Indoor air quality testing measures what you are actually breathing at home — spore counts, particulates, humidity, and the conditions that let problems develop. It is broader than a mold test, and it is usually what people want when they say “the air in here feels wrong.”
Michigan makes this a year-round issue. We spend most of the year with the windows shut, first against winter and then against humidity, which means indoor air is recirculated far more than exchanged.
What We Measure
Airborne mold spores
Calibrated air sampling in the affected areas plus an outdoor control, so the indoor number can be interpreted rather than just recorded. Results identify the genera present and their concentration. See mold testing for how the lab analysis works.
Relative humidity
The single most useful number in the whole assessment. Mold needs sustained moisture, and indoor relative humidity above roughly 60% will support growth on ordinary household surfaces without any leak at all. We measure across rooms and levels, because a house rarely has one humidity — the basement is usually the story.
Temperature differentials and dew point
Where warm moist air meets a cold surface, it condenses. Exterior walls behind furniture, uninsulated closets on north walls, cold-water pipes, window frames, and rim joists are the usual condensation points. Finding them explains growth that appears to have no source.
Particulates
Fine airborne particles — dust, combustion byproducts, fibers — that irritate airways independently of any mold issue. Useful when symptoms exist but the mold numbers come back unremarkable.
Ventilation performance
Whether bathroom and kitchen exhaust fans actually move air, and — a common Michigan defect — whether they terminate outdoors or simply discharge into the attic, quietly soaking the sheathing above.
Why Air Quality Degrades in Michigan Homes
- Winter sealing. Months with minimal air exchange. Every shower, pot of pasta, and sleeping person adds moisture to a closed envelope.
- Summer humidity. Warm humid air enters a cool basement and condenses on the walls and floor. No leak required.
- Basement air rises. The stack effect pulls air upward through a house. Whatever is in your basement — spores, musty odor, radon-carrying soil gas — ends up in your living space.
- Improved efficiency, reduced exchange. Newer and retrofitted homes hold conditioned air better, which also means they hold moisture and contaminants better.
- Undersized or unvented exhaust. A bathroom fan that cannot clear the mirror is not clearing the moisture either.
Symptoms That Point to Indoor Air
The pattern matters more than any single symptom. Indoor air problems tend to produce complaints that:
- Improve within hours of leaving the house and return after a day back.
- Affect several people in the household, sometimes including pets.
- Worsen in a particular room, or on a particular level.
- Track the seasons — appearing in humid months, or when the heat comes on.
Common complaints include nasal congestion, sinus pressure, throat irritation, itchy or watering eyes, coughing, headaches, and unusual fatigue at home. What those symptoms mean medically is a question for your doctor — our role is to establish what is measurably in the air so that conversation has real data behind it. For more on the health context, see health effects of mold exposure.
What You Receive
- Spore counts by genus, with the outdoor comparison.
- Humidity and temperature readings by room and level.
- Identified condensation points and moisture sources.
- Ventilation findings, including any fans venting into the attic.
- Specific, ordered recommendations — what to fix first, and what can wait.
What Usually Fixes It
Most of what we find has an unglamorous solution, and we would rather tell you that than sell you a bigger project.
- Control humidity first. A properly sized basement dehumidifier set to 45–50% resolves a surprising share of “mold problems” because it removes the condition mold requires.
- Make the exhaust fans work. Correct sizing, actual outdoor termination, and running them long enough — twenty minutes after a shower, not two.
- Address the water, not the stain. Grading, downspout extensions, gutter function, and foundation sealing do more than any air purifier.
- Insulate cold surfaces that condense — rim joists and uninsulated closet walls especially.
- Filtration last. Better HVAC filters and portable HEPA units help with symptoms, but they treat the air rather than the cause. Useful as a supplement, not a solution.
If testing shows the source is a genuine moisture intrusion or established growth, we will map it with moisture detection and, where warranted, refer you to certified remediation contractors — then verify the result afterward with clearance testing.
