Opening windows to ventilate and managing interior temperature and moisture
So the unit where I live is less-than-ideally sited between two gas stations, a grocery store parking lot/loading dock, and a wood-fired pizza truck that has no exhaust filtration. There’s also what appears to be moisture damage to some of the interior walls. I discovered some mold back in February so I purchased a smaller 50 pint dehumidifier (I know, it’s not going to fix the issue).
I’ve noticed that whenever the wind blows from the direction of the gas stations or wood fired pizza truck, and/or during damp weather, I feel worse.
There’s no HRV/ERV and using the existing forced air system seems to make me feel worse.
I intend to move but for a variety of reasons (medical, financial, disabled family member) it’s not immediately possible.
So in the mean time, I picked up an an air quality sensor (Awaire?) to see if maybe I could devise a ventilation strategy. I know it’s just a cheap consumer grade sensor but I was hoping it could at least reveal up/down trends.
Something unsurprising is that VOCs and particulates consistently increase when wind is blowing from the pizza truck or gas stations. Something a little more surprising is that VOCs increase at night, but not consistently. Some people said that this is just the device responding to humidity, but I’ve even tested it in the same room as the dehumidifier. And no matter the location, there doesn’t appear to be much of a correlation between the device’s measured humidity and measured VOCs.
Furthermore, if I open the windows at night the VOC level drops–even if the exterior dew point is higher outdoors than inside.
I know I can’t just leave the windows open all the time because of moisture intrusion. And I also don’t want to run the dehumidifier constantly because it produces heat.
Mostly I’m just overwhelmed and not really sure about:
1) what steps to take to improve this situation while I try to figure out how to move both medically and financially
2) how to make sure I’m not making the problem worse by introducing more moisture to the interior
And yes, I have already been repeatedly communicating with the landlord, who lives across the country and is mostly nonresponsive.
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Replies
I'm sorry that you find yourself in such a bad situation.
I'm not an indoor air quality or ventilation expert. Others hopefully reply here soon. But here's a couple possibilities:
1. Those of us in construction use half mask respirators when we work in environments with serious pollutants in the air. These are not as comfortable to wear as cleaning the air in your apartment, and might not work great for sleeping. But when things get really polluted, they are an effective, inexpensive fix.
You can get these at Home Depot, Amazon and other retailers. Here's one highly rated for $16:
https://www.amazon.com/3M-Respirator-6200-Respiratory-Protection/dp/B007JZ1N00/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=3JT71JW88JBX6&keywords=half+mask+respirator&qid=1658535690&s=industrial&sprefix=half+mask+,industrial,81&sr=1-1-spons&psc=1.
2. You might mention where you live in this question and answer session. Its possible there is some government help available. It sounds so bad that your unit is not really rentable. If there is no government agency that could do anything for you, there might be other organizations that could provide some temporary shelter to escape this unit when the air is at its worst. Try your best to get help, don't suffer alone. I'm sure finding help is not easy, but could make a big difference in your situation.
3. I use a middle quality air filter for asthma. MDs say that you should run these continuously in your bedroom. Generally, they are dust and particulate filters, but some of the better ones might help you out even more. Again I'm not knowledgeable enough to suggest something specific. These small to mid-size standalone devices are in the hundreds of dollars price range. You might try looking at these online at Amazon or at a medical supply place near you. If you have access to an MD, or asthma specialist, they may be able to point you to a specific device or to someone to help you get an appropriate air cleaner. Again you can do some search on Amazon or other online information sources or retailers if you have Internet access.
Since you are in a rental short-term, I'm guessing it doesn't make a lot of sense of trying to improve the unit itself, other than perhaps using a window air conditioner, or temporarily sealing up the windows to reduce fumes and pollutants, and opening windows for fresh air at other times.
Again I don't know about the mold issue enough to make a good recommendation, but I suspect that humidity from an open window won't make much difference in adding to your unit's mold problem in the short term. To remove some of that mold, solutions of baking soda and white vinegar, or bleach, can be sprayed on the mold. Just be sure to NEVER MIX AMMONIA AND BLEACH. It produces toxic gases that could kill you.
Best of luck, and I hope things improve soon.
Your high VOC readings at night are likely correlated with high CO2. Humans emit VOCs just by breathing. When we go to sleep at night, especially in homes without ventilation systems and windows shut, VOCs are likely to spike. Opening a window and getting some air (although not super "fresh") is likely an improvement.
You might have some luck with a DIY portable air cleaner. These are really more about eliminating PM2.5 and they will not help with your VOC issue.
they don't consistently rise overnight and the times when I have stayed up all night next to the sensor (which is not in my bedroom), they haven't always risen either. The device also has an NDIR CO2 sensor and VOCs (from a metal oxide sensor) don't seem to trend up and down with CO2 unless it's right after opening a window. Although if the wind is blowing from the pizza truck, opening the window makes VOCs skyrocket and CO2 drop.
Forgot the link to the DIY air cleaner.
https://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/article/improving-the-indoor-air-with-a-diy-portable-air-cleaner
On the topic of trying to filter out VOCs and gases, it looks like you can do it, but probably not with a cheaper or DIY air filter.
Austin Air, who makes pretty spendy indoor air cleaners, does not advertise their normal HealthMate (Already expensive at $715) model as filtering VOCs. You have to spend even more for the HealthMate Plus or Bedroom Machine to get something that they claim reduces VOCs. If you can afford it, an air cleaner that addresses gases, smoke, VOCs, etc. might help.
As a renter, some combination of dehumidifier, strategically opening the windows when the wind isn't blowing in the gas station smells, and a portable air cleaner is probably the best you can do in the short term.
Here's a scatter plot of night time CO2 vs VOCs.
I'm not an air quality expert, but those levels don't look super concerning based on Airthings guidelines:
Average VOC less than 250 ppb: https://www.airthings.com/what-is-voc
Average CO2 less than 800 ppm: https://www.airthings.com/what-is-carbon-dioxide
Something in the air certainly may be making you feel bad, but it doesn't seem like it's total VOCs or CO2, based on your data.
The mold is still potentially an issue of course.
the VOC sensor isn't that accurate in terms of absolute concentration. I'm hoping it is at least accurate in terms of relative change, however.