How can you tell if your home’s air contains pollutants? The short answer is that often you can’t. But here is a 33-question test that highlights the typical sources of indoor air pollution in the average home. You can use it to determine whether or not your home is likely to be experiencing air quality issues.

Elimination is the most effective strategy to ensure safe indoor air. With this test’s help you can learn where the air in your home might be polluted; then you can try to eliminate the sources of indoor air pollution:

If you answer “yes” to any of these questions, the chances are good that your home could use some remedial action. The more affirmative answers you gave, the greater that action likely needs to be and the faster it probably should happen.

If you answer “no” to every item on our test, coming up with a perfect score, that indicates your home is probably free of indoor air quality problems, but it’s wise to adopt a few principles of healthy precaution to keep things that way!

1. Does my home have unusual and/or lingering odors?
2. Does my home regularly have stale or stuffy air?
3. Does anyone in my house smoke indoors or do I regularly have guests who smoke indoors?
4. Does anyone in my household suffer frequent colds, allergies, respiratory problems, or burning eyes?
5. Is my central heating and cooling equipment dirty or not working properly?
6. Is my fireplace or woodstove malfunctioning or improperly vented?
7. Are any of my home’s various flue pipes, vents, or chimneys damaged in any way?
8. Am I using carbon-based fuels like fuel oil and propane in unvented or improperly vented devices like stoves, furnaces, and water heaters?
9. Do I use kerosene or other non-electric space heaters?
10. Does my home regularly experience high humidity?
11. Are mold or mildew present in any room?
12. Does my basement have a radon problem?
13. Does my home contain any ceiling panels, acoustic ceiling tiles, or similar products?
14. Does my home contain any ultraviolet lights?
15. Does my home contain any copy machines or computer laser printers?
16. Does my home contain any decorative wallpaper less than one year old?
17. Has my home been remodeled or added onto in the last two years?
18. Is my home weatherized or otherwise sealed tightly to conserve energy?
19. Does my home contain any plywood less than two years old?
20. Does my home contain any new furniture or carpeting less than one year old?
21. Has my home had any furniture or fixtures like cabinetry added to it in the past two years that are made from pressed or composite woods?
22. Has my home been recently painted or have any furnishings been recently painted or varnished?
23. Does my home typically accumulate a lot of dust that requires regular removal?
24. Do I use any synthetic chemical household cleaners?
25. Do I use any room deodorizers and/or air freshening products?
26. Do I use hair spray or other synthetic personal care products, especially spray products, perfumes, and nail polish supplies?
27. Do I use any pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, or other poisons inside or outside my home?
28. Does anyone in the house engage in hobbies or other activities that make frequent use of adhesives like rubber cement or model glue, strippers, finishes, paints, wood fillers, etc.?
29. Do I have any textile product labeled permanent press, easy-care, wrinkle-free, flame-resistant, etc. that are less than one year old?
30. Does my home contain any synthetic foams?
31. Do I use dry cleaning services regularly?
32. Is my home located on or near any heavily traveled roads?
33. Is my home located near any commercial facilities that emit air hazards, like a dry cleaner, car repair or body shop, factory, etc.?