The Clean Air Chronicles

Air Quality Interventions in Action

Five participants from our Low Cost Monitoring Project share their stories of monitoring and improving their homes’ air quality. You’ll hear more about the monitoring process from people who have been through it, learn about the impact of outdoor air quality on indoor air, and watch as participants enact solutions to improve their air.

Explore the practical resources on each page related to the air quality issues covered in the video.

The Pollard family with two children at home

The Pollards’ House

Having a healthy house is important to the Pollards. That’s why they joined the LCMP. Through their participation in the LCMP, the Pollards changed their cooking habits, cleaning routines, and furnace fan operation to bring down the number of particles in their house.

Watch the Pollards' story and learn more about interventions related to air handlers and cooking habits.

Andrew opening the door

Andrew's House

With a couple of kids bouncing around and kicking up dust, Andrew’s family is particularly good at creating particles in the house. As part of the LCMP, Andrew started experimenting with portable filtration. He also installed a vented range hood to reduce cooking emissions. Having monitors to show both indoor and outdoor pollutant levels helps Andrew in reducing his family’s exposure.

Watch Andrew’s story and learn more about how these interventions made a difference in Andrew's indoor air quality.

A hand holding an air quality monitor

Brian and Irene's House

When Brian arrived in Pittsburgh in the sixties, the outdoor air quality was horrendous. He and his wife Irene are very conscious about air quality, especially when it comes to their indoor environment. Since they started working with ROCIS, Brian and Irene have both sealed their basement to reduce radon exposure and begun continuous fan operation, running their home’s air through an electronic filter. Indoor particles and radon levels are lower than ever, and they feel the improvement.

Watch Brian and Irene’s story and learn more about the dangers of radon and woodsmoke.

Chris smiling in his basement

Chris' House

Chris loves living in Pittsburgh, but he would love it even more if Pittsburgh’s particle counts weren’t so high. By installing a MERV 13 furnace filter and having an efficient, low-speed furnace fan motor, Chris has dropped particle counts within his home by 80%. As more Pittsburgh residents are starting to understand the implications of poor air quality, Chris is happy that houses like his can be part of the solution.

Watch Chris’ story and learn more about outdoor pollutants and air handler interventions.

Ryan working on his house wearing red work gloves

Ryan's House

Ryan used to open his windows in the summer to bring in fresh, cool air. But as Ryan learned in the LCMP, when outdoor particle counts are high, open windows can increase pollution exposure. With help from ROCIS, Ryan’s furnace was retrofitted to encompass high-quality air filters plus an upgraded, low-energy fan motor suitable for continuous operation. Now, particle counts in Ryan’s house are usually lower than the best air that Pittsburgh has ever seen.

Watch Ryan’s story and learn more about when to shut your windows and how to determine whether your air handler can run a fan for continuous filtration.