5 Tips to Get Your Business Ready to Regain Control of Air Quality

1. Understand Your Surrounding

As a business owner, it is your responsibility to safeguard the health and safety of your people, especially in the workplace. Air contamination can be anywhere, may it be in and out of your premises. Having a proper air filtration system is one of the most ideal ways to deal with the potential airborne risks.

Humans spend most of their time indoors. When the level of harmful air pollutants is high in an enclosed area, the health of people staying inside can be compromised. Air filtration can help reduce the risk.

It is important to get yourself familiar with the potential risks surrounding your business including air pollution from the vehicles outdoor, gases, and odors coming from nearby establishments. Apart from the indoor air quality, evaluate also the outside atmosphere. It is the initial step to regain control of air quality at your business.

2. Categorize the Air Quality Requirements of Your Business

There are rules and regulations concerning the indoor air quality and ventilation set by the government. The laws vary between countries. In the Philippines, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) mandated establishments to have proper air filtration systems or at least air purifiers to help protect people against airborne pollutants.

Regulatory efforts start with categorizing the air pollutants, setting its limits to avoid any harm, and taking actions to mitigate the risks. All businesses should be able to identify and categorize the air pollutants in the indoor air to create a plan of control. After you successfully determine the type of particles around, you’ll be able to categorize too the requirements you need to achieve better indoor air quality by creating an appropriate plan to eliminate the air pollutants.

Tip: In finding the best air purifiers for your workspace and a service provider, choose the one with proper certifications such as ISO certified and HEPA Filter certified to ensure they are compliant with the basic rules and regulations. The ideal service partner in indoor air quality will gladly help you pick the right type of unit for your business needs.

When you have finally executed the plan, it’s time you make sure you have a proper checklist to maintain the great quality indoor air you have. This is an important key to regain control of air quality. For instance, if your solution is to have an air purifier or air filtration unit, part of the checklist must include the unit’s regular check-up, timely changing of air filters, efficiency check, and energy performance.

3. Identify Potential Contamination Risks

Knowing the potential contamination risks in your surroundings is critical in finding the correct solution. Indoor air may contain outdoor air contaminants in addition to contaminant species generated in the room, making your indoor air worse than that of the outdoor.

The air around hazardous waste sites or for instance gas stations can contain higher levels than in other areas. People working in industries that make or use chemicals may be exposed to the highest levels of it.

Particle pollution such as dust, dirt, soot, smoke, and little drops of liquid include coarse particles that are between 2.5 and 10 micrometers, fine particles that are between 0.1 micrometers and 2.5 micrometers; also known as PM2.5, and ultrafine particles that are smaller than 0.1 micrometers.

The PM1, which is known as the ultrafine particle, can contribute to harmful diseases including common illnesses like heart attacks, lung cancer, dementia, emphysema, and edema, leading to premature death. It was estimated that each person inhales more than 25 million particles per breath we take. The more contaminants we ingest, the greater the chance of getting harmful diseases.

4. Monitor Particle Levels to Regain Control of Air Quality

The increasing awareness of people to PM10, PM2.5, and PM1 is greatly related to the potential hazardous effects they have on the human body. The World Health Organization (WHO) believes particles are affecting the health of people around the world in comparison to other types of pollutants. Regular tracking of the quality of your indoor air is necessary as it will provide you with early indications which you take action immediately to mitigate against potential risks.

5. Air Change Requirements

Having air filtration is one of the proven efficient techniques to reduce harmful air pollutants. It helps provide a better indoor air quality by trapping the air contaminants. However, keep in mind that the efficiency depends on the type of air filter you are using. Clean air should be introduced into your facility regularly to ensure a clean work environment.

Another step to regain control of air quality is upgrading the air filters to a higher filter class that would increase the virus reduction over the filter step for increased added protection. For the healthcare sector to create isolation, negative pressure rooms are ideal as they can contain harmful airborne contaminants such as viruses, bacteria, fungi, yeasts, molds, pollens, gases, VOCs (volatile organic compounds), small particles, and chemicals.