4 Things Affecting Indoor Air Quality in the Workplace

It is sad but true that the majority of us will spend almost a third of our lives at work or in someone else’s workspace and while most recognize the visible hazards that are present, it is only in extreme cases that we will notice the one factor, which can have the longest lasting effect on our health, air quality. Unless there is a noxious smell or a heavy enough concentration of contaminants to cause immediate distress most people will never give the air, they are breathing, a second thought. Excuse the phrasing, but this turning a blind eye, to what we cannot see, can be very costly.

Indoor Air Quality in the Workplace has been found to be a contributing factor in asthma and allergy attacks, as well as the spread of communicable disease like the flu and the common cold. Add to this the fact that if your employees are not breathing clean air they will not feel as energetic and you will suffer a loss of productivity and it becomes simple to see how large an impact air quality can have on your bottom line.

To help you minimize these issues and protect both your profit margin and your employee’s health, here are the four, most common, things affecting indoor air quality in the workplace.

Dirty Air Ducts

Your building’s air handling equipment can be a health nightmare. Besides the issue of dust and lent being a breeding ground for dust mites, when you throw in the condensation caused by normal humidity, peoples respiration and air temperature changes you have the perfect breeding ground for bacteria and viruses of all types. Can you remember Legionnaires Disease?

A Dissolving World

The headline may be a little dramatic, but it is actually accurate. Everything around us from the clothes we wear to the papers we handle and carpet we walk on are breaking down and releasing not only dust, but chemical into the air. Though minute in quantity if they are not properly removed from the area the can build over time and cause real issues.

Improper Cleaning Equipment

This may come as a shock, but even if you are cleaning your office daily you may not be helping. You may be adding to your problems. Proper cleaning involves removing the dust, dander and other contaminants from the area. If you use things like feather duster or vacuum cleaners that are not Hepa filter equipped, you are not doing this. You are simply stirring up the dust that has settled and cycling it back into the air to be breathed once again.

Improper Cleaning Chemicals

This is another reason why it pays to hire professionals to properly clean your office, and it is a twofold issue. The first problem is that while most cleaning chemicals are safe to use, in reasonable amounts, on their own. They can be more than odorous when improperly combined. They can be highly toxic.

The second part of this is that the proper chemicals will not only clean, they will disinfect and sanitize preventing viruses and bacteria from reentering the air and further endangering your employees and clients.