How frequently should indoor air quality assessments be conducted?

Conducting indoor air quality assessments annually or after significant changes is a sound approach to ensuring a healthy indoor environment. This frequency allows for regular monitoring that can help identify potential air quality issues before they become serious health concerns.

Annual assessments provide a consistent benchmark for evaluating air quality trends, while triggering assessments after significant changes—such as renovations, new HVAC installations, or changes in occupancy—ensures that any potential new contamination sources or disruptions to air quality are promptly addressed.

Conducting assessments every month could lead to unnecessary costs and resources without providing substantial benefit, while only assessing every five years may overlook significant fluctuations in air quality that could impact health. Limiting assessments to just winter months fails to consider seasonal variations and other factors that could affect air quality throughout the year. Thus, the choice to assess annually, with additional assessments when changes occur, strikes a practical balance between thoroughness and efficiency in managing indoor air quality.