One thing that the last couple of years has taught us is to be diligent in areas where we may be exposed to airborne bacteria and viruses. According to Global Healthcare Experts and Virologists, airborne, aerosol transmission of viruses poses a significant threat to the health and safety of us all. Air purifiers are emerging as a must-have in all sorts of indoor environments as they are known for effectively filtering out allergens and pollutants such as dust, car exhaust, bacteria, viruses, pollen, and smoke that harm indoor air quality.
According to the EPA, the average person inhales around 10,800 litres of indoor air every day, with most people spending 90 percent of their time working indoors, that’s 9 hours per day in common/shared areas, which is five times more polluted than outdoor spaces. Without question, air purifiers are the best way to clean the air and eliminate hazardous airborne transmission in shared environment spaces.
Benefits of Air Purifiers
Air purifiers effectively clean the air in high-traffic indoor areas where there would be a risk of extremely contagious airborne infections like the common cold, influenza, hay fever, and even COVID-19. And HEPA air purifiers can even reduce carbon dioxide in the air, preventing side effects like headaches, dizziness, weakness, sweating, and lung diseases that breathing in carbon dioxide can bring.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the best way to improve indoor air quality is to eliminate the source of pollutants and ventilate your interior rooms with clean outdoor air. People with asthma or other respiratory problems are usually triggered by airborne particles such as mould, pollen, pet dander, or bacteria but notice a reduction in symptoms like wheezing and coughing when an air purifier with a HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filter is close by, capturing 99.7% of particles larger than 0.3 micrometres, according to the CDC.
Improving indoor air quality is an excellent way to give employees, customers, staff, and visitors peace of mind, by keeping them safe from bacteria and viruses lurking in the air.
How Air Purifiers Work to Clean the Air
Air purifiers have a filter as well as a fan that draws in and circulates air. Pollutants and particles get trapped as air passes through the filter, and clean air is pushed back into the indoor space. Pollen, mould spores, dust mites, human skin cells, hair, and insect debris are among the airborne particles that make up dust, which air purifiers with a HEPA filter can easily trap. These filters are often made of paper, fibre (commonly fibreglass), or mesh, and when replaced regularly, maintain the efficiency of the unit. HEPA filters can remove airborne particles as fine as 0.3 microns, or roughly 1/20th the width of a red blood cell, according to the US Department of Energy.
In the Office
According to a Harvard Study, reduced air quality has a significantly negative impact on worker performance and estimates that doubling ventilation rates in an office can lead to a $6,500 per person annual increase in productivity. A recent World Health Organisation report, states that up to 30 percent of new and remodelled commercial buildings have indoor air quality issues, which can severely affect employees’ health and wellbeing. Office buildings are usually designed to offer 10 litres of fresh outdoor air to each person every second, despite the fact, 85 percent of the indoor air you breathe is re-circulated. Pollution levels in indoor areas can sometimes be higher than those found outside.
The use of air purifiers in the workplace is known to profoundly improve the health and comfort of staff, it also increases the productivity of staff by up to 8-11 percent. A single flu carrier can infect 15% of employees in a shared office environment with poor ventilation, resulting in an average cost of $366 per sick employee per day and 9.5 days absenteeism from work per year. Even in a clean, brand new office, there are still some sources that can cause indoor air pollution. According to the EPA carpet, synthetic fabrics, outdated printers, dry erase markers, and numerous cleaning supplies can create airborne toxins that degrade indoor air quality. Air purifiers with activated carbon filters can remove some VOCs from the air, which is especially important in an office setting.
Air purifiers are an important investment for staff wellness, and are the most effective way to freshen the air and create a healthier work environment. When considering air purifiers, think about the types of air contaminants you’re most concerned about, and look for air purifiers that target those sources like mould, pollen, or bacteria.
Schools and Childcare
The air we breathe can contain small and large particles that cause different issues like runny nose, sneezing, or respiratory problems. Poor indoor air quality (IAQ) in schools can result in higher absenteeism and poor academic performance, with the average child missing around 4.3 days each year due to cold and flu. Clean and healthy air not only improves the health of students, and boosts productivity, it also helps to retain teachers and staff as schools with poor indoor air quality can lose up to 54 percent of their teachers to healthier environments.
According to a University of Michigan survey, 33 percent of parents have to miss work due to their school-aged child’s illnesses, with 4 out of 10 parents claiming that allergies from poor air quality affect their child’s schoolwork and overall wellbeing. Influenza is the top cause of hospitalisation among Australian children under five years of age.
Air purifiers in the classroom can help remove hazardous irritants and allergens that make students and teachers feel unwell, run-down, congested, and fatigued. Air purifiers use filtering devices to remove hazardous particles and force cleaned air back into the room, combating all of these pollutants and irritants. To ensure that virtually 100 percent of these particles are eliminated, and clean, pure air is sent back out, most purifiers use a three, four, or even five-step filtration system.
Health Care Facilities
One of the most common reasons for seeing a doctor is respiratory sickness (such as colds, flu, and asthma). Each year, influenza causes 3,500 deaths in Australia (3,000 of whom are over 50 years old), 18,000 hospitalisations, and 300,000 GP visits.The indoor air quality in any healthcare environment is critical for the health of patients and staff as airborne contamination directly affects the quality of care and wellbeing. According to the journal Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, air filters in a single patient room can clean 99 percent of aerosols in 5½ minutes.
Patients, staff, and visitors in healthcare environments are exposed to several airborne contaminants including bacteria, viruses, allergens, and dust particles. Air purifiers, using medical-grade HEPA filters, improve overall air quality and filter out contaminants, even those stuck on clothing, fresh fruits, and even packaging. The filters can capture almost 100 percent of all particulates that are larger than 0.3 microns, meaning that most allergens and airborne viruses (such as common influenza) can be filtered through. A safe and healthy environment supported by air purifiers minimises the instances of hospital-acquired infections between patients, staff, and visitors.
Aged Care
According to the Journal of Thoracic Disease, poor air quality increases the risk of respiratory illness, cardiovascular disease, spread of airborne viruses, and unpleasant odours. It also has a significant impact on sleep quality, which weakens the immune system and increases behavioural problems in dementia patients. Every year, around 3,000 flu-related fatalities occur in Australia in people aged over 50 years due to weakened immune systems. Indoor air pollution poses a serious hazard to the respiratory health of older aged care residents, with respiratory diseases accounting for over one-third of all fatalities among Australians over 65. This usually happens in shared spaces like aged care facilities that are breeding grounds for bacteria, viruses, dust, allergens, and harsh chemicals.
Indoor air quality in nursing homes is currently unregulated by aged care legislation, which is extremely alarming considering the number of indoor air contaminants in nursing homes. Although most aged care facilities are built to be naturally ventilated to promote air quality, that isn’t always a practical solution. Residents in aged care facilities spend the majority of their time indoors, creating a worrying scenario in which those who are most vulnerable are exposed to potential airborne threats.
Air purifiers help in eradicating harmful air compounds like volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and particulate matter (PM) which causes lung issues like asthma, bronchitis, COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), and emphysema. Some air purifiers even come with carbon-activated filters that remove strong odours to deliver overall quality of care.
