Indoor Air Quality and Your Business: What You Should Know

Some of our commercial customers ask us what they should do to improve the quality of the indoor air in their businesses. Indoor air quality is one factor that can have a big effect on the health of both employees and visitors to your buildings.

However, diagnosing an indoor air quality problem can be tricky. It isn’t always obvious, and health symptoms are very similar to those of a cold or the flu. Here are some clues that your problem may be more than the common cold.

■Everyone gets sick at the same time.
■Everyone feels better as soon as they leave the premises.
■The onset of the symptoms comes suddenly after a change, like freshly painted walls.
■People feel better outdoors.
■A doctor has identified the symptoms of an indoor air quality-related illness.
If indoor air quality becomes an issue, what can be done? Let’s discuss six practical, low-cost measures that business owners can take to improve the quality of indoor air in their buildings.

1. Eliminate the source. Mold, school bus exhaust, garbage—all of these can be sources of indoor air quality problems. Small things like replacing moldy material, prohibiting cars and work vehicles from idling in or around garages and buildings, and keeping garbage out of rooms with HVAC equipment can do a lot to minimize air pollutants.

2. Exhaust at the source. The source of a pollutant cannot always be eliminated. Installing exhaust systems in employee lounges and kitchens, duplicating rooms, restrooms, and industrial areas can remove pollutants before they spread throughout the building.

3. Ventilate the air. You really need to replace polluted air with cleaner, conditioned outdoor air.

4. Control the exposure. This involves changing either the time or location of exposure to pollutants. If your building has a painting, floor stripping, or waxing project, why not schedule it on a Friday evening, and give the indoor air a full weekend to recover?

5. Clean the air. There are ways to filter particles and gases out of the air as it passes through ventilation equipment. An HVAC technician can help design a system to fit your particular needs.

6. Educate about Indoor Air Quality. Teach your employees about the importance of indoor air quality and some basic steps that they can take to improve it.

Both business owners and their employees make decisions that directly affect their indoor air quality. It’s up to each business to provide proper education about the importance of good, clean air.

Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).For more information about Indoor Air Quality and other HVAC topics,click here to visit our website.