You come home from work every day coughing and wheezing. Your eyes are itchy. You’ve been to the doctor more times this month than your 90-year-old grandmother.

Time for a little remediation to that sick building of yours?

In the first of this three-part series on sick building syndrome (a.k.a. SBS), we told you what the syndrome is and how it (allegedly) manifests itself.

Then, we discussed how to prevent SBS, both in the construction and maintenance of your building. You can check that story out in PART II

Now for the really nasty, expensive part. Once you’ve been told your building is "ill," how do you cure it?

Rule No. 1: Be very, very careful whom you hire to help you fix your building’s problems. According to John Newton, a partner at the Florida law firm of Berger, Davis and Singerman, LLC, there is no national or state regulation of the remediation industry.

"This is a growth industry," Newton said. "Right now, the market for people in this business -- people who sell corrective and monitoring equipment, as well as consulting services -- is over $2 billion a year.

"You have to be very careful who you hire to check it out," Newton said. "There are some quality engineers out there, and there are some charlatans. Just about anybody can get into this business. Check references, and find out what their plan is.

"The good, qualified folks out there give reports with pictures, have the technological capacity to measure contaminants in air, climb up and look at your ductwork, etc. If they’re not thorough, they’re suspect," he added.

Alan Hedge, a professor in the department of design and environmental analysis at Cornell University and a leader in the field of SBS, said the first step in remediation is obtaining a correct diagnosis of the problem.

"Sick building syndrome can be caused by many different factors, such as inadequate ventilation, fungal contamination, office dust, formaldehyde, job stress, etc.," Hedge said. "Therefore, it’s really important to correctly diagnose the cause before embarking upon any remedial work.

"All to often, remedial action is taken that’s inappropriate, ineffective and uneconomical," he added.

So how much does this all cost? In some cases, remediation in a sick building can actually cost more than the building’s original construction cost. No kidding.

"Cost is impossible to estimate," said Alan Barnes Sr., president and CEO of Atlanta’s Aircond Corporation. "It ranges from a few hundred dollars for a simple adjustment to the HVAC system to many thousands of dollars to re-engineer and correct original design shortcomings.

"Often, the HVAC duct systems and cooling coils must be cleaned and treated to kill mold and/or mildew. There have been cases in which carpeting or furniture must be replaced," Barnes added. "A very important aspect of remediation is re-balancing the ventilation system to assure proper air flow rates and introduction of the proper quantity of outdoor air."

Finally, carpet and other upholstery cleaning can greatly improve the air quality in facilities, according to Judy Bates, director of research for Racine Industries, Inc., which manufactures a dry extraction cleaning system for carpet called Host. Bates says carpet can actually improve indoor air quality by acting as a filter, and cleaning greatly enhances its ability to do this.

Following is a list Bates has compiled suggesting simple remediation to enhance indoor air quality.

• Fix roof and pipe leaks promptly. Water sources promote growth of mold, bacteria and other biologicals.
• Maintain HVAC (cooling and dehumidifying) equipment carefully, and disinfect drip pans often. Change filters regularly and install HEPA and HEPA-like filters to catch respirable particulate.
• Remove dust build-up inside HVAC ductwork.
• Insulate to prevent condensation.
• Increase ventilation/fresh air into building. Filter the air to trap dust and other airborne particulate.
• Reduce humidity and keep indoor surfaces dry. Run air conditioning continually in humid climates.
• It's preferable to use a high-retention vacuum cleaner that retains virtually 100 percent of all particles larger than 0.1 micron, because respirable dust may be redistributed if a dirty or faulty bag is used.
• Use of a low-moisture, dry extraction systems is preferable. However, when cleaning carpet with high-moisture systems, dry the cleaned areas quickly with fans or dehumidifiers. Keep air conditioning and ventilation systems running during the drying period.
• Control dust by switching to treated dusting cloths.
• Switch to lower VOC (Volatile Organic Compound) paints, adhesives and cleaning products.