Commercial Air Quality Testing

Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) — sometimes called Sick House Syndrome when it shows up in residential buildings — is a cluster of symptoms that workers and visitors experience while inside a specific building, and that improve once they leave. Health Canada and the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) recognize four primary causes:

1. Inadequate ventilation — outdoor air exchange below ASHRAE Standard 62.1 levels, often after building retrofits or HVAC failures.

2. Chemical contaminants from indoor sources — VOCs and formaldehyde off-gassing from new furniture, carpeting, paint, cleaning products, or printers.

3. Chemical contaminants from outdoor sources — vehicle exhaust, plumbing vents, or nearby construction drawn in through air intakes.

4. Biological contaminants — mold, bacteria, dust mites, pollen, or virus particles, typically from water damage, humid HVAC components, or stagnant water in drain pans and humidifiers.

The most reported workplace symptoms are headaches, eye and throat irritation, dry cough, difficulty concentrating, nasal congestion, and nausea or dizziness. Sick building syndrome testing is the only reliable way to identify which of these four cause buckets is driving the symptoms in your space — and the data drives a targeted, defensible remediation plan instead of a $50,000 guess.

A commercial air quality test is only useful if it covers the contaminants that actually exist in your building. Before that, it helps to know what to expect during an air quality inspection. We test for two contaminant categories, each with the right method, sampler, and accredited lab analysis behind it:

• Mold and bioaerosols — spore-trap and bulk sampling for Stachybotrys (black mold), Aspergillus, Penicillium, Cladosporium, and bacterial colonies. Often triggered by HVAC condensation, roof leaks, or basement humidity. See our dedicated mold testing service for residential cases.

• Asbestos — mandatory before any renovation or demolition in buildings constructed before 1990. Bulk samples of suspect drywall, ceiling tiles, vinyl flooring, pipe insulation, and vermiculite. Required by Ontario Reg. 278/05 and Quebec CNESST regulations. Learn more about our asbestos sampling.

Every sample we collect goes to an accredited Canadian lab. You get a written report with concentrations, the regulatory thresholds they’re measured against, and a clear pass or fail, the kind property managers, insurers, and OHS inspectors actually accept. Our inspectors also note ventilation and moisture conditions during the walkthrough, since those are usually what let a mold problem start in the first place.

A commercial air quality test is a 5-step, evidence-based process — not a single sensor reading. Here’s exactly what we do on every project:

1. Walkthrough and HVAC review. Our IICRC-certified inspector walks the building with your facility lead, flags visible moisture, ventilation, and material issues, and reviews HVAC service records.

2. Moisture mapping and ventilation review. We take moisture, humidity and temperature readings across multiple zones under normal occupancy, not after-hours when the numbers don’t reflect reality. That tells us where mold is most likely to be growing and where the samplers need to go.

3. Spore traps and bioaerosol sampling. Where mold or bacteria are suspected, we collect timed air-cassette samples and surface swabs, plus an outdoor control sample for comparison.

4. Accredited Canadian lab analysis. Every sample is processed by an ISO/IEC 17025 accredited lab with chain-of-custody documentation — the same standard insurers and litigators require.

5. Written report and action plan. Within 5 business days, you receive a report with measured concentrations, regulatory thresholds (Health Canada, ASHRAE, CCOHS, OSHA), pass/fail by category, and a prioritized remediation plan. Need professional mold removal afterwards? We work alongside trusted IICRC-certified remediation partners.

Office indoor air quality testing for mold follows the same scientific protocols as residential mold testing — but the stakes and signals are different. The most common workplace red flags are:

• Recurring “musty” smell in conference rooms or near HVAC returns (worth an odour inspection if you cannot find the source)

• Two or more employees in the same zone reporting headaches, congestion, or coughing

• Visible water staining on ceiling tiles, drywall, or window frames

• Recent roof leaks, plumbing failures, or HVAC condensation issues

• Higher absenteeism or sick-day clusters tied to a specific floor or wing

Office air quality testing for mold typically combines an outdoor control sample, 2–4 indoor spore-trap cassettes, and surface swabs of any visible growth. Results are compared to outdoor baselines and indoor-vs-outdoor genus ratios — not to absolute “safe levels” (those don’t exist for mold in Canada). The deliverable is a defensible report with a clear remediation scope, which is what your insurer, board, or landlord will ask for next. Need cleanup afterwards? Our team coordinates with IICRC-certified mold remediation specialists across Ontario and Quebec.