Now is the time to act on healing indoor air…..
Once Covid restrictions in England were lifted on 19th July, then people were no longer being asked to work from home. In a bid to regain some normality, many workers have been returning to their office or workplace over the last few months, some full-time and others on a hybrid basis.
It has been extremely important to ensure that the workplace is as safe as possible and businesses have been working tirelessly to put measures in place, with many following the Governments official safety guidance ‘Working Safely during Coronavirus’(https://www.gov.uk/guidance/working-safely-during-covid-19). Some of the advice within this guidance includes cleaning more often, lateral flow testing, turning people away with COVID-19 symptoms and providing adequate ventilation. These are only a few of the necessary actions that must be taken by a business or organisation to ensure a safe environment for employees.
Whilst workers must be protected, it is not just staff who need safeguarding; there are lots of others, such as people in education, in the care system, our force of volunteers and of course the general public. In addition to the advice of good ventilation, in August it was announced that the Government would trial Air Purifiers and UV light systems at selected schools, to then study the effects on reduction levels in Covid transmission. This study highlights the focus and commitment to finding ways to make indoor air safer and has already filtered through to businesses, charities and other government sectors who are also now looking to identify the best way to improve indoor air quality.
We are now past the middle of Autumn and Winter will soon be upon us, which means that the colder weather will undoubtedly have a significant effect on Covid positive cases as naturally people are spending much more time indoors. Although the advice is to ventilate indoor spaces, the reality is windows and doors will most likely be closed to keep the coldness out. This is a real concern as this will surely result in an uplift in transmission of the Coronavirus but also consider a heightened Winter Flu risk, a combination which is not at all good. With a low prevalence of flu during this last 18 months then a drop in immunity among the population has left us all at higher risk of experiencing a more serious illness.
Attention must be given to indoor air quality in all spaces – the air we breathe, the air we share. The solution will vary somewhat depending on the area and environment; for example, an eventing arena is typically well ventilated, perhaps by open doors and likely mechanical ventilation. This ventilation is unlikely to have an adverse effect on the crowd’s enjoyment as the overall temperature and feel of the space will only be changed minimally. By stark comparison, however, an open plan office, a care home lounge or a cinema screening room would quickly become cold, draughty, and therefore uncomfortable if windows and doors were to be left open. Indeed, some indoor spaces don’t have windows so the air must be cleaned to remove the risks.
Ideal for offices
A great solution is to either buy or lease an Indoor Air Healing machine such as the i-air PRO from the makers of the i-Mop floor cleaning machine. At Clemas & Co we invested in the i-air PRO for our open plan office. Primarily, we opted for this machine as it delivers premium build quality, low maintenance and certified performance in removing all three air contaminants: Microbiological (Bacteria & Virus), Volatile Organic Compounds and Particle Matter. The i-air PRO benefits from an oversized HEPA Self Cleaning Filter (H14), Active Carbon and a UVA & UVC neutralization chamber. To find out more: https://www.clemas.co.uk/introducing-the-i-air-pro/ .
Our customers, as we are, are enjoying the confidence in the knowledge that the air in their indoor space is being cleaned to MERV 19 (operating theatre standards) and contaminants are being removed quickly and efficiently. A single machine will be effective in spaces up to 500 m2 and has an airflow of up to 600m3/hr. Our customer Talbot Woods Lodge have felt safer since installing their i-air PRO a few months ago.
“The staff team appreciate the fact we have purchased the
i-air PRO for everyone’s benefit, not just the clients”
John Colley – Talbot Woods
On considering cleaning your indoor air, understandably, it’s all too easy to think only of Covid 19 transmission, but it is really important to understand the many other benefits that cleaning indoor air brings to your environment and ultimately your health.
- The i-air PRO kills bacteria as well as viruses in the air which means less transmission of other illnesses and infections and therefore less staff absence (saving businesses time and money), and did you know that clean healthy air is known to improve well-being and productivity too.
- The removal of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC’s) which are emitted from certain gases or liquids. Those included are an array of chemicals which can have short or long term effects on human health. Indoor concentrations can be up to 10 times higher than outdoors. Examples of VOC sources are varnishes, cosmetics, paints, solvents, aerosol sprays, air fresheners, dry cleaned clothing, furniture, photocopiers, printers, and most building materials. All known VOC’s are removed by the i-air PRO.
- Filtering out Particle Matter (PM) from our air. PM is particles that may or may not be seen with the naked eye. Smoke, dusts, soot, hair and fibres are some particles when large enough can be seen but others can only be seen with special microscopes. Many of these particles are harmful to our health – examples are pollutants emitted from power plants, industrialisation and of course vehicles. Typically, the particles are formed from chemical reactions, but some are emitted directly from a source. Depending on the PM size then the particles can enter deep into our lungs and even into our bloodstream. Particles less than 2.5 micrometres in diameter pose the greatest risk. The i-air PRO HEPA (H14) filter collects even the finest particles.
As you can see the benefits of the i-air PRO and ‘Healing’ your indoor air are huge and go far beyond the initial fight against Covid-19. Act now to improve your indoor air – clemas.co.uk will be happy to provide, help, advice and a free demonstration.