How to Test Indoor Air Quality: A Step-by-Step Guide to IAQ Testing and Maintenance

You may have read about the different types of pollutants that can reduce the quality of the air you breathe at home. Your indoor air may be contaminated by dust, pollen, mold, radon, or particulate matter.

To know this for sure, you need to get your home tested. How to test indoor air, though? How do you interpret the results? And what can you do to maintain indoor air quality?

Let’s find out the answers to all these questions.

What is Home Air Inspection?

Home air inspection is a professional service that evaluates the quality of the air you’re breathing in your home. A certified expert arrives at your property with specialized equipment and tests the air quality throughout your house.

They go from one room to the next and take samples of the air to see what pollutants are present and at what levels. Once the samples are assessed, you’ll get a detailed report with the results of the indoor pollutants tested.

These results tell you:

Which pollutants are present in your home
The concentration levels of each contaminant
Whether those levels exceed safety standards
Which rooms have the worst air quality

At InHaus Lab, we go the extra mile.

We give you a personalized Home Health Score. We also offer customized reports that show your home’s IAQ risks and tell you what you can do to address them.

Here’s Why IAQ Testing Matters

You spend most of your life indoors. That means the air inside your home becomes one of the biggest factors affecting your health. If the environment in your home is not free of pollutants, you could face short-term and long-term side effects.

To put this in perspective, consider what the EPA has to say about indoor air quality.

The average American spends around 90% of their time inside their homes.
Contrary to popular belief, indoor air has 2 to 5 times higher levels of some pollutants than outdoor air.

When you put these numbers together, you’ll start to see how much indoor air can affect your health. Household air pollutants can also lead to more dire consequences.

According to the World Health Organization, indoor air pollutants caused 2.9 million deaths in 2021 alone. Over 309,000 of those affected were children below the age of five.

These numbers show just how serious indoor air quality is. And indoor pollutant testing is the only way to know what you’re actually breathing in at home. With regular and timely home air inspections, you can catch problems before they become too difficult to handle.

IAQ testing matters for your home because it:

Protects your family from invisible health hazards
Identifies problems you cannot see or smell
Prevents long-term respiratory issues or allergies from poor IAQ
Catches dangerous gases like radon and carbon monoxide early
Provides baseline data to measure improvements over time

How to Test Your Home’s Indoor Air Quality?

Wondering how to test your indoor air and get to the truth of what you’re dealing with? You’re not alone. Most people, when they realize how much IAQ matters, are eager to find out what’s going on in their homes.

The good news is that indoor air quality testing is easy if you know what to do. You’ve got options ranging from simple DIY kits that you can use instantly to comprehensive professional testing that gives you lab-grade data.

Here’s what you can do:

1. Install Carbon Monoxide and Radon Detectors

Carbon monoxide comes from gas appliances, furnaces, and water heaters that don’t burn fuel completely. Radon, on the other hand, is a dangerous radioactive gas that seeps in from the soil through cracks in the foundation.

You can’t see or smell either of these. But they can have acute or chronic ill effects on your health. Carbon monoxide can cause headaches, dizziness, and even death. Radon increases your risk of lung cancer.

So, how to test if your indoor air has these dangerous gases?

You can get a CO detector for your home and a radon detector for your basement. These devices measure the levels of these gases and alert you if the levels get dangerously high.

2. Measure Humidity Levels With a Hygrometer

When the humidity inside your home gets too high, it creates the perfect environment for dust mites and mold. With a hygrometer, you can see exactly what the humidity level is in different parts of your house.

The EPA recommends keeping indoor humidity levels between 30% to 50%.

If the humidity in your home is higher than recommended, use a dehumidifier to make the air healthier again.

3. Use DIY Test Kits for Mold

Mold grows anywhere if there’s enough moisture and humidity. That’s why it’s common in bathrooms, basements, and around leaky pipes. While it looks harmless, mold releases spores that can trigger allergies and asthma. It could also lead to respiratory problems and long-term health effects from mycotoxins.

If you want to check for mold in your home, DIY mold test kits can offer a stopgap solution.

You can use them to swab surfaces or collect air samples, and then mail them to a lab. The results will tell you if you have mold, what kind, and at what level.

4. Test for Lead Dust With Wipe Kits

If your house was built or repainted before 1978, there’s a good chance you’ve got lead paint somewhere. As it chips and deteriorates, lead paint creates dust that can be dangerous, especially for young children.

The WHO explains the effects, which include affected brain development, reduced IQ, and changes in behavior.

To catch this contaminant before it wreaks havoc on your children’s health, get lead dust wipe kits and test your home. You can take samples from your floors, window sills, and other surfaces and have them tested.

That said, check if the lead test kits you buy are recognized by the EPA.

5. Use VOC Test Kits and Formaldehyde Test Strips

VOCs, or volatile organic compounds, are off-gassed by many things commonly found in homes. That includes paint, fragrances, cleaning products, and even some kinds of furniture. Formaldehyde, on the other hand, is emitted by wood and some fabrics.

Both VOCs and formaldehyde can irritate your eyes or throat, trigger headaches, and even cause more serious issues after long-term exposure.

One of the easiest ways to test indoor air for these contaminants is with test kits and test strips.

6. Use PM Sensors to Check for Dust

Particulate matter includes tiny particles floating in the air, like dust, pollen, and smoke. One variant of this, called PM2.5, can be particularly nasty because the particles are small enough to get into your lungs and bloodstream.

That’s why a PM sensor can be a useful addition to your DIY home air inspection kit. It gives you real-time readings of how much particulate matter is actually in your air. You’ll then know if your home’s current ventilation and filtration systems are working, or if they need some maintenance or an upgrade.

7. Get a Multi-Sensor Air Quality Monitor

If you’re worried that your home may have different kinds of contaminants, a multi-sensor air quality monitor can help. This device tracks several things at once, like carbon dioxide, VOCs, particulate matter, and even humidity.

Beyond regular indoor pollutant testing, the readings can also reveal patterns. Maybe your IAQ tanks every time you cook. Maybe it spikes overnight when your bedroom gets stuffy.

You can use this data to make changes that can actually improve your indoor air.

8. Get Your Home’s Air Quality Professionally Tested

All these DIY steps for air quality testing can help you to some extent. There’s no doubt about that. But these are often just temporary measures.

Buying a ton of devices may not be the most practical course of action. What’s more, the devices may fail, they may not give you the complete picture, or their readings could be inaccurate.

Take the case of this experience that a Reddit user shared recently. They purchased a pack of eight hygrometers, and each gave a different reading. With such ambiguity, it becomes really difficult to know what you’re dealing with.

That’s why professional home air inspection is still the best course of action.

When you hire certified experts to carry out indoor air quality testing, you get more accurate results. There are other benefits too, like:

Comprehensive testing for contaminants in a single visit
Detection of pollutants at levels that DIY kits might miss.
Professional knowledge of where to test and how much to sample
Identification of contaminants you might overlook on your own
Clear interpretation of complex data
Customized remediation plans
Follow-up testing to help you check if the fixes actually worked
Access to specialized tests not available in consumer kits

InHaus Lab gives you all these advantages and more.

If you live in Aspen or Minneapolis, get in touch with us to schedule a home air inspection. We’ll offer you a quote in just 30 minutes, and we’ll help you understand your IAQ clearly.

A Step-by-Step Guide to Maintain Healthy Indoor Air at Home

Learning how to test indoor air is only the first step in the journey to a healthier home. Once you get your home air inspection test results, if those numbers are above safe levels, you need to take action.

After that, once you bring your IAQ to healthy levels, you must maintain it that way. Here is a step-by-step guide to help you with this:

1. Improve Air Circulation at Home

Crack open the windows for 10 to 15 minutes each day, even in winter. Fresh outdoor air dilutes indoor air pollutants and prevents the buildup of contaminants.

2. Use the Exhaust Fans

Run the exhaust fans in your kitchen and bathroom every time you cook or shower. This pulls the moisture and pollutants out of your home before they accumulate.

3. Change HVAC Filters Periodically

Check the filters in your furnace and air conditioner every month. Replace them if they look clogged or dirty, because clean filters trap dust and pollutants more effectively.

4. Keep Humidity Levels Between 30-50%

Humidity checks are an important part of any air monitoring guide. Use a dehumidifier in damp places like basements. This way, you can keep mold from taking over your home.

5. Vacuum Your House Regularly

Regular vacuuming removes dust, pet dander, and other allergens from your floors and upholstery. HEPA filters, in particular, can trap tiny particles effectively.

6. Store Chemicals and Cleaners Safely

Keep paints and cleaning products in tightly sealed containers, and store them in a garage or shed. VOCs from these products can evaporate from open containers and contaminate the air.

7. Schedule Annual HVAC Maintenance

Have a professional inspect and clean your heating and cooling systems yearly. They’ll catch issues like gas leaks, poor combustion, or mold before the problem worsens.

8. Address Moisture Problems and Water Leaks Immediately

Fix leaks, dry wet areas within 24 hours, and repair roof or plumbing issues quickly. Stagnant water and dampness can be just what mold needs to invade your house.

Schedule Your Home Air Inspection Today

DIY testing and an air monitoring guide can help, but to get a really clear picture of your indoor air quality, you need to have your home assessed professionally.

If you want to know exactly which pollutants are affecting your health at home and what you can do to make your IAQ better, reach out to us at InHaus Lab.

We will test your home for different contaminants and give you a personalized Home Health Score.

How to Test Indoor Air FAQs

1. What are the most common indoor air pollutants I should test for?

You need to check for mold, radon, carbon monoxide, and particulate matter. Also, look at VOC levels if you have paint and particleboard furniture at home.

2. How do I know if I need to test my indoor air quality?

A home air inspection may be needed if you notice symptoms like headaches or respiratory issues without any obvious causes. The same goes for any musty smells or recent water damage in your home.

3. What are some practical DIY steps for air quality improvement at home?

Start by opening the windows daily and running the exhaust fans or the chimney when you’re cooking. It also helps to keep the humidity levels between 30% to 50% indoors.

4. How often should I schedule an appointment for indoor pollutant testing in 2026?

Most homes need IAQ testing every few years. However, if you’ve had any renovations, water leaks, or unexplained health issues, schedule an appointment right away.

5. What should I do if my home air inspection shows high levels of pollutants?

First, figure out the sources of these pollutants. Then, take the necessary measures to remove or reduce those contaminants that affect the air quality in your home.

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