for the modern ages in an affordable package.

Mila Air by Mila Cares uses proven techniques to remove air pollutants from your indoor environment such as filters with HEPA H12 or H13 or H14, among others. You choose which one is the best for you. There are many other filter combinations that are ingenuously described by the company in order to make the product more accessible to the everyday folks that want to improve indoor air quality and aren’t experts in the field.

Read More »

Air Quality Monitors – Comparison List 2022 Q2

Sotirios Papathanasiou4 Comments

The famous list with all the available indoor air quality monitors is finally updated. In this version there are two tabs. Air quality monitors for consumers (B2C) and for businesses (B2B). As always, I stay away from knockoffs and cheap products. An air quality monitor needs to function properly for 5 to 10 years depending the sensors − gas sensors tend to have a shorter lifespan.

Advertisements

Subscribe to download the Excel Spreadsheet.

If you want to download the Excel Spreadsheet with all the monitors you need to subscribe first. Thank you for your support.

Subscribe

Office Study – Tapping Into The Real World Air Quality Data

Sotirios PapathanasiouLeave a comment

Nowadays, it is a privilege to have access to a real indoor environment where you can measure and quantify indoor environmental quality (IEQ). It is not an easy task because most companies keep AQ data private, and we totally respect that. However, sometimes tapping into the real world data is fundamental in order to understand the conditions white color employees and employers work in an effort to improve work conditions and productivity.

The owner of the building and the office granted me access to installing the Atmocube IAQ monitor for two months, in order to figure out what improvements shall apply in their effort to mitigate covid19, improve working conditions and boost productivity. The office is located in Almeria, Spain which is a coastal city.

They don’t have any mechanical ventilation systems, so the indoor conditions were subject to their human actions and whether they opened the windows/doors or not.

Read More »

Review: Atmocube Air Quality Monitor by ATMO

Sotirios Papathanasiou7 Comments

The need for indoor air quality monitoring solutions hasn’t stopped increasing due to two main factors. The market is constantly demanding tailored solutions to meet Green Building standards and, of course, Covid19. Many have bought cheap and generic indoor AQ monitors from big retail stores, but after a while, they realized that their money went down the drain as there is nothing they can do with the data they obtained for two reasons. The AQ monitors didn’t keep the measurements or the accuracy of the data was poor.

Here comes Atmocube, a new indoor air quality monitor designed entirely to meet occupants’ requirements for indoor air quality. The design language is modern and functional. I underlined functional because you don’t need to be an expert to understand what is wrong with the IAQ and which specific parameter you need to address, I will explain more about it in a minute. Finally, the monitor is full of superb sensors, nine to be exact.

Read More »