Ensuring the air inside your home is clean and healthy is more important than most people realize. Poor indoor air can affect everything from your comfort to your long-term health. Whether you’re noticing allergies, headaches, stale indoor air, or you’re simply being proactive, understanding how to test air quality in your home is the first step toward a healthier living space.
Why Test the Indoor Air Quality in Your Home?
Indoor air can be 2–5 times more polluted than outdoor air. If you’re already experiencing headaches, allergies, fatigue, or breathing issues, you may also want to check the common symptoms of poor indoor air quality to understand what’s happening inside your home.
While you can sometimes spot visible signs—like mold or humidity issues—many serious pollutants (radon, VOCs, CO₂) are invisible and odorless, making indoor air pollution testing essential.
Common Indoor Pollutants
Before starting your home air quality inspection, understand the main contaminants you’re looking for. Dust buildup is one of the biggest contributors to PM2.5 issues, and this often ties back to the root causes explained here: Why is my house so dusty? Causes & fixes
- Particulate Matter (PM2.5): Tiny particles from cooking, smoke, dust.
- Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs): Emitted from furniture, cleaners, paints.
- Carbon Dioxide (CO₂): Builds up in poorly ventilated spaces.
- Radon: A radioactive gas from soil — major lung cancer risk after smoking.
- Mold: Grows in damp areas and spreads through spores.
- Humidity: Too high → mold; too low → irritation.
- Air Pressure: Affects how pollutants move indoors.
Signs of Poor Indoor Air Quality
Not all pollutants are visible. But here are warning signals that mean it’s time to check your indoor air quality:
1. Health Problems
Frequent coughing, eye irritation, allergies, throat irritation, or shortness of breath may signal poor indoor air. These can stem from smoke, mold, dander, pollen, or chemical VOCs.
2. Humidity Issues
High humidity encourages mold and mildew growth, leading to musty odors and poor air circulation.
3. Lingering Odors
Smells that don’t go away signal poor ventilation and pollutant buildup.
4. Visible Contamination
- Excessive dust
- Mold spots
- Quickly clogged air filters
- Discoloration on walls or behind frames
How to Test Air Quality in Your Home
1. Use an Indoor Air Quality Monitor
This is the easiest and most accurate method. A high-quality sensor helps with:
- How to measure home air quality
- How to check air quality in real-time
- Tracking pollutants continuously
Devices like Airthings View Plus measure PM2.5, VOCs, CO₂, radon, humidity, temperature, and pressure. The app shows trends and alerts so you can take action before issues worsen.
If you want a broader overview of how indoor air quality affects Las Vegas homes specifically, you can check this: Indoor Air Quality Guide for Las Vegas.
If you’re testing specific rooms:
- Bathrooms, laundry rooms, garages: Wave Mini (humidity + VOCs)
- Basements: View Radon or Corentium Home for radon-specific testing
2. Professional Testing Services
If your indoor air pollution testing shows consistently high levels—especially radon—hire an expert. Professionals use advanced tools to diagnose issues and recommend long-term fixes.
Steps to Testing Air Quality at Home
Step 1: Choose the Right Tool
Select a monitor based on the pollutants you’re concerned about.
- High outdoor pollution → choose PM2.5 monitoring
- Any home (new or old) → always test for radon
- Bathrooms/garages → humidity + VOC monitoring
- Basements → radon-focused devices
Step 2: Analyze the Results
Check your monitor’s data for patterns, spikes, or consistent issues. Note calibration times if using new devices—VOCs and CO₂ stabilize in a week, radon in up to 30 days.
Step 3: Maintain Your Equipment
- Replace batteries
- Keep the device connected
- Check sensors periodically
- A neglected device = unreliable data.
Step 4: Take Action
Depending on your readings:
- Improve ventilation: Open windows, use exhaust fans.
- Use air purifiers: HEPA for PM; activated carbon for VOCs & odors.
- Adjust humidity: Use a dehumidifier or humidifier as needed.
- Routine home maintenance: Clean ducts, replace HVAC filters, fix leaks, check for mold.
Step 5: Seek Professional Help if Needed
If readings stay high for months, especially radon, call a certified professional. DIY sealing helps, but high radon may require a mitigation system. You can schedule expert IAQ testing from Gunny’s.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. How do indoor air quality monitors work?
They use sensors to measure pollutants like PM2.5, VOCs, CO₂, and radon, providing real-time data so you can see trends and take action.
Q2. Where should I place my air quality monitor?
Put it where you spend the most time—at breathing height, away from excess humidity, and on a stable surface.
Q3. How do I know if my monitor is working correctly?
Cooking, cleaning, ventilation changes, and outdoor pollution can all cause variations. Look at long-term trends instead of isolated spikes.
Q4. What are the limitations?
Monitors may not detect every pollutant and require calibration for stable readings.
Q5. Do indoor plants improve air quality?
Plants look great, but they barely filter pollutants. Use them for decor, not purification.
Q6. Do monitors detect outdoor pollutants?
Yes. PM2.5, wildfire smoke, and other outdoor pollutants entering your home will show up in your readings.
