CELEBRATING 30 YEARS AND COUNTING
I started Building Air Quality 30 years ago. Indoor air quality was still a relatively new field at the time, and I had no idea what this industry would become. Back then, we focused on IAQ consulting and cleaning air conditioning systems. I couldn’t have predicted that over the years it would develop into
HOW IKEA IS SOLVING IAQ PROBLEMS
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates 8 million people die worldwide each year due to complications from air pollution. Around 91 percent of people breathe in air pollution that exceeds WHO’s safety guidelines, and it’s not just outdoor air we need to worry about. As air pollution worsens, indoor air quality can also be affected. This is what makes IKEA’s
HOW HOUSTON WINS AT IAQ
Earlier this year, I attended a conference where I had the opportunity to talk to people from other parts of the country who work in indoor air quality. I learned a lot about IAQ problems other cities are just starting to acknowledge, like certain approaches to dealing with mold. This surprised me because …
THE PROBLEM WITH HIDDEN IAQ PROBLEMS
There are two kinds of calls I can get when a client hires me to investigate indoor air quality complaints in their building. I estimated that 99 percent of the time when I get a call from a building owner or property manager, they ask me to come investigate the building, run the tests, and talk to the people who have been complaining. Their goal is to address any possible problems quickly, and
BEWARE IAQ MIRACLE CURES
Last August, I was approached by a guy who claimed to have an amazing product that used hydrogen peroxide to oxidize odors and particles in the air. It worked great, he insisted, and would solve almost every indoor air quality problem. After being endorsed by both the U.S. Army and Homeland Security, he wanted
COULD THERE BE RADON IN TEXAS?
February is Cancer Prevention Month, and I’ve been thinking about radon. Early in my career, I used to test for the gaseous chemical. The only time I found any radon was on a marble fireplace mantle that had been imported from Italy. This won’t come as a surprise to most people. If you check the
THE CHALLENGES OF IAQ AND ODORS
I recognize that I am an authority on indoor air quality (IAQ) issues. After 30 years, I better be! At the same time, I admit I am not the expert in strange and unusual odors. However, this hasn’t stopped clients from requesting the services of my nose. Recently, in the span of just 10 days, I
THE BUSIEST TIME OF THE YEAR
When I first started Building Air Quality 29 years ago, winter was pretty quiet. Clients seldom called in the cold months. It was the hot, humid summer days that kept me busy. Now, since the work I do is so varied, I get calls year-round. This is a blessing and a curse.
CELEBRATING MY DAUGHTER’S BIG DAY
I am happy to report that one of my daughters got married just a few weeks ago. Dana and her now-husband, Cullen, live in Austin with their son, Finn, but they wanted to get married at San Francisco City Hall. Neither of them is from San Francisco, but Dana really loves the Bay Area. And I’ll admit,
LET’S TALK ABOUT THERMAL IMAGING
Today, I’m going to tell you about two projects I worked on this past summer that involved the tricky business of water. The first project was in a high-rise apartment complex in Houston. A tenant on the eighth floor had a bad water leak which spread throughout the building.