Air Quality Testing in California

Licensed & insured Every company we put you through to holds current licensing and insurance.
Know what to ask You are told what actually decides the price, so you can judge a quote.
Someone local You are put through to a technician who works your area, not a call center three states away.
Calls answered 7 days Someone picks up seven days a week, weekends included.

Is it urgent?

Can wait

Not urgent, with one exception: if anyone has symptoms of carbon monoxide exposure — headache, nausea, dizziness that improves outdoors — leave the building and call the gas utility or the fire service, not a duct company.

Two things override everything on this page. If anyone has symptoms of carbon monoxide exposure — headache, nausea or dizziness that improves outdoors — leave the building and call the gas utility or the fire service, not a duct company. And if you can smell burning while the dryer is running, unplug it and leave it.

Signs to look for

Symptoms that track the building rather than the season
A smell nobody can place, particularly one that changes when the system runs
Humidity that stays high or low however the system is set
A recent renovation, new flooring or new furniture and a persistent chemical smell
Wanting to know whether duct cleaning would help before paying for it

How the work is done

Establishing what question is being answered first, because there is no single test for air quality and an unfocused panel is expensive and inconclusive
Measuring particulate, temperature and relative humidity over time rather than at one moment
Using carbon dioxide as a proxy for whether the space is actually ventilated
Reporting against a reference rather than as a bare number, and saying plainly where the result is normal

In California specifically

In California the ductwork is generally in attics and crawlspaces, and on slab-on-grade homes in the south often under the floor or in the ceiling plenum, which is most of why this job looks the way it does here. Wildfire smoke is the single biggest thing that makes Californians think about what their ducts are carrying. Fine particulate gets pulled into a return during a smoke event and keeps circulating long after the air outside has cleared. California is also the one state where duct leakage is routinely tested: Title 24 requires a HERS-verified duct test on most furnace or air-conditioner changeouts, so a duct problem here often surfaces as a failed test rather than as a complaint.

Before the technician arrives

Four things worth doing — and the first one is usually the thing people get wrong.

Write down when the symptoms or the smell are worst, and whether they change with the system running. That is more useful than any single measurement.
Do not clean, air out or redecorate immediately before testing. It makes the result unrepresentative of what you actually live with.
Say what you are worried about specifically. A test aimed at a question is worth several times an open-ended panel.
Check your carbon monoxide alarms are working and in date before anything else.

What the work looks like

Photographs of air quality testing being carried out, so you know what to expect on the day.

How it works

Three steps, and you decide at the end of them.

1
You call and describe the problem

Tell us what you have noticed and where — the room, the smell, the noise, how long it has been going on. Give us your ZIP code and we will match you to a licensed company covering your area. There is no form to fill in.
2
A local company takes it from there

They discuss the problem with you directly, arrange a time to inspect, and agree the work and the price with you before anything starts. That conversation is between you and them.
3
You decide whether to go ahead

You are under no obligation. If the quote or the approach is not what you wanted, you are free to say no and call someone else.

Air Quality Testing — FAQs

Do I actually need Air Quality Testing done?

Not urgent, with one exception: if anyone has symptoms of carbon monoxide exposure — headache, nausea, dizziness that improves outdoors — leave the building and call the gas utility or the fire service, not a duct company.

What does Air Quality Testing involve?

Measuring what is actually in the air — particulate, humidity, carbon dioxide as a ventilation proxy, and specific contaminants where there is a reason to look for them.

What makes this different in California?

In California the ductwork is generally in attics and crawlspaces, and on slab-on-grade homes in the south often under the floor or in the ceiling plenum, which is most of why this job looks the way it does here. Wildfire smoke is the single biggest thing that makes Californians think about what their ducts are carrying. Fine particulate gets pulled into a return during a smoke event and keeps circulating long after the air outside has cleared. California is also the one state where duct leakage is routinely tested: Title 24 requires a HERS-verified duct test on most furnace or air-conditioner changeouts, so a duct problem here often surfaces as a failed test rather than as a complaint.

Are the companies licensed and insured?

Yes. We only pass calls to licensed, insured operators working in California, and you are welcome to ask to see a license number on arrival.

What does Air Quality Testing cost?

It depends on the property, the size of the system and what the inspection finds, so we do not publish a price — a figure quoted on a web page is not one the attending company has agreed to. You get a price before any work starts.

Air Quality Testing near you

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Air Quality Testing in California

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