Odor Investigation

Sources of Odors

There are two types of odor: “real odor”, in which is a gas detected by the human nose that strikes the olfactory nerve that triggers a sensation to the olfactory lobe (frontal lobe of brain), and; “psychological odor” or “heightened awareness odor”, in which people think they smell odor based on experience, suggestion, and past impressions. Response to odors includes anxiety, reduced productivity or sense of well being, and ill-health symptoms. The source or sources of irritating or unpleasant odors can be difficult to determine. Odor sources include sewer gas from hidden plumbing waste pipe leaks, microbial growth inside wall cavities, unusual chemical off-gassing from building materials, or a combination of a number of issues. Identification requires a highly developed set of skills to identify pollutant sources, pollutant pathways, hygrometric influence, and variable pressure conditions often responsible for the intermittent nature of some odors.

Our Approach

Our goal is to assist you in understanding and correcting any issues that may be resulting in experiencing irritating or unpleasant odors in your facility. Since our practice is strictly limited to environmental testing and consulting – and never remediation – you’re assured of an unbiased assessment. Our approach is to apply prudent scientific methods, pursuant to reported odor character and potential pathways and sources, to offer a reasonable opportunity for identification of the following:

• odor cause
• potential health hazard
• solutions for preventing and responding to similar future issues

When to Call IAQ Management

Our professional, third-party service should be performed when the odor source is unidentified and is causing a reduced sense of well being or ill-health symptoms.
A word of caution: Response to odor complaints should be quick, thorough, and aggressive in the event the odor source is hazardous.