Green Depot to carry indoor allergen, molds test kit

BROOKLYN Green Depot—a Brooklyn-based supplier of environmentally-friendly and sustainable building products, services and solutions—on Wednesday announced it is the official retail distributor of National Jewish Health’s Family Air Care, a first-of-its-kind indoor allergens and mold test kit that enables individuals and families to check their indoor air quality and compare those tests results against other homes nationwide.

Individuals may purchase the kit through Green Depot’s Web site or at any of its five retail centers in Brooklyn, Boston, Philadelphia, Long Island, N.Y. and Newark, N.J.

The company announced the kit’s availability this week in Boston during the Greenbuild International Conference and Expo.

“We believe green living begins within one’s home, of which the indoor air quality is of vital importance,” said Sarah Beatty, president and founder of Green Depot. “Family Air Care is a comprehensive, user-friendly solution—the first from a reliable and respected leader in respiratory health.”

To use the kit, individuals attach a small capture device to their vacuum cleaner hose, briefly run the vacuum cleaner in their homes, then mail the collection device to National Jewish Health, a respiratory hospital, in a pre-paid envelope provided with the kit.

The Denver-based hospital then measures the results and posts its findings and comparisons on a secure Web site, which customers may access with a PIN provided with the kit.

In addition to providing specific levels for four allergens (cat, dog, cockroach and dust mite) and a relative “moldiness index” formulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the results also show how customers’ homes compare with homes across the nation. National Jewish Health also provides information on how customers can reduce allergen levels within their home.