Blog Archives - IndoorChem

Spraying Chemicals for Disinfection

By Doug Collins, Assistant Professor of Chemistry, Bucknell University (@EarthMechanic) We have known for nearly a century that ‘germs’ (viruses, bacteria, and other microbes) are the causes of infectious disease. Most of the diseases that we worry about on a regular basis can be slowed or stopped by washing our hands, cleaning surfaces, and staying […]

Chemistry of Indoor Environments at AAAR 2020

This blog post was written by Sameer Patel, Post-Doc in Vance Group at University of Colorado Boulder (@Sameer_IAQ). The 38th American Association for Aerosol Research (AAAR) on October 5th-9th is being held virtually for the first time in its history. Like the previous years, researchers form IndoorChem community will be presenting results from the Chemistry […]

Indoor particulate matter: source characterization, concentrations, and exposures

By Sameer Patel (Vance Group, University of Colorado Boulder) (Twitter: @Sameer_IAQ) Particulate matter (PM), also being referred to as particles and aerosols, are present in the air we breathe in different microenvironments, including indoors and outdoors. The sum of all PM we inhale in different microenvironments constitutes our total PM inhalation exposure. To identify […]

Indoor Particulate Matter And How to Limit Your Exposure

By Julia Bakker-Arkema and Marina Vance. This video was entered in the 2019 AAAR conference video competition and won 1st prize! Congratulations to Julia and Nina. We see and experience particulate matter, or aerosol particles, all around us. Aerosol particles make up the smog we see on our morning commutes, the trails of smoke that rise […]

How does microbial growth in carpet dust impact microbial volatile organic compounds?

By Sarah Haines, PhD Candidate, The Ohio State University, @SarahRHaines We are excited to announce the recent publication of our paper, titled “Modeling microbial growth in carpet dust exposed to diurnal variations in relative humidity using the “Time-of-Wetness” framework” in the journal Indoor Air. This work is a culmination of research investigating how changes in […]

What you wear affects what you breathe

By Dusan Licina (EPFL – École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne,@licinadusan), Glenn Morison (University of North Carolina, @gcmorr), Gabriel Bekö (Denmark Technical University) Charles Weschler (Denmark Technical University and Rutgers University,@CJWeschler) and William Nazaroff (University of California Berkeley) Take a couple of seconds to think about how much time we spend every day wearing […]

Bleach cleaning: indoor emissions, chemistry, and impacts on air quality

By Jimmy Mattila, a graduate student in the Farmer Group at Colorado State University (Twitter: @JimmyMattila) Bleach, an aqueous solution consisting of sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) and other oxidizers/surfactants, is a commonly used cleaning product in household and workplace environments. The efficacy of bleach stems from its potent antimicrobial and oxidizing properties. Bleach cleaning emits […]

How does flooring type impact your indoor chemistry and indoor microbiology?

This blog post was written by Karen C. Dannemiller, Sarah Haines, and Rachel Adams. Their contact information is at the bottom of this post. Carpets are a favored flooring type. They can be soft, cozy, and warm – and help with keeping noise levels down. Carpet can even help prevent injury. While these attributes are well […]

Total observed organic carbon indoors

Derek found that the total organic carbon concentration was impressively large, three times higher than what you’d find in a typical American city and ten times higher than clean ocean air. He also found that the compounds in the museum were significantly fresher – less oxidized – than those in outdoor air.

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