Most of the allergen exposure household occupants experience comes from one of five sources. The dashboard treats them as a family because they share a common downstream effect (asthma, allergic rhinitis, eczema flares) and a common set of interventions (filtration, humidity control, source removal), even though the upstream physics differs.
Mold spores: humidity-driven, indoor biological, often hidden. Dust mites: humidity-driven, mattress and upholstery-resident, age-affected. Pet dander: source-resident (the animal), distributed by airflow. Outdoor pollen: seasonal, region-specific, infiltrates through the envelope. Regional tree pollens: subset of the above, geographically dominant.
How each shows on the sensor: mold and dust mites are not detected directly; they are inferred from sustained humidity and (for mold) VOC patterns over days. Pet dander is detected in PM10 elevations correlated with pet activity. Pollen is fetched from the Google Pollen API, cross-referenced with indoor PM10 rises during outdoor pollen events. Outdoor mold spores are not part of the pollen feed (see mold spore forecasts). The detection time scales differ from minutes (pet dander events) to days (sustained mold-risk conditions).
Shared interventions: HEPA filtration is the highest-leverage move for all five. Humidity control (target 30 to 50% RH, lower in mold-risk environments) addresses mold and dust mites simultaneously. Source reduction (wash bedding hot weekly for dust mites, encase mattresses, exclude pets from bedrooms) helps for indoor sources. Envelope sealing during outdoor allergen seasons helps for pollen. The dashboard's allergen-focused recommendation set draws on the shared response framework.
References
- EPA - Asthma triggers: gain control www.epa.gov
- AAAAI - Pollen allergy guide www.aaaai.org
- WHO - Guidelines for indoor air quality: dampness and mould www.who.int
- Platts-Mills - Allergic disease (NEJM) pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
