The cause of malaise (headache, nausea) can be not only colds, lack of sleep or hard work, but also the air in the apartment. As a rule, no one thinks about this factor, but in vain. And the problem of harmful air concerns not only residents of megacities - furniture or new wallpapers can lead to serious poisoning if the materials are of poor quality and contain an increased content of dangerous chemical compounds or bacteria. How to analyze the air in the apartment and make sure the safety of your home or workplace?
The importance of clean air
When a person inhales air into the lungs, oxygen is transported through the red blood cells throughout the body, which nourishes all organs and the brain. Thanks to oxygen, people can fully live and function. But if poisonous compounds and substances get into the lungs and the body with oxygen, the organs cease to function normally, metabolic processes are disrupted, the immune system does not cope with the constant exposure to toxins, and the death of healthy cells begins. This is especially dangerous for the brain.
This is why the symptoms of poisoning by harmful substances from the air are often confused with food poisoning and colds - the symptoms are the same. The higher the concentration of poisons in the air and the more often a person has to inhale poisoned air - the closer the danger of getting terrible diseases or poisoning himself to death. It is especially important to prevent the inhalation of harmful air by children.
But residents of clean areas should not relax, because even the furniture, building materials, dust and fungus on the walls slowly and quietly negatively affect the human body. Hence the headache in the morning, frequent diseases of the throat and lungs, irritation of the eyes and mucous membranes, problems with working capacity, drowsiness, etc.
Why you need to analyze the air
Analysis of the air in the apartment (Moscow, St. Petersburg and other megacities is especially poor in clean air) is necessary if the room is located close to highways and industrial enterprises, if there are not enough green spaces in the village, and the health condition has noticeably worsened.
Ventilation and air conditioning systems often do not cope with their functions and often legionella nesting in serious air conditioners nest in cleaned air conditioners.
The risk group includes rooms where fungi and mold are found on the walls, which are the cause of not only chronic allergies and asthma, but also other diseases.
A cause for concern and urgent verification of air is a broken thermometer or a fluorescent bulb, because they contain mercury - a substance of hazard class 1.
Moving to an apartment where fresh repairs were made or new furniture was bought often becomes not such a joyful event due to the appearance in the air of a high concentration of phenol and formaldehyde, leading to severe poisoning and death.
Fireplaces, heaters and stoves cause severe headaches, loss of concentration, shortness of breath appears, a person reaches a fainting state due to the increased content of carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide and suspended solids.
Analysis of air samples in the apartment helps to timely detect the presence of substances hazardous to health and life in the air, to determine their source and concentration. Employees of a state or private laboratory give detailed instructions on how to create environmentally friendly indoor air or eliminate the causes themselves.
Who can do an air analysis in an apartment
Most people underestimate the importance of indoor air quality, attributing their malaise to anything but the atmosphere surrounding it. Dust and mold, pathogens are odorless, it is difficult to recognize them at first glance, but their effect on the human body is destructive and dangerous.
It is better to immediately identify the source of an unpleasant pungent odor or sudden headache in order to make complaints to furniture manufacturers or have time to refuse to buy a house with harmful air.
Both state-owned SES and private environmental companies, which use special equipment to determine the presence of harmful constituents in the indoor air and successfully plan for their elimination, successfully cope with the expertise and analysis of air in the apartment.
A set of microbiological and chemical analyzes can be carried out, after which an expert opinion and recommendations on the purification of the infected air will be issued.
What methods analyze indoor air
Each eco-company and laboratory operates in accordance with current legislation.
To determine the content of hazardous substances in the air, several methods are used, with each of which the most important step is the proper selection of air into the vessels. Methods differ in the principle of work:
- The aspiration method is the most common, for its implementation they use several different devices for air analysis in the apartment, performing one function, but with different actions. These include the Krotov unit, PAB-1, an electronic device.
- The determination of toxic and explosive substances is carried out by the method of laboratory research and gas detector devices.
- To take air into the vessels, automatic DAG devices, vacuum cylinders, absorbing screens are used.
To analyze the air in an apartment for radiation, other, more complex instruments are used.
In order for the analysis to show an accurate result, experts examine the room not once, but several, and on different days and times of the day. After all, the result can be affected by air temperature, humidity or atmospheric pressure. Several sessions are required, because it will help to identify and solve the problem with absolute accuracy.
How to analyze air in the workplace
Environmental companies as a standard offer a full range of services for the study of residential apartments and workrooms, which includes: air samples to be sent for a specific analysis, checking the quality of the disinfection equipment, researching the area of harmful rodents and insects, dust and mold, etc.
Immediately upon detection of hazardous substances in the air, specialists propose a solution plan. Chemical and microbiological analysis of air in an apartment or work premises will make it possible to identify and eliminate the problem, significantly improving the quality of life, working capacity, and reducing the health problems of people who are regularly in them.
Often, a competing company located in a less profitable place and with a lack of qualified personnel bypasses the more successful one with improved working conditions, and the cause of the problem turns out to be completely unexpected: the offices of the first enterprise are located next to the park and the reservoir, industrial enterprises and highways are far from it; offices of the second are in the area with polluted air, trucks constantly drive under the windows and a plastic processing plant is located nearby. That is why it is important to regularly conduct a full analysis of the air in the workrooms and improve the cleaning systems.
What does microbiological analysis mean?
Microbiological analysis is especially necessary if people often have colds or allergies in a residential apartment or office. Perhaps the reason for this is harmful bacteria and viruses present in the air due to moldy fungus, which actively multiplies in moist and damp rooms.
All viral diseases spread by airborne droplets and contaminated air, in which the concentration of viruses is increased, automatically becomes a source of universal infection, transmitted through ventilation from apartment to apartment. Imagine, a man is sitting at home, he didn’t get his feet wet, did not run naked in the cold, but he suddenly took it and fell ill with bilateral pneumonia.
Everyone who did an analysis of the air in the apartment leaves the most enthusiastic reviews, because thanks to the eco-company, their recommendations and air purification devices, the atmosphere in the house became favorable: the households practically stopped hurting, did not suffer from depression and weakness, their working capacity and mood improved.
Specialists conducting microbiological analysis of air will reveal:
- the total number of microbes;
- the presence of pathogenic bacteria;
- mold spores;
- staphylococcus, salmonella and more.
The company's responsibilities include checking ventilation and the operation of sterilizers.
What is the chemical analysis of air
Using a chemical analysis of the air in the apartment, experts from environmental companies conduct research on sanitary and hygienic standards, which makes it possible to trace the presence or absence of hazardous chemicals in the air, as well as determine their amount. The list of standards includes verification of:
- ammonia;
- styrene and phenol;
- formaldehyde;
- dioxides of nitrogen and sulfur;
- mercury vapor;
- oxides and carbon tetrachloride,
- ethyl acetate;
- aromatic hydrocarbons;
- lead;
- suspended substances (dust and others).
If a high concentration of mercury vapor is detected in the apartment, their source is determined and the vapor is neutralized. At the same time SES apply the most modern methods and equipment.
The most dangerous chemicals in the air
An examination of eco-companies reveals electromagnetic and radiation radiation, their levels, the presence of harmful substances released from building or natural materials, determine whether there are any other dangerous factors that violate the indoor microclimate. Even a small dose of radiation can cause genetic mutations, cause cancer and cause death. When there is a suspicion that a radiation source is near the premises, an urgent request is made to measure the radiation level with the help of independent specialists.
Radon is a dangerous gas without color and odor, able to penetrate from the earth into houses through basements or stand out from building materials, freely entering the lungs of a person and causing radiation exposure. It can be detected only with special instruments, measuring water, air, soil and premises for the presence of radon.
Staying near the apartment of transformer substations and numerous electrical appliances in the apartment can increase electromagnetic radiation, which also has a dangerous effect on the human body - it is important to identify a high level in time through analysis.
Formaldehyde is a powerful irritant to the respiratory tract, eyes and skin. High concentration paralyzes the central nervous system, causing sharp and severe headaches, drowsiness, severe fatigue, muscle pain and depression. Formaldehyde is used in the production of plastics and wood-based materials, from which inexpensive furniture is assembled.
Phenol vapor, like the substance itself, is also dangerous to human health and life. Sometimes you can meet the products of unscrupulous manufacturers of children's toys, cosmetics, furniture, paints, finishes and building materials, which contain an unacceptably high concentration of phenol. A sharp unpleasant odor emanating from new furniture, wallpaper or other things should alert.
Exhaust gases are hydrocarbons, oxides of nitrogen and carbon. Their harmfulness is obvious, well-known and discussed more than once in TV programs.
Pets can also become a source of air poisonous substances: even the most trained in cleanliness and raised furry pets mark the territory, ammonia accumulates in the air. It cannot be completely eliminated with any detergent. Only buying new furniture, changing floors and fresh repairs will help to freshen the air, but still only for a while, the problem will soon reappear if the animals continue to live in the apartment.
If the content of these substances in the room exceeds the norm - a person can observe obvious symptoms of poisoning: nausea, headache and ongoing vomiting.
How to independently do indoor air analysis
Everyone wants to breathe pure oxygen with full breasts. Everywhere: in the park or in the forest, on the promenade or on the coast, in the office or at home. For residents of megalopolises, the house is a life-saving corner where you can fully relax and unwind before a new working day. How to do this if the air in the apartment is even dirtier than on the street? Yes, it happens!
The air in the apartment should not contain any impurities and odors - it should be fresh. If air stagnation is felt, a person becomes stuffy, a headache and drowsiness appear. The reason is problems with ventilation in the apartment, a blockage in the ventilation pipe or a dirty grille. Fans of candles, aroma sticks and heaters accelerate the appearance in the air of a high concentration of carbon dioxide. It is not difficult to check the ventilation: with open windows and doors, take a thin strip of paper and bring it to the ventilation at a distance of 5 cm. The ventilation works well if the paper is pressed into the grate. You do not need to bring any lit lighters or matches - gases accumulate in the mine, which can provoke an explosion. Regular ventilation and cleaning of ventilation by specialists will help to refresh the air.
It is necessary to monitor the humidity in the room. High humidity leads to mold and mildew. The norm is not more than 60%. Insufficient humidity leads to pulmonary diseases, dry skin and mucous membranes. You can check the humidity in the room with a glass of water, which must first be refrigerated for 2 days, and then placed in an apartment away from heat sources. It remains to be observed for 10 minutes: when the air is dry in the room, the misted walls of the glass will quickly dry, and when wet, large drops of flowing condensate will be visible. If the humidity is normal - small drops will remain on the walls.
As a rule, the lowest and highest floors suffer from increased humidity. Only a change of housing will help here, because problems lie in cracks in the walls or roof. Today on sale you can find "smart" heaters - for wet rooms and humidifiers - for dry ones.
An equally important factor is cleanliness in the room, the absence of household dust, animal hair. However, the same harmful substances are present in cleaning chemistry, for example, formaldehyde. The main thing is not to overdo it with the amount of detergents.