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 wallpaper can lead to serious poisoning if the materials are of poor quality and contain a high content of hazardous chemical compounds or bacteria. How to analyze the air in the apartment and make sure your home or workplace is safe?
Importance of clean air
When a person inhales air into the lungs, oxygen is transported throughout the body with the help of red blood cells, which nourishes all organs and the brain. Thanks to oxygen, people can fully live and function. But if, together with oxygen, toxic compounds and substances enter the lungs and body, the organs cease to function normally.function, metabolic processes are disturbed, the immune system cannot cope with the constant exposure to toxins, the death of he althy cells begins. This is especially dangerous for the brain.
This is why the symptoms of airborne poisoning 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 being poisoned to death. It is especially important to prevent children from breathing in harmful air.
But residents of clean areas should not relax either, because even furniture, building materials, dust and fungus on the walls slowly and imperceptibly 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 performance, drowsiness, etc.
Why is it necessary to analyze the air
An analysis of the air in the apartment (Moscow, St. Petersburg and other megacities are especially poor in clean air) is necessary if the room is located near highways and industrial enterprises, if there are not enough green spaces in the settlement, and the state of he alth has noticeably deteriorated.
Ventilation and air conditioning systems often do not cope with their functions and legionella, the causative agents of a serious illness, often nest in cleaned air conditioners.
The risk group includes rooms where fungi are found on the wallsand mold, which are the cause of not only chronic allergies and asthma, but also other diseases.
A broken thermometer or fluorescent light bulb becomes a reason for concern and an urgent air check, because they contain mercury - a substance of hazard class 1.
Moving into an apartment that has been recently renovated or new furniture has been bought is often not such a joyful event due to the presence of high concentrations of phenol and formaldehyde in the air, leading to severe poisoning and death.
Fireplaces, heaters and stoves cause severe headaches, concentration is lost, shortness of breath appears, a person comes to 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 he alth and life in the air, determine their source and concentration. Based on the test results, employees of a public or private laboratory give detailed instructions for creating environmentally friendly indoor air or eliminate the causes themselves.
Who can do an air analysis in the apartment
Most people underestimate the importance of indoor air quality, blaming their illness on anything but the environment. Dust and mold, pathogens are odorless, difficult to recognize at a 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 a sudden headache in order to file a claim with furniture manufacturers or have time to refuse to buy a house with harmful air.
Both state SES and private environmental companies successfully cope with the examination and analysis of the air in the apartment, which determine the presence of harmful components in the indoor air with special equipment and draw up a plan to eliminate them.
It is possible to carry out a complex of microbiological and chemical analyzes, after which an expert opinion and recommendations for purifying contaminated 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, in each of which the most important step is the correct selection of air into the vessels. The methods differ in how they work:
- The aspiration method is the most common; for its implementation, several different devices are used to analyze the air in the apartment, performing the same function, but with different actions. These include the Krotov unit, PAB-1, an electronic apparatus.
- Determination of toxic and explosive substances is carried out by the method of laboratory research and gas detector devices.
- Dag automatic devices, vacuum cylinders absorbing screens are used to take air into vessels.
To analyze the air in the apartment onradiation is used by other, more complex devices.
In order for the analysis to show an accurate result, experts examine the premises not once, but several times, and on different days and times of the day. After all, the result can be affected by air temperature, humidity or atmospheric pressure. Multiple sessions are required as this will help identify and resolve the issue with absolute accuracy.
How air is analyzed in the workplace
Environmental companies routinely offer a full range of services for the study of residential apartments and workplaces, which includes: air samples to be sent for specific analysis, quality control of disinfection equipment, examination of the area for harmful rodents and insects, dust and mold, and etc.
Immediately upon detection of hazardous substances in the air, experts 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, reducing he alth problems for people who are regularly in them.
Often a competitor company, located in a less advantageous place and with a lack of qualified personnel, bypasses a 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 a park and a pond, far from it industrial enterprises and highways; the offices of the second are located in an area with polluted air, under the windowstrucks are constantly moving and there is a plastic recycling plant nearby. That is why it is important to regularly conduct a complete air analysis in work areas and improve cleaning systems.
What does microbiological analysis mean
Microbiological analysis is especially necessary if people often get colds or allergic diseases in a residential apartment or office. Perhaps the reason for this is harmful bacteria and viruses present in the air due to mold, which actively multiplies in damp and damp rooms.
All viral diseases are spread by airborne droplets and contaminated air, in which the concentration of viruses is increased, automatically becomes a source of general infection, transmitted through ventilation from apartment to apartment. Imagine a man sitting at home, he didn’t get his feet wet, he didn’t run undressed in the cold, but he suddenly took it and fell ill with bilateral pneumonia.
increased efficiency and mood.
Specialists conducting microbiological air analysis will reveal:
- total microbial population;
- presence of pathogenic bacteria;
- mold spores;
- staph, salmonella and more.
The responsibilities of the company includechecking ventilation and operation of sterilizers.
What is the chemical analysis of air
With the help of chemical analysis of the air in the apartment, specialists from environmental companies conduct research on sanitary and hygienic standards, which makes it possible to trace the presence or absence of chemicals hazardous to he alth in the air, as well as determine their quantity. The list of norms includes checking for:
- ammonia;
- styrene and phenol;
- formaldehyde;
- nitrogen and sulfur dioxide;
- mercury vapor;
- oxides and carbon tetrachloride,
- ethyl acetate;
- aromatic hydrocarbons;
- lead;
- suspended matter (dust and others).
If a high concentration of mercury vapor is found in an apartment, their source is determined and the vapors are neutralized. At the same time, SES uses the most modern methods and equipment.
The most dangerous chemicals in the air
Examination of eco-companies reveals electromagnetic and radiation radiation, their levels, the presence of harmful substances emitted from building or natural materials, determine whether there are any other dangerous factors that violate the indoor microclimate. Even a small dose of radiation exposure can cause genetic mutations, cause cancer and cause death. When it is suspected that there is a source of radiation near the premises, an urgent request is made to measure the radiation level with the help of independent specialists.
Radon is a dangerous, colorless and odorless gas that can penetrate from the ground into houses through basements or be released from building materials, freely entering human lungs and causing radiation exposure. It can only be detected with special instruments, measuring water, air, soil and premises for the presence of radon.
Being 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 detect a high level in time using analysis.
Formaldehyde is a powerful respiratory, eye and skin irritant. A high concentration paralyzes the central nervous system, causes sharp and severe headaches, drowsiness, severe fatigue, muscle pain and depression. Formaldehyde is used in the production of plastics and wood-based materials, which are used to assemble inexpensive furniture.
Phenol vapors, like the substance itself, are also dangerous to human he alth and life. Sometimes you can find products of unscrupulous manufacturers of children's toys, cosmetics, furniture, paintwork, finishing and building materials, which contain an unacceptably high concentration of phenol. A sharp unpleasant smell emanating from new furniture, wallpaper or other things should alert you.
Exhaust gases are hydrocarbons, oxides of nitrogen and carbon. Their harmfulness is obvious, known and discussed more than once in TV programs.
Pets can alsobecome a source of air poisoning substances: even the most well-trained and well-mannered furry pets mark their territory, ammonia accumulates in the air. It cannot be completely eliminated by any detergent. Only buying new furniture, re-laying the floor 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 incessant vomiting.
How to do your own indoor air analysis
Everyone wants to breathe pure oxygen to the fullest. Everywhere: in the park or in the forest, on the embankment or on the sea coast, in the office or at home. For residents of megacities, the house is a 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 outside? Yes, it happens!
The air in the apartment should not contain any impurities and odors - it should be fresh. If the air is stuffy, the person becomes stuffy, there is a headache and drowsiness. The reason is problems with ventilation in the apartment, a blockage in the ventilation pipe or a dirty grate. Fans of candles, aroma sticks and heaters accelerate the appearance of high concentrations of carbon dioxide in the air. Checking ventilation is not difficult: you need to take a thin strip of paper with open windows and doors and bring it toventilation at a distance of 5 cm. Ventilation works well if the paper is pressed into the grate. No lit lighters or matches need to be brought in - gases accumulate in the mine that can provoke an explosion. Regular airing and ventilation cleaning by specialists will help to freshen the air.
You need to monitor the humidity in the room. High humidity leads to the appearance of mold and mildew. The norm is no more than 60%. Insufficient moisture leads to lung diseases, dry skin and mucous membranes. You can check the humidity in the room with a glass of water, which must first be placed in the refrigerator for 2 days, and then placed in the apartment away from heat sources. It remains to be observed for 10 minutes: with dry air in the room, the misted walls of the glass will dry quickly, and with wet air, large drops of flowing condensate will be visible. If the humidity is normal, small drops will remain on the walls.
As a rule, the lower and upper floors suffer from high humidity. Only a change of housing will help here, because the 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 the cleanliness of the room, the absence of household dust, animal hair. However, the same harmful substances are present in cleaning chemicals, for example, formaldehyde. The main thing is not to overdo it with the amount of detergent.