Indoor air quality and general health and wellbeing go hand in hand, especially since humans spend most of their time indoors. More often than not, we are sharing this indoor space with any number of people, putting us at greater risk of contracting communicable diseases such as the common cold and flu.

In South Africa, December is one of the times of the year where colds and flu are rife. Adding to our susceptibility to such infections is general fatigue and lowered immune systems at the end of a long, often stressful year.

Ensuring that office buildings, shopping malls, restaurants, and other indoor environments maintain good indoor air quality is critical to prevent further spread of bacteria and viruses during the cold and flu season. In our previous article, we share tips on testing indoor air quality to make sure that your HVAC system is working efficiently.

Why Air Quality Is Important During Cold and Flu Season

It’s safe to say that indoor spaces that have poor or no ventilation, where large groups of people gather, pose a much higher risk of encouraging the spread of disease. These diseases are often caused by airborne pathogens that pass around the environment from person to person.

Essentially, when we occupy indoor spaces with other people, we are breathing the exact same air as them and poorly ventilated spaces means that we are breathing in their pathogens too. For this reason, high quality indoor air is absolutely critical. It is also the responsibility of any employer to ensure they provide a safe working environment for their employees.

Airborne pathogens can stay in the air for hours or even days. However, this is less likely to happen when there is adequate ventilation and management of indoor air quality.

The following are ways that employers can ensure that they provide clean, quality air for their employees to work in:

• Maintain adequate levels of humidity – Ideal humidity levels for the prevention of colds and flu in the workplace are between 40% and 60%
• Improve ventilation – If possible, windows and doors should be open to create a natural ventilation. This should only be done in areas where outdoor air is free from harmful pollutants. In closed environments, the right HVAC system must be installed to mimic natural ventilation
• Disinfect indoor spaces and surfaces – The COVID pandemic taught us how important it is to sanitize our hands and the surfaces that we come into contact with. Provide your employees with hand sanitizer in every room and if possible make sanitizing wipes available for them to clean their workspace regularly
• Prioritize employee health – Many people feel guilty for taking off work when they are feeling sick but “not sick enough to stay home”. Make sure that you always put the health and well being of your employees first as one sick person can cause many others to become sick too

Air Options – Modular HVAC Systems South Africa

At Air Options, we design, manufacture, and install modular HVAC systems in medical, commercial, and specialized industries.

Contact us to find out more.