Most of the time the folks here at AirMD, an environmental testing company based in South Florida, are focused on things like residential mold inspections, home allergen tests and testing for air and water quality. But this weekend, it is Father’s Day!

Even though some of the restrictions put in place to help stop the spread of Covid-19 have been
Lifted, this Father’s Day is still going to be quite a bit different for most families.

Instead of taking Dad out for brunch or dinner on Sunday, June 21, maybe you’ll be cooking something at home. According to Chiff.com, “Father’s Day recipes” is one of the top online searches related to the holiday. Other popular search topics include “Father’s Day poems” and “Father’s Day crafts.” (You’ve been warned, guys, so start practicing saying the following like you mean it “There isn’t anything I’d rather have.”)

Father’s Day Trivia

If you want to liven up the conversation around the dinner table when the family gets together to celebrate Dad, you can share some of this fun Father’s Day trivia courtesy of Chiff.com, an online guide to sports, travel, shopping and entertainment:

• “Mr. Mom is becoming a more common sight at parks across America with 154,000 estimated ‘stay-at-home’ dads,” they say. They define Mr. Mom as a guy who is married with kids under 15 years who have not worked for at least a year so they can stay home and look after the kids while Mom goes off to work.
• Sonora Dodd is credited with creating Father’s Day as a way to honor her own Dad. The event was first celebrated in 1910 in her native Spokane, Washington in June, because that when her father was born.
• It took a while for the idea to catch on. President Lyndon Johnson didn’t designate the third Sunday in June as Father’s Day until 1966.

And, if you’re still looking for a great gift for Dad, instead of a tie, you could always have the air quality tested in his home or treat him to a residential wellness test from AirMD, the indoor air quality testing experts. (Hey, it’s just an idea.)

The post Happy Father’s Day from AirMD appeared first on Air Quality Testing by AirMD Since 2007.

For most people, coming home after a long day at work or school is a beautiful thing. Home is the place where you can shrug off the stresses of the day, put your feet up, take a deep breath and relax. Unfortunately, the environmental testing experts here at AirMD we see a number of cases where indoor air quality testing in a home reveals that taking that deep breath – instead of making you feel better – may actually be making you and your family feel worse?

It wouldn’t be at all unusual for us to have a client come to us for a residential mold inspection and an air quality assessment in West Palm Beach, Boca Raton or Delray Beach. We might be told that various members of the family had been experiencing headaches or complaining of sinus troubles. Then, when the results come in from our indoor air test and mold testing, the family is still surprised to find that they can chalk about their health problems to sick building syndrome.

Sick Building Syndrome at Home

Usually, we associate sick building (SBS) syndrome with office buildings, factories, industrial facilities and other workplaces, but SBS isn’t limited to large commercial buildings. Your favorite pizza place, your child’s school and even your home could be undermining your health.

As the EPA explains, “The term ‘sick building syndrome’ (SBS) is used to describe situations in which building occupants experience acute health and comfort effects that appear to be linked to time spent in a building, but no specific illness or cause can be identified. The complaints may be localized in a particular room or zone, or may be widespread throughout the building.”

According to the EPA, there are many things that can be detrimental to the quality of the air in your home, including:

• Chemical contaminants from exhausts in the bathroom and kitchen or from plumbing vents
• Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), which can be found in pesticides, tobacco smoke, carpets and upholstery.
• An unvented space heater, a fireplace or oven
• Biological contamination from bird and insect droppings

If you have concerns about the quality of the air inside your home, the environmental testing pros at AirMD can conduct Advanced Wellness Testing to scientifically assess the condition of your indoor environment. Call us at 1 888 462 4763 (1 888 GO AIRMD) for more information.

The post Quality Time and Quality Indoor Air at Home appeared first on Air Quality Testing by AirMD Since 2007.

Kids aren’t the only ones who will be enjoying Halloween celebrations this month. Over the years, the holiday has increasingly tempted adults to get into the spirit. We now spend more on Halloween than any other holiday, except Christmas. Here at AirMD, our indoor air quality tests, mold inspections and our allergy testing – from Austin to West Palm Beach – are firmly rooted in science, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have a little fun with Halloween with its myths and superstitions.

If you’re among the many who will be decorating your home or office for Halloween, there’s a good chance that the image of a black cat might pop up somewhere. According to the Billings Animal Family Hospital, “In the Middle Ages, it was a commonly held belief that witches could disguise themselves as black cats and these dark felines became associated with witchcraft.”

Black Cats Are Nothing to Sneeze At

The truth is that you don’t need to be afraid of black cats – unless you’re allergic to cats. And if that’s the case, it doesn’t matter if they’re black, orange or polka dotted, you should avoid our furry feline friends. According to WebMD, “About 10% of the U.S. population has pet allergies and cats are among the most common culprits. Cat allergies are twice as common as dog allergies.”

Cat Allergy Symptoms

The health experts at WebMD report that the symptoms of cat allergies can include:

• coughing and wheezing
• hives or a rash on the chest and face
• red, itchy eyes
• redness of the skin where a cat has scratched, bitten, or licked you
• runny, itchy, stuffy nose
• sneezing

If your home is feline-free but you or a member of your family is still bothered by these symptoms on a frequent basis, there may be some other allergy involved. Pollen, dust mites and mold are the most common allergy triggers. But having allergies doesn’t mean you are cursed to suffer forever. Call the allergy-busters at AirMD! Our pros can perform home allergen tests that can help you get to the bottom of any mysteries. We are also experts in residential mold inspections and mold removal.

The post Black Cats Can Be Scary – but only if you have allergies! appeared first on Air Quality Testing by AirMD Since 2007.