Understand the Concern
IES begins with the condition, where and when it occurs, relevant building history, occupancy information, and recent changes that may provide context.
Indoor Air Quality
When something doesn't feel right...
Indoor air quality concerns can throw you off balance.
Persistent odors, stuffiness, dust, humidity, and other indoor air issues can be disruptive.
An indoor air quality investigation evaluates the building making observations, taking measurements, and looking for patterns that can help identify issues.
Start With the Concern
The first clue isn't always something you can see.
Some air quality issues can be quite obvious.
While others might be difficult to figure out.
There may be no visible growth, obvious water damage, or single condition that immediately explains why concerns have been raised.
That's why an IAQ investigation begins by understanding what has been observed, where and when it occurs, and what may have changed within the building.
Not every indoor environmental concern has an obvious source.
Not sure what should be tested?
You don't need to choose a test before contacting. Describe what's happening, where you're noticing it, and anything you know about the building or its recent history.
The IES Approach
Investigate the environment and not an assumption.
An IAQ investigation shouldn't begin with the expectation that a particular problem will be found. It should begin with the question that needs to be answered.
Observe the Building
The affected areas are evaluated for visible conditions, moisture indicators, HVAC operation, and other environmental factors.
Measure What Matters
Environmental measurements or sampling may be used when they can provide useful information about the condition being investigated.
Interpret in Context
Measurements, observations, building conditions, and available background information are considered together to determine what the evidence supports.
What might be evaluated?
Indoor air quality is more than one number.
Depending on the concern and scope of the investigation, evaluation may include:
Temperature & Relative Humidity
Conditions that influence comfort, condensation potential, moisture behavior, and the indoor environment.
Carbon Dioxide
When appropriate, indoor carbon dioxide measurements can provide useful information about occupancy and ventilation conditions at the time of evaluation.
Carbon Monoxide
Screening for carbon monoxide when combustion sources or other building conditions make it relevant to the investigation.
Particulate Matter
Airborne particle measurements when dust, filtration, outdoor influences, or other particulate-related conditions are relevant.
Volatile Organic Compounds
Screening measurements when odors, materials, products, activities, or other conditions suggest that it may be useful to evaluate VOCs in the building.
Moisture & Visible Conditions
Water intrusion, elevated moisture, suspected microbial growth, staining, condensation, or other building conditions that may influence the indoor environment.
Ventilation & HVAC Observations
Condition of ducts, filtration, equipment, air movement, and other observable characteristics relavent to the space.
Building & Occupancy History
Recent renovations, new materials or furnishings, maintenance activities, changes in occupancy, previous water intrusions, and any other information that may help explain the conditions.
Every investigation is different. The appropriate observations, measurements, and sampling strategy depend on the building and the question to be answered.
Measurements Need Context
A number by itself doesn't tell the whole story.
An environmental reading represents conditions at a particular place and time.
Its meaning depends on the circumstances surrounding it.
Was the building occupied? Was the HVAC system operating normally? Were doors or windows open? Had cleaning, construction, maintenance, or another activity recently occurred? What were the outdoor conditions? Is the concern constant or does it appear only under certain circumstances?
Those details can be just as important as the number displayed on the instrument.
Measurements provide data and context provides understanding.
Observe the space.
Measure deliberately.
Look for patterns.
Interpret in context.
What If Everything Looks Normal?
That's still a finding.
Not every investigation identifies an unusual environmental condition.
Measurements may not indicate an obvious concern at the time of the assessment. Observations may not reveal a clear source. A suspected explanation may simply not be supported by the evidence collected.
That doesn't make the investigation unsuccessful.
It tells us something.
The findings may help rule out one possibility, narrow the questions that remain, or indicate that additional evaluation should focus somewhere else.
A useful investigation doesn't require one to find something wrong.
The value of an investigation isn't in confirming a suspicion. It's in providing an accurate picture of the conditions observed and measured.
Following the Pattern
Sometimes the question isn't only what, but when?.
Environmental conditions can change throughout the day or in response to occupancy, weather, equipment, activities, or the way a building is operating.
When appropriate, understanding those patterns can help put individual observations and measurements into context.
Where?
Is the concern limited to one area or present throughout the building?
When?
Does it occur at a particular time or under particular conditions?
What Changed?
Did the concern begin after renovation, maintenance, new furnishings, equipment changes, or any other event?
What's Operating?
What are the ventilation, HVAC, and other relevant building systems doing when the condition occurs?
What Does the Evidence Show?
Do the observations and measurements support a particular explanation or point the investigation somewhere else?
What You Receive
Findings without forcing a conclusion.
An IES indoor air quality investigation is designed to document the conditions evaluated, explain what the available information indicates, and clearly identify the limits of what can be concluded.
Investigation Scope
The concern evaluated, areas included, and purpose of the investigation.
Building Observations
Relevant visible conditions, building characteristics, HVAC observations, and other field information.
Environmental Measurements
Measurements collected during the assessment with appropriate context for when and where they were obtained.
Photographic Documentation
Images providing useful context for observed conditions and areas evaluated.
Laboratory Results
Analytical results when sampling is appropriate to the investigation.
Interpretation & Recommendations
A clear explanation of what the findings support, what they do not establish, and appropriate next steps.
When an IAQ Investigation May Be Useful
Sometimes the concern begins with a question.
Persistent or unusual odors
An odor is noticeable within a space and the source isn't immediately apparent.
Temperature or humidity concerns
An area feels consistently warm, cool, humid, dry, or different from surrounding spaces.
Ventilation concerns
A space feels stuffy or raises questions about airflow, or HVAC operation.
Dust or particulate concerns
Unusual dust accumulation, construction activity, filtration concerns, or other conditions that warrant evaluation.
Changes following renovation or maintenance
New materials, furnishings, coatings, cleaning products, equipment, or building work coincide with a change in the indoor environment.
General indoor environmental concerns
Something about a space has changed or raised questions even though there isn't an obvious source.
An Important Distinction
People experience the concern and IES investigates the environment.
Occupant observations can provide valuable context.
Where something is noticed, when it occurs, and what seems to make it better or worse may help guide an environmental investigation.
But an IAQ assessment evaluates building conditions and environmental measurements.
It does not diagnose medical conditions or determine whether a building caused a particular health effect.
After the Investigation
Let the evidence define the answer.
Sometimes the findings identify a condition that warrants attention.
Sometimes they reveal a pattern that helps explain what has been observed.
Sometimes they help eliminate a suspected explanation.
And sometimes the information collected doesn't identify an obvious environmental concern within the scope and conditions of the assessment.
Each of those outcomes provides information.
The goal isn't to prove something is wrong.
It's to understand what the evidence says about the environment.
Something about the space doesn't seem right?
You don't need to know what should be tested before contacting. Describe what you've noticed, where and when it occurs, and anything you know about the building or recent changes.
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Continue Learning
Understanding Indoor Environmental Measurements
Why environmental readings are most useful when they're considered alongside building conditions, occupancy, and the circumstances in which they were collected.