Indoor Air Quality Services in Los Gatos

From working in an office, engaging in activities indoors, and spending time at home, we spend an average of 90% of our day indoors. For Los Gatos indoor air quality services, Residential Energy Pros can help you create a more comfortable and healthy environment within your home or office. As a GreenHomes America partner, we are committed to providing our community with energy-efficiency solutions and products and services that keep you happy and healthy.

While most people are more actively concerned about the quality of air outside their home or office, many are unaware of how important indoor environments are when it comes to comfort and health. These environments can also be filled with pollutants that can affect your respiratory system and compromise your overall health and wellness. Because it can be difficult to identify whether your home or office needs attention, our company helps you identify sources of pollution through investigation and detection. When necessary, we can eradicate toxins from the environment or perform remediation for mold and mildew. We also install filters and system solutions that provide a healthier environment in which to live and work. All work is 100% guaranteed.

If you've been experiencing trouble sleeping, frequent headaches, or low productivity, these are all signs of poor Los Gatos indoor air quality. Services from Residential Energy Pros can help restore the environment of your home and office with highly trained technicians, EPA certified to work on providing the solutions you need. A good home energy audit can help solve your home comfort problems with internal temperature control as well. Call today to set up an appointment with us.

Is it possible that someone in your home is suffering from poor indoor air quality?

Symptoms could include, but are not limited to:

• Loss of Sleep or Insomnia
• Headaches
• Eye, Nose, Throat Irritation
• Fever
• Fatigue
• Dizziness
• Confusion
• Impaired Vision and Coordination
• Muscle Weakness
• Allergic Reactions
• Shortness of Breath
• Chronic Respiratory Conditions
• Increased Asthmatic Episodes
• Nausea
• Digestive Problems
• And many other related, unexplained Symptoms

If you or someone in your home suffers with any of the systems above the problem may be linked to the air breathed inside the home or inside a building at work. These days Americans are spending the vast majority of our time indoors – up to 90% according to some sources.  Because of this fact Indoor Air Quality IAQ) has been raised to the #4 threat to Americans by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, or the EPA for short.

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What exactly is Indoor Air Quality?
When most people think of ‘air’ quality, they think of the air outside and the U.S. EPA’s pollution index.  Even though most people are aware of the effects that poor ‘outdoor’ air quality can have on a person’s health because our local news agencies often report our local ‘outside’ air quality, people are in many cases unaware of the greater concern of ‘indoor’ air quality.  The American Lung Association, EPA and other health related organizations are actually quite concerned with the quality of the air we breathe indoors. People are spending ever increasing amounts of time in their homes and in buildings. This fact is driving the need for greater awareness of indoor air quality because indoor air quality is having an increased, measurable effect on people.  Indoor air quality, commonly abbreviated as IAQ, is simply the measured quality of the air people breathe while inside homes and buildings.  Indoor environments are often filled with thousands of different pollutants with varying degrees of irritation to respiratory systems that contribute to various ailments. In fact, several Environmental Protection Agency studies of human exposure to air pollutants indicate that indoor levels of pollutants can be considered to be 2 to 5 times higher in general, and in the extreme, can be more than 100 times higher than outdoor levels.  These numbers become more alarming when you factor in that the EPA has estimated that the average person today in America spends approximately 90% of their time indoors. 

It is because of this growing concern regarding the facts behind the health risks associated with polluted indoor air that has prompted the EPA to raise poor indoor air quality up to #4 on its list of the most serious environmental threats to our country.  While it is true that the sources of pollution in our indoor air are numerous and the pollutants themselves are potentially very dangerous, the situation is not hopeless.  The good news is that there are experts that can help. Though difficult, it is not impossible to find and correct the sources of indoor pollutants.  Companies such as Residential Healthy Home Pro’s based in the San Francisco bay area city of Campbell, CA have experts trained and certified in the investigation, detection and eradication of all known indoor air containments. Residential Healthy Home Pros also provides solutions to help eliminate the sources of the indoor air contaminants. Residential Healthy Home Pro’s experts are certified by the internationally recognized Indoor Air Quality Association (IAQA).  The IAQA was established in 1995 to promote uniform standards, procedures and protocols in the Indoor Air Quality industry and is the leading standards body certifying professionals in the investigation, detection, eradication and remediation of situations responsible for causing indoor air pollutants and contaminates.  An indoor air quality investigation can help to identify the type of pollutants and the likely sources of the contaminants that may be present in homes and buildings - pollutants and contaminants that may be contributing to acute or chronic health ailments suffered by you, your family members or friends. 

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What is Considered ‘Good’ Indoor Air Quality?
Good indoor air quality is a healthy indoor environment where the air quality in the enclosed environment supports robust respiratory function promoting healthy physical and mental functionality allowing for high levels of productivity, restful sleep, natural respiratory comfort, a sense of well being and supporting overall good health.  A ‘good’ indoor air quality environment is one where the indoor air is free from significant levels of potentially harmful organic and non-organic particles (airborne elements that can cause odors, dust and life threatening contaminants), and freely circulates safe, health promoting air for breathing at a circulation level (air movement within a confined space) that prevents stuffiness, while also avoiding causing drafts. If these elements are present together in a confined indoor space, then that indoor space can be considered to have ‘good’ indoor air quality.  There are many benefits to good indoor air quality with the most obvious being the health of you and your family while in the home.

What is Considered ‘Poor’ Indoor Air Quality?
An environment with poor indoor air quality is often referred to within the Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) community as having ‘sick building syndrome’.  Sick building syndrome (SBS) is a situation in which building occupants exhibit varying degrees of negative acute health symptoms that appear to be linked to the time spent in an enclosed space such as a home, manufacturing plant, warehouse or office building, yet no illness or cause can be specifically identified.  The complaints can be localized to a single room, or can be widespread throughout the entire home or building.  Poor indoor air quality can lead to increased health problems and even death. In many cases poor indoor air quality can be a cause of loss of sleep in a home, reduced productivity due to discomfort or increased absenteeism from work, and can be associated to the deterioration of furnishings and floor and wall/window covering in a home or lead to shorter life of manufacturing or production support equipment in industrial environments. It can also open up property owners to potential liability problems brought on by health issues suffered by their tenants. 

Here again are the common physical symptoms related to poor Indoor Air Quality (IAQ):

Loss of Sleep or Insomnia
Headaches
Eye, Nose, Throat Irritation
Fever
Fatigue
Dizziness
Confusion
Impaired Vision and Coordination
Muscle Weakness
Allergic Reactions
Shortness of Breath
Chronic Respiratory Conditions
Increased Asthmatic Episodes
Nausea
Digestive Problems
And many other unexplained symptoms

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So what can you do if you suspect you spend time in a Poor Indoor Air Quality Environment?

If you suspect you are suffering from poor indoor air quality, the best solution would be to find a certified air quality expert to test the suspected environment for potentially harmful pollutants and contaminants.  Only after investigating and testing the air for the presence of potentially harmful indoor air pollutants and contaminants in the suspected environment can a determination be made as to whether or not that space is in fact a contributing factor to your symptoms of negative health.  If you suspect that an indoor environment you frequent is leading to poor health, please contact your Human Resources department at work and explain your concerns and share with them this article.  But remember, most people spend the majority or their indoor time at home. If you suspect your indoor air quality at home is causing your symptoms, contact an IAQA trained, certified expert yourself to test your home’s indoor air quality right away.

You might be asking “What, if I suspect I have a problem?”

 The first step is to get the air inside the home tested.  We don’t know if you do or don’t have reason to be concerned without knowing about the environment inside your home - one of our IAQ specialists can help you with getting the air inside your home tested. Once we have the results of the test one of our IAQ experts can review the results with you and will help you to understand the options you have and can help you to decide on an appropriate form of action.

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If there was a scientific way of ensuring the quality of the air you breathe in your home, wouldn’t you want to know about it?

Below is some very important data supporting the importance as to why you should have your home, or perhaps a home you’re about to purchase, tested today:

• Dangerous levels of VOC’s in homes can cause both short-term and long-term health issues. The U.S. Green Building Council's has recommended that a healthy building level of VOC’s is 500 ng/L or less. But today compiled data from hundreds upon hundreds of homes measured by by the systems we employ prove that the median value is more than twice that recommended level, exceeding 1,200 ng/L in many cases.
• Over 20 million US adults today have been diagnosed with asthma.  Asthma has also become the  most prevalent chronic illness among children in America today according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (EPA). High levels of airborne VOC levels have been linked to asthma attacks. If asthma is a problem for you or someone that lives in your home then finding out what is in your air at home is crucial especially when considering the purchase of new home or right after the purchase. 
• Asthma severity continues to rise in America to all-time high levels. On average, the EPA has determined that the average American today spends about 90% of their time indoors. As such many experts today suggest there is a strong correlation between this increase in asthma illnesses and indoor air quality (IAQ).
• At particular risk are infants, young children, pregnant women, the aged, and people with previously diagnosed respiratory or cardiovascular diseases can be considered to be more vulnerable to indoor air pollution. If the occupants of your home are made up of any of these categories of people, then having the quality of the air assessed in your home or especially of a home you are considering purchasing would be a wise decision.
• Newer, more energy-efficient homes often do not have healthy levels of clean air for the occupants to breathe.  In the case of a home purchase, monitoring the air in the home prior to purchase could potentially uncover issues so they can be corrected before the final deal takes place.
• Vinyl and laminate flooring, carpeting, countertops, cabinets, and many other products used in the home building process use adhesives that “off-gas” for years. Many materials utilized in the home industry are manufactured using hazardous chemicals and some of these compounds have been proven to hold know carcinogens which cause cancer. By testing for harmful toxins you will be protecting you and your family from otherwise unknown dangers within the home

So, if there was a scientific way of ensuring the quality of the air you breathe in your home, wouldn’t you want to know about it? Wouldn’t you want to have a professional perform that relatively simple, inexpensive test?

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The air quality monitors we place in our clients homes provide a comprehensive air quality audit of the total number of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC’s) and the total number of Mold based Organic Compounds (MVOCs) with a single air sample at a very affordable cost. Taking the sample of air from your home for an air quality assessment is a relatively simple procedure to perform.  But that’s where ‘simple’ stops. From there your sample goes through a highly sophisticated chemical analysis - a level of analysis that until recently was only cost effective to large medical and industrial clients. The technology we employ is quite sensitive.  A single monitor sample or our ‘set and forget’ 5-7 day air monitoring assessments are capable of detecting all potentially harmful contaminants in the air within a typical 2,000 sq. ft. home including the detection of mold contamination in walls, furniture, floors, ceilings, carpeting, attics or crawlspaces.

While the air samples and air monitoring is performed and or collected from inside your home by one of our Indoor Air Quality service professionals, the actual analysis of the air sample from your home is done by the very same testing laboratory that processes the samples done for hospitals, laboratories and industrial facilities and for numerous Fortune 500 companies. 

But you might be asking, “Just what are VOCs?”

Volatile Organic Compounds, or VOCs, are airborne chemicals.  They are gases that are emitting from solids or liquids that easily evaporate into the air of homes at room temperature. They are dangerous as the concentrations of these chemicals are often up to 100 times higher indoors verses outdoors. What everyday products in and around your home or office contain these VOC’s?  things such as:

Paints & varnishes, moth balls, solvents, building materials, gasoline/petroleum products, pesticides, various household oils such as fuel oil, cooking oils, WD40 type lubricants and other oils. These VOC’s are found in cleaning supplies used in the laundry room and in bathrooms. Many of the parts of your home contain very high levels of products that outgas VOC’s such as carpeting, wallpaper, vinyl flooring, upholstery, drapery fabrics and glues/adhesives used in cabinets and furniture.  Then there are products most of have in our homes such as copiers, printers, permanent markers, crafts materials, and other plastic passed products. Even the cosmetics, hair care products, air fresheners (can you believe it??), disinfectants, the pressed wood that is part of the furniture, vehicle exhaust from the car in the garage, tobacco smoke and on and on and on. 

While all known VOCs have the potential to be harmful, a few of the most common VOCs that can be particularly dangerous are things perhaps you have heard of and they are common to us because we hear about them on the news and read about them on the internet because they are emitting from common products within most of our homes. These most harmful VOC’s commonly found in homes all across America have names like Formaldehyde, Benzene and Phenol and are all classified as Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAPs) by the EPA. Go to www.epa.gov for the complete list of all 188 HAPs as noted by the EPA.  

Or click here to contact one of our IAQ professionals today for more information or to schedule an appointment regarding the Indoor Air Quality of your present or future home.