--- Some Background ---

I have lived in this apartment for several years and the management is excellent.

Recently (starting months ago) I started having breathing problems and a heavy feeling in my lungs. I visited several doctors who found no problems in my blood, chest x-ray, and even an EKG to check my heart. COVID testing also came back negative. My doctor thought that it was some kind of respiratory infection and started me on antibiotics after allergy medication did not help.

I am very allergic to mold, dust, and artificial smells such that if I do too much cleaning or kick up too much dust, I have to take a benadryl and lay down because I can't stop sneezing and blowing my nose. My bathroom wasn't very clean so I thought that maybe I had inhaled some mold spores from a shower.

I was prescribed anti inflammatory medication, antibiotics, and given an inhaler. It took over two months, another round of antibiotics, and several weeks after that for things to improve.

I have since cleaned and scrubbed my bathroom and replaced the shower head.

Although things have improved, I have continued to have breathing problems and resort to using my prescribed inhaler but do so very infrequently. Because of how sensitive I had become to the air quality of my apartment, I decided to order a large air purifier (it's still being shipped) and also an air quality meter that could be used to detect airborne particles (dust was my goal). The air quality meter arrived sooner than expected and the results are not reassuring.

--- Measuring Air Quality Myself ---

Concentrations of HCHO (formaldehyde) exceed 1mg/m3 (as high as 1.4mg) and TVOC is off the scale at 9.999 (my meter doesn't go any higher).

The meter is a basic $60 unit from China. It's not great but it is a reference point. I can go outside and have it self-calibrate back to 0 HCHO/TVOC and watch it go back up when I'm back inside. This is repeatable and I have it recorded on video.

--- The Legal Part ---

I spoke to the onsite apartment manager and showed her my data. She looked up HCHO on Google and saw that it could come from anything. I agreed. TVOC is also very nonspecific as it's just the "total volatile organic compounds" (note that holding an uncapped permanent marker to the sensor will max it out). She doesn't know what to do or what's causing it and neither do I. I don't know what to do other than I am having breathing problems in the apartment and have a meter that shows some "scary looking maybe-bad numbers".

The management is reasonable here. I asked for a HEPA filter for my HVAC which she agreed to try and get for me (she needs to ask maintenance). She said that if it's someone smoking or something that I can narrow down to an apartment then she will send notice to them and even proceed with an eviction if it's causing a problem.

But we both agree that we don't know what to do about the air quality or even what to do to legally assess if there is truly a verifiable health problem in my living space.

What can be done to assess the air quality in my apartment to determine if there is something in the air that's causing me to be sick?

I'm not even sure if r/legaladvice is the right place for this. I don't know what to do. I'm still having trouble breathing and I am very worried about my situation turning very serious if I were to get COVID before this is resolved.

I live in Connecticut, USA. I am 33 with no history of asthma or ever having any breathing problems.