Signs Your Building Has an Air Quality Problem

Healthy buildings are measured, managed, and maintained - not guessed at.

Most buildings with indoor air quality issues don’t look broken.They function - but underperform. IAQ problems often reveal themselves through patterns, not alarms.

Warning Signs of an Air Quality Problem

Across offices, hospitals, hotels, and public buildings, the same indicators appear again and again:

1. Persistent Odours

If smells linger despite cleaning and ventilation, the issue is airborne chemistry - not housekeeping.

2. Frequent Occupant Complaints

Headaches, eye irritation, fatigue, or “stuffy” conditions are classic IAQ signals.

3. High Absenteeism or Reduced Productivity

Poor air quality affects cognition long before it triggers illness.

4. Excessive Dust Build-Up

If surfaces re-dust quickly, fine particulate matter is circulating - not being removed.

5. Overworked HVAC Systems

Systems running longer and harder to maintain comfort often indicate contaminated recirculated air.

Why These Signs Are Often Ignored

Because IAQ problems:

• Don’t trigger immediate failures

• Sit between engineering, operations, and HR

• Are rarely measured in real time

As a result, buildings compensate with more cooling, more ventilation, and more energy without solving the root cause of the air quality problem

What High-Performance Buildings Do Differently

They:

• Measure air quality continuously

• Remove contaminants at source

• Reduce dependence on dilution

• Treat IAQ as operational infrastructure

The Takeaway

If your building relies on complaints to identify air quality issues, it’s already late.

Healthy buildings are measured, managed, and maintained - not guessed at.