What are the symptoms of sick building syndrome?

Sick building symptoms describe chronic physical illnesses that have no other obvious cause. These reactions affect residents or occupants of a particular home or building. Typical symptoms include headache, nasal congestion, sore throat, skin irritations, nausea, vertigo, trouble concentrating, and disrupted sleep patterns.

What triggers asthma in indoor environments?

A common asthma trigger is spores released by household mold. Airborne mold spores contain mycotoxins that are a known respiratory allergen. Elevated levels of these toxic microscopic particulates in enclosed structures can trigger reactions in individuals predisposed to asthma.

How can one prevent sick building syndrome?

Effective prevention includes reducing exposure to airborne biological contaminants, ensuring proper ventilation, conducting regular air quality checks, and seeking professional mold remediation when needed. It's also crucial to identify and resolve any chronic moisture issues and maintain indoor humidity at safe levels.

Sick Buildings: How to Identify & Eliminate Biological Contaminants

Biological Contaminates in Building Requiring Commercial Water Damage Restoration

Sick building symptoms describe chronic physical illnesses that have no other obvious cause. Usually manifesting as a pattern of unexplained health issues, these reactions affect residents or occupants of a particular home or building. Typical sick building symptoms include headache, nasal congestion, sore throat, skin irritations, nausea, and vertigo. Mental implications are reported, too, such as trouble concentrating and disrupted sleep patterns. One common denominator among these diverse symptoms is that they tend to disappear spontaneously when the individual is no longer residing in or regularly occupying the building in question.

The usual suspects in sick building symptoms are certain airborne biological contaminants, usually exacerbated by poor ventilation that allows concentrations to accumulate to unhealthy levels. An air quality specialist experienced in mold and other airborne contaminants can inspect the premises for visible evidence of pollutants as well as use specialized technology to sample the air.

A walk-through phase of the inspection checks the condition of the HVAC equipment, including ducts and filtration. Infiltration points where outdoor pollution may enter the structure are identified, as well as indoor areas that tend to originate contamination—such as chronically moist areas that spawn mold growth or stagnant air zones like crawl spaces or attics.
The goal of air sampling is to identify airborne pathogens such as active mold spores. By quantifying the concentration in indoor air, a commercial water damage company can determine whether mold growth or other contamination exists somewhere inside the structure as well as the extent and type.

Visual mold inspection and sampling the air allow the specialist to design a plan to remove existing sources of sick building syndrome and outline steps needed to prevent recurrence including mold remediation, enhanced air filtration, and balanced ventilation.

For more information on removing conditions that cause sick building symptoms, contact Rytech Restoration.

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