Canadians spend about 90% of their time indoors, and in the Edmonton area — where homes are sealed up tight against the cold for much of the year — the air inside your house can matter more to your health than the air outside. The trouble is that most of what affects indoor air quality is invisible: you cannot see carbon monoxide, radon, or the fine particles from wildfire smoke. Testing is how you turn those unknowns into numbers you can actually act on. Here is what home indoor air quality testing measures, how to do it yourself versus when to bring in a pro, and the targets Health Canada says to aim for.
What “Indoor Air Quality” Actually Means
Indoor air quality — IAQ for short — is a catch-all for the mix of gases, particles and moisture in the air inside your home. Some of it blows in from outside, like wildfire smoke or pollen. Some is produced inside, by combustion appliances, cooking, cleaning products, off-gassing furniture, and even the people and pets breathing in the room. Health Canada publishes a set of Residential Indoor Air Quality Guidelines that put recommended limits on the pollutants that matter most, which gives homeowners a real yardstick instead of guesswork.
Testing matters because symptoms are unreliable. Headaches, fatigue, congestion, worse-than-usual allergies or asthma, lingering odours, and condensation on windows can all point to an air-quality problem — but they can also be a dozen other things. A number tells you what is actually going on.
The Five Things Worth Testing For
You do not need to measure everything at once. These are the pollutants that carry the most weight in an Alberta home:
- Carbon monoxide (CO) — the non-negotiable one. It is colourless, odourless and tasteless, produced by incomplete combustion in furnaces, fireplaces, gas ranges and attached-garage vehicles, and it can be deadly. Every home needs working CO alarms; a detector is the only way to know it is there.
- Radon — a radioactive soil gas and the leading cause of lung cancer in non-smokers. Roughly one in six Edmonton-area homes tests above Health Canada’s guideline. It requires a long-term test of 91 days or more to measure accurately.
- Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) — the microscopic particles in wildfire smoke, dust and cooking fumes that lodge deep in the lungs. During Alberta’s smoke season, an indoor PM2.5 reading tells you whether your filtration is keeping up.
- Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) — gases that off-gas from paints, adhesives, new furniture, flooring and cleaning products. Health Canada has set indoor reference levels for 31 of them, including formaldehyde and benzene.
- Humidity and mould — not a pollutant itself, but the master switch. Keep relative humidity between 30% and 50%: too high feeds mould and dust mites, too low dries out sinuses and woodwork.
DIY Monitors Versus A Professional Test
For most homes, a layered do-it-yourself approach covers a lot of ground. Start with CO alarms on every level and near bedrooms — that is the safety essential. Add a consumer indoor air quality monitor, which continuously tracks CO2, PM2.5, VOCs, temperature and humidity and shows the trends in an app, so you can see how cooking, cleaning or a smoky day moves the numbers. Handle radon separately with a dedicated long-term kit, because a general monitor cannot substitute for a 91-day radon measurement.
Bring in a professional when the stakes or the mystery are higher: a persistent problem you cannot trace, suspected mould behind walls, a new baby or a family member with serious asthma, or a home you have just bought and want a baseline for. Professionals use calibrated instruments and know that sensor placement, timing and calibration all change the answer. Our own Home Environmental Health Assessment does exactly this — instrument air measurements plus a full whole-home inspection and a report you keep.
Test first, then fix. The most common IAQ mistake is buying equipment before knowing the problem — a fancy purifier does nothing for high radon, and a dehumidifier will not touch carbon monoxide. A little testing points you at the actual issue, so your money goes to the fix that works: better filtration, duct cleaning, more ventilation, humidity control, or radon mitigation.
What The Numbers Should Be
Here is the short version of the Health Canada targets to compare your readings against:
- Carbon monoxide: as close to zero as possible. Any sustained reading on a CO alarm is an emergency — get out and call for help.
- Carbon dioxide: Health Canada’s proposed long-term limit is 1,000 ppm over 24 hours. High CO2 is also your best everyday signal that ventilation is inadequate.
- Radon: take action at 200 becquerels per cubic metre. Fix within two years between 200 and 600, and within a year above 600.
- Humidity: aim for 30–50% relative humidity year-round, leaning lower in deep winter to keep condensation off cold windows.
Where Home Pros Group Fits In
This is where we can help directly. Our Home Environmental Health Assessment is a whole-home indoor air quality inspection that includes instrument air measurements — so instead of guessing, you get real readings for your home. It scores eight areas of your indoor environment, from indoor air quality and ventilation to moisture, mould, filtration and combustion safety, and turns them into one overall home health score and a prioritized action plan you keep. It is the assessment a home inspector, HVAC specialist and indoor-air consultant would produce together.
And because we are also duct, furnace and dryer-vent specialists, we can act on what the numbers show. Clean ducts and a fresh, correctly-rated furnace filter cut the dust and particle load your system recirculates. Good airflow and balanced ventilation — running the furnace fan, or an HRV — help carry stale air and pollutants out of a tightly sealed home. And steady humidity control protects against both mould and the dry-air discomfort of an Alberta winter. Testing tells you what your home needs; we help you both measure it and deliver it. Learn more about the assessment here.
Indoor Air Quality Testing: Quick Answers
What does an indoor air quality test measure?
A home indoor air quality test typically looks at the pollutants that affect health and comfort: carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, fine particulate matter (PM2.5) from smoke and dust, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) like formaldehyde, radon, and humidity. Health Canada publishes residential guidelines for many of these, and a good monitor or professional test compares your home against those numbers.
Can I test my home's air quality myself?
Yes, for most pollutants. A carbon monoxide alarm is the essential first device, and consumer indoor air quality monitors can track CO2, PM2.5, VOCs, humidity and temperature continuously through an app. Radon is the exception: it needs a dedicated long-term test kit run for at least 91 days, because levels swing day to day. For a persistent problem you cannot pin down, a professional assessment adds calibrated instruments and a trained eye.
What is a good CO2 level for a home?
Health Canada has proposed a long-term residential exposure limit for carbon dioxide of 1000 parts per million, averaged over 24 hours. CO2 itself is a useful stand-in for ventilation: when indoor CO2 climbs well above outdoor levels, it usually means fresh air is not being exchanged fast enough, and other pollutants are likely building up too. Rising CO2 is a signal to improve ventilation.
How do I test my home for radon?
Use a long-term test of at least 91 days, ideally over fall and winter, placed in the lowest lived-in level of your home. Mail-in kits are inexpensive, or you can use a digital radon monitor. If your result is at or above Health Canada's guideline of 200 becquerels per cubic metre, consult a professional certified by the Canadian National Radon Proficiency Program (C-NRPP). Radon matters here because roughly one in six Edmonton-area homes tests above the guideline.
Does duct cleaning improve indoor air quality?
Duct cleaning removes the accumulated dust, debris and allergens that circulate through your HVAC system, which reduces the particle load in your air and helps filters and equipment work as intended. It is one piece of a bigger picture that also includes the right furnace filter, controlled humidity, and adequate fresh-air ventilation. Testing first tells you what your home actually needs, so you fix the real problem instead of guessing.
Are carbon monoxide alarms required in Alberta homes?
Under the building code Alberta follows, carbon monoxide alarms are required in new homes that have a fuel-burning appliance (like a furnace, fireplace or gas water heater) or an attached garage, installed near sleeping areas. Even in older homes that predate the rule, a working CO alarm on every level is strongly recommended because carbon monoxide is colourless, odourless and tasteless, and a detector is the only way to know it is present.
Trusted Sources
The guidance and targets above come from Health Canada’s official residential indoor air quality program and Canada’s national radon program.
Health Canada IAQ Guidelines
The full set of Residential Indoor Air Quality Guidelines — the pollutants that matter and their recommended limits.
Read the guidelinesHealth Canada — Carbon Monoxide
The residential guideline for carbon monoxide: why it is dangerous, and safe exposure limits in the home.
See the guidelineHealth Canada — Carbon Dioxide
The CO² guideline and why indoor carbon dioxide doubles as an indicator of adequate ventilation.
View the guidelineC-NRPP Radon Pros
The Canadian National Radon Proficiency Program — find certified radon measurement and mitigation professionals.
Find certified prosLinks open official government and program sites in a new tab. Home Pros Group isn’t affiliated with these organizations.
Know Your Air, Then Improve It
Home Pros Group has kept Greater Edmonton homes healthy since 2003. Want real numbers for your home? Our Home Environmental Health Assessment measures your indoor air and scores eight areas of your home — then we help with the clean ducts, filtration and airflow that fix what it finds.
This article is general information about indoor air quality testing, not medical or safety advice. Guidance and exposure limits are summarized from Health Canada’s Residential Indoor Air Quality Guidelines and the Canadian National Radon Proficiency Program, and may be updated over time. If a carbon monoxide alarm sounds, treat it as an emergency. Radon testing and mitigation should follow Health Canada guidance.