Why Is an Indoor Air Quality Check a Prerequisite for IAQ Monitoring?

When it comes to ensuring the health and comfort of those in a building, indoor air quality (IAQ) is a top priority. As people spend more and more time indoors, it is essential to make sure the air they are breathing is safe and free from pollutants, otherwise, you risk being affected by one of the symptoms of poor indoor air quality.

While IAQ monitoring solutions are a valuable tool for monitoring air quality in real-time, it is crucial to first conduct an IAQ audit. You can read all about our Indoor Air Quality Audit in this article: What is an indoor air quality audit?

Why is it necessary to conduct an IAQ audit before monitoring indoor air quality?

Think of it this way: You wouldn't paint a room without first preparing the walls and fixing any cracks or imperfections. The same logic applies to implementing an indoor air quality monitoring solution. If you don't first assess the current state of your building's air quality, you won't have an accurate baseline for your monitoring.

Therefore, there are three main reasons to conduct first an IAQ audit before going for a monitoring solution:

• Creating a clean canvas or pinpointing sources of contamination: An indoor air quality audit provides a thorough evaluation of the building's air quality status and identifies sources of indoor air pollution. This information allows you to focus on the right "cracks" and "imperfections" and fix any issues before starting with the monitoring process. 

• Determining the right monitoring solution: An indoor air quality audit helps determine the right indoor air quality monitoring solution for a building, saving you money and time. For example, a building with high levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) will require a different monitoring solution than a building with elevated levels of carbon monoxide. An audit provides the information needed to select the appropriate monitoring solution, ensuring that it is both effective and efficient.
  
  
• Compliance with Regulations and Certifications: An audit provides an opportunity to identify and address any indoor air quality issues before they become compliance issues. In many cases, buildings must meet certain air quality standards in order to be certified or to comply with local regulations. Therefore, the IAQ audit provides the first opportunity to correct any issues before data from the indoor air quality monitoring is submitted for certifications or regulations.

Implementing Monitoring Solutions

As you see, conducting an IAQ audit is an important first step in improving indoor air quality, but it is not the end of the journey. Ongoing monitoring is essential for ensuring that indoor air quality remains at optimal levels and for detecting changes over time. 

And although both solutions separately are already an excellent step towards a healthy work environment, combining the two will take you to the next level. By combining an audit with an indoor air monitoring solution you will achieve the maximum level of performance and effectiveness.

Among other things, you will see the following key benefits: 

• Prevent new indoor air quality issues: An indoor air quality monitoring solution provides continuous and real-time data on the concentration of contaminants in the air, allowing you to take immediate action if levels start to rise. This helps to ensure that the building remains safe and healthy for occupants.
  
  
• Indoor air quality comparison over time: the combination of an audit and an ongoing monitoring solution provides a valuable record of the building's air quality over time. This record can be useful for demonstrating compliance with regulations and certifications, as well as for benchmarking the building's performance and identifying areas for improvement.
  
  
• Track the effectiveness of your efforts: in case you had to fix any IAQ issues after the audit, ongoing monitoring allows you to track the effectiveness of the taken efforts to improve indoor air quality. This helps to ensure that the efforts and investments you made in improving the air after the audit have the desired impact and last for a longer period of time. 

At Clairify we offer both solutions, audit, and constant monitoring. This means you can combine both services and create a clean and smooth process from start to finish. Our experts will guide you through the entire process, leaving you worry-free and optimizing your time and resources. 

Simply follow the links to read more about our Indoor Air Quality Audit and our ongoing monitoring solution Clairify 365.