Indoor Environmental Quality

The Indoor Environmental Standards Organization, also known as IESO, is an important group to know if you're planning on buying a home and are concerned with indoor environmental quality. IESO is responsible for setting standards and guidelines when it comes to environmental quality in the home. IESO standards include everything from the amount of mold that can be present in a house to the quality of the air inside it.

To find out if your new house meets Indoor Environmental Standards Organization requirements, you'll need to set up a home inspection. A home inspection can be comprehensive, taking into account all the inside and outside facets of the house, or it can be limited to an evaluation of a single area or criteria. An example of a single criterion would include a mold inspection or an air quality test. Each are important considerations when you're buying a new house.

The Role of the Indoor Environmental Standards Organization

It should be noted, however, that IESO is not a government agency, and its power is therefore limited. IESO is a non-profit organization that strives to implement voluntary standards in the industry. IESO can not enforce inspection or forbid the sale of a house that does not meet requirements, but it does provide the reference point others in the industry recognize. It is up to individual companies to agree to IESO standards and to enforce them voluntarily.

Though there is no government standard or federal licensing required, please note that IESO is the only organization that certifies inspectors to an agreed on, albeit by consensus, standard. As a result, should licensing of indoor quality inspectors become mandated by state governments, it is likely that IESO programs will be recognized. The new governing body may very well adopt IESO standards as its own.