By: Caitlin Dimalanta  |  September 28, 2022 

As October swiftly approaches, so does the need to adapt to the change that is in the air…literally! With the autumn chill in the atmosphere and cold and flu season lingering around the corner, it is important to keep our health and the health of our buildings a top priority. Acclimating to the changing of the seasons can pose a real challenge for any facility manager, but with these tips to improve indoor air quality, we are here to help make the transition as smooth as possible.

October is nationally recognized as Healthy Lung Month, which is a great reminder of one of the best things a facility manager can clean and maintain—the air we breathe. Throughout this blog, we will be going over why air purification is integral to building maintenance and how you and your facility maintenance team can achieve cleaner air.

The Need for Clean Air

Bad indoor air quality is caused by multiple factors and is heightened during the fall season. Decreased airflow due to the shutting of doors and windows to keep spaces warm, autumn pollen allergens such as ragweed and fungus spores, along with increased airborne bacteria and germs are among the many seasonal air pollutants that contribute to unhealthy air.

Our partners at Fellowes® report that “In the USA, poor air quality results in $150 billion of illness-related costs per year. Of that, $93 billion represents lost productivity from headaches, fatigue, and irritation associated with sick building syndrome.”

Per the CDC, sick days result in productivity losses that cost U.S. employers $1,685 per employee per year or $225.8 billion annually.

In addition to how costly bad air quality is for your business, school, or any indoor space, it also has a huge impact on the health of your students, teachers, customers, and employees. The past few years have underscored the need of putting both our own health and the health of our communities first. You and your facility maintenance team can do so by cleaning the air we all share.

How to Clean Indoor Air

Cleaning the indoor air of an entire school campus or commercial building can sound like a daunting task. However, there are simple yet proactive steps you can take to maintain good IAQ (indoor air quality).

For instance, highly trafficked areas such as carpets trap air pollutants. Vacuuming excess trapped dirt and soil reduces the number of pollutants that can be kicked up into the air.

Also, through your everyday purchases, you can easily boost your IAQ. Choose low emitting products that have been third-party certified and labeled by reputable organizations such as GREEENGUARD, UL ECOLOGO , Green Seal , and the South Coast Air Quality Management District Clean Air Choices – Cleaner Certification. Be sure to quality check manufacturer claims of “no VOC,” “natural” or “alternative.”

Last but not least, consider incorporating a commercial-grade air purifier into your workspace, learning environment, or any indoor area. Fellowes^® AeraMax Professional air purifiers utilize a comprehensive hospital-like four-stage filtration system that traps odors, bacteria, germs, and other harmful pollutants like volatile organic compounds, providing cleaned, fresh air. Their powerful filtration system can remove up to 99.7% of airborne pollutants.

Integrating your facility maintenance plan with one of these workhorse machines can take on a lot of the labor associated with cleaning the air off of your and your team's shoulders. Thus, making it easier to tackle other facility projects and focus on making a healthier and safer environment for your building occupants.

WAXIE is committed to helping our customers keep their facilities cleaner, healthier, greener, and safer. That means creating customized cleaning solutions to meet your specific needs, and then providing the ongoing training and support to help you achieve a cleaner and healthier building environment with improved indoor air quality.  

Please contact your WAXIE Account Consultant today to schedule a consultation.  

Caitlin Dimalanta is WAXIE’s eCommerce Specialist. She enjoys researching and implementing various SEO (search engine optimization) strategies to enhance WAXIE’s eCommerce platform Web@Work. Caitlin has a Bachelor's Degree in Marketing from San Diego State University.