How to Check Your Office’s Air Quality?

Your office’s air quality can have an unexpected impact on your health. For example, you may get headaches or exhaustion at work, but feel better once you leave—and no, it’s not because you’d rather be playing golf! In truth, the problem could be caused by a variety of factors, including poor building ventilation and contaminants such as dust, mildew, and chemicals.

What causes bad office air quality?

Everything from construction materials to cleaning items can help.

Poor indoor air quality in your business can be caused by a variety of factors. Proper ventilation is a common cause, but it isn’t the sole one. Cleaning supplies, air fresheners, and pesticides can all have an impact on air quality; office machinery can emit fumes; and furnishings and building materials can release formaldehyde into the air. Even dust and mold can aggravate the situation.

• If your office has just undergone renovations or construction, the problem could be dust, paint, or glue;
• vehicle pollution can also be drawn into the building through the ventilation system.

What do the signs and symptoms of low air quality look like?

It’s possible that some of your coworkers are suffering from sinus and respiratory problems.

You may have dryness or burning in your eyes, nose, and throat, as well as a stuffy or runny nose on a regular basis. Headaches, dizziness, and nausea are also possible side effects. In a more subtle way, you might feel tired, lethargic, angry, or forgetful at work. Poor indoor air quality can induce any of these problems, independent of the individual contaminant.

• Of course, the air quality in your office may not be the cause of these symptoms; they could instead be caused by stress, poor lighting, noise, or vibration. These problems could affect only a few people in a specific section of the office, or they could affect everyone. Furthermore, some people may not have any of these symptoms at all, while others may be more seriously affected.
• If you detect any of these symptoms, inform your boss, consult your doctor, and notify your company’s doctor, nurse, or health and safety director.

What should I do if I feel my workplace has bad air quality?

1. Begin with a walkthrough to determine the root of the issue.

When you start looking for the source of bad air quality, you may find it immediately. You might notice thick dust on top of door frames or carelessly stored chemicals in a maintenance closet, for example. On your tour, be sure to check the ventilation equipment—in particular, make sure your intake and exhaust vents aren’t obstructed, as this has a huge impact on air quality.

• The types of chemicals used by cleaning staff might be to blame—make sure all of the cleaning supplies used in your office are low in VOCs, or volatile organic compounds.
• Keep an eye out for odors around new building materials or furnishings, as these may be releasing VOCs as well.
• Ask your maintenance team how often the office air filters are changed and how often the ventilation system is maintained.
• Look for places where mold could grow, such as wet carpets or spots where moisture collects.
• Check to see if your building’s intake vents are in areas where cars or trucks are allowed to idle, and if your intake and exhaust vents are too close together.

2. If you suspect a specific pollutant, have it tested.

If you suspect that the air in your office is contaminated, testing can be useful, but it shouldn’t be your first step. Portable air tests are useful if you know what you’re testing for and where you’re testing, but they’re not ideal for checking ambient air quality. Professional air testing, on the other hand, is more thorough, but it may be quite costly. As a result, testing should be used only after you’ve determined what’s most likely harming your air quality.

How can you determine the quality of the air in your workplace?

1. If you think you know what contaminant to test for, use a portable air sensor.

You might be able to utilize a portable air quality sensor to confirm your suspicions if you saw any locations in your walkthrough that could be harming the air quality in your business. However, each sensor only tests for certain contaminants, so you’ll need to know what you’re testing for before you buy one.

• If you suspect the air in your office is contaminated with things like dust, dirt, mold, soot, or chemicals generated from automobiles or neighboring industrial buildings, choose a sensor that checks for particulate matter (PM).
• If you need to test for gases like ozone from office equipment, VOCs from cleaning products, or nitrogen dioxide from car emissions, go with a gas phase sensor.

2. Speak with a specialist for more thorough testing.

Because professional indoor air quality testing is costly, you should only get it done if you have a strong reason to believe there is a pollutant in the office. If you decide that testing is necessary, look for a local specialist who specializes in indoor air quality testing. Try looking for “environmental consultants near me” or “indoor air surveys in my region” on the internet. You might also try contacting your local or state health agency to see if they have any listings.

• Look for someone who has been certified by the American Council for Accredited Certification or the Indoor Air Quality Association.
• The cost of these services will vary depending on a number of factors, including the contaminants being tested for, the size of your office, and the extent of the testing.
• If you suspect a dangerous contaminant such as radon, lead, or asbestos, get professional testing done right away.
• If you have professional air testing done, make sure to notify the person or department in charge of health and safety at the workplace, if one exists.

What can I do to enhance the air quality at my office?

1. Determine and eliminate the source of contamination.

Some issues, such as clogged air vents or a dusty atmosphere, are simple to resolve; for example, remove space away from the vents or deep-clean the workplace. Others, such as illegally located air vents, chemical contamination from surrounding buildings, or mold or mildew growth, may necessitate collaboration with your property managers or even your state or local health department.

• For example, you may need to relocate the exhaust vents in your office so that they are not as close to the intake vents, which may be a major construction project.
• Avoid relying on portable air cleaners to improve the air quality in your office—they’re ineffective, and some of them actually generate ozone, which might worsen the situation. Instead, focus on resolving whatever is creating the issue.

2. Develop air-cleaning measures for the entire office.

Make sure that everyone in your office is on the same page about how to enhance the air quality in the workplace. If staff must smoke, they must do it outside and away from air intake vents. Create a protocol for storing and disposing of food, and ensure that maintenance and janitorial employees utilize low-VOC materials (volatile organic compounds). [16]

• Clean up any water spills as soon as possible to avoid mold growth, and don’t overwater any workplace plants.
• Also, make sure that no one in the office blocks the air vents.

Is it possible to get sick from poor air quality?

Yes, a variety of ailments can arise as a result of this.

You could acquire asthma, Legionnaire’s disease, or humidifier fever if you’re exposed to poor indoor air quality. You could also develop hypersensitive to these toxins over time, so instead of your body becoming adapted to the exposure, you might find your symptoms getting worse the longer you work in that facility.

• A variety of air contaminants, such as cigarette smoke, dust, mildew, and other particulate matter, or dust mites, roaches, and other insects, can cause asthma.
• Legionnaire’s illness is caused by the bacteria Legionella, which is commonly found in wet or humid environments.
• Hypersensitivity pneumonitis, which causes cough, difficulty breathing, exhaustion, and fever, can be caused by a variety of bacteria and molds. Humidifier fever, which includes flu-like symptoms, is suspected to be caused by bacterial toxins.
• Some toxins, such as radon or asbestos, don’t produce symptoms right away and can take years to manifest.