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Allergens
The American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology web site has a wealth of information for those concerned about indoor air quality or allergies.
Allergic diseases currently affect more than 20 percent of the individuals
in the United States ..... American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology http://www.aaaai.org/
While environmental factors are believed to be partly responsible
for the development of allergic diseases. The good news is that the environmental factors can be controled to some extent.
It is important to have allergen testing done before any type of "clean
up" of a suspected problem to obtain a base line for comparison.
Common sense tells us that allergen avoidance can help prevent the development
of sensitization to allergens and help relieve allergic symptoms in people already allergen sensitized.
The most common Indoor Allergens:
The most common allergens tested for are dust mites, cockroach, cat and dog dander,
rat and mouse. Many labs report cat dander, dog dander, cockroach and dust
mites from one carpet/bulk or dust sample. Analysis can be done for just one or more though.
Since dustmites can grow after a dust sample collection, it's a good idea to refrigerate
and ship sample to lab as soon as possible.
Common collection points in home/building for indoor allergens are bedding,
mattresses, carpets and upholstery.
Kitchens are the usual spot for cockroach collection point.
Although with people and children bringing food to a bedroom computer area, the bedrooms
are fast becoming another common collection place.
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“The main use for handheld particle counters is
checking contamination levels and locating sources of particle emissions. The small size
and weight of these particle counters make them ideal for point-of-use measurement of particle contamination at critical locations.
Hand held particle counters have proven themselves in many settings.”
A particle counter is an instrument
that detects and counts particles.
In a clean home or room the number of particles in the air should be lower than in a room with allergens or mold growth producing mold
spores into the air.
The room with mold, and allergen particles
should be higher. A particle counter is just another tool for the mold inspector. As with air sampling (tests) or infrared thermal imaging cameras many things can influence
the results. The inspector using the best equipment during the inspection
should provide the most accurate and detailed information on the condition of the property. Mold inspectors / environmentalist can determine indoor air quality more quickly
with the use of a particle counter.
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“Biological contaminants include mold, fungus, bacteria, viruses, animal dander, dust mites, pollen, human skin
cells, cockroach parts or anything alive or living at one time. These are the biggest enemy of Indoor Air Quality specialists because they are the contaminants that cause health problems. Levels of biological contamination depend on humidity
and temperature that supports the livelihood of micro-organisms. The presents of pets, plants, rodents and insects will
raise the level of biological contamination.”
“The Indoor Air Quality problem is
a complex situation requiring a variety of angles of attack with a variety of tools. The particle counters available today
provide two distinct advantages: First, the ability to detect particles and sort by size range before there are symptoms
and complaints. Second, they can perform these tests and report results very quickly, giving all parties concerned the earliest
warning and most reaction time possible. This sort of pro-active approach goes a long way toward maintaining a high standard
and awareness of indoor air quality. The particle counter is a valuable tool that should be used in the IAQ arena.” John Contreras is a technical writer in the Marketing Communications Department
at Pacific Scientific Instruments,
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