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The role of maintenance in improving indoor air quality is becoming increasingly clear. Dr. Michael Berry, a research professor at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, cites inadequate cleaning as one of the five main causes of indoor air quality problems.
The indoor air quality issue now frequently appears in headlines and news stories in the mainstream media — and for good reason. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) estimates that over 30 percent — or 1.4 million — of non-industrial buildings struggle with indoor air quality problems. The Environmental Protection Agency pinpoints the issue as one of the top five environmental health risks to the public, noting that indoor air pollutants are often two to five times higher than outdoor levels.
Increasingly, distributors are being asked to inform customers on how cleaning products impact indoor air quality.
Harmful forces at work
Inside buildings, unseen and often harmful forces are at work. Pollen, dust mites, fungal spores, dander and industrial and vehicle emissions brought in from outside combine with chemical pollutants from within, including cleaning supply residue and emissions from new office equipment, furniture and flooring.
People can inhale particles down to ten microns and smaller. (A micron is a unit of measurement used by the cleaning industry to indicate 1/25,000 of an inch.) When indoor air is excessively polluted, these microscopic particulates lodge deep in people's lungs, and can lead to headaches, fatigue, shortness of breath, asthma and allergy attacks and respiratory illness.
The EPA links poor IAQ to lower productivity levels and missed work days, costing the nation tens of billions of dollars each year in lost productivity and medical care.
Visible signs of poor indoor air quality can also appear, often in the form of dust. Dust contains dirt, textile fibers, pollen, skin flakes, residue from cleaning chemicals and household products, decaying organic matter, dust mites, bacteria, fungi, viruses and a variety of other contaminants. When dust frequently appears on desks and surfaces, clogs the filters in air handling systems, or drifts up from the upholstery on a chair when someone sits down, there's likely an indoor air quality issue in the building.
Of all the places dust falls, the sheer square footage of flooring makes it the most important to effectively clean in order to improve IAQ.
When dust lands on hard floors, it is easily stirred up by the movement of air and the shuffling of feet. Fine dust can hang in the air for eight to 12 hours before settling down again. Carpet, on the other hand, acts as a dust sink to collect dirt and other particles, where it remains trapped until vacuumed out again.
To remove this dirt and dust from the floor in a building and improve IAQ an effective vacuuming program is required. The ideal vacuum balances high-powered suction — enough to extract the majority of dirt and dust from carpet or hard floors — with highly-effective filtration.
Testing programs for vacuums
The Carpet and Rug Institute sponsors a Green Label program that tests vacuums for filtration, soil remove and carpet appearance retention. Vacuums that pass the Green Label testing program often display the symbol on the vacuum's body.
Some vacuum manufacturers also offer third party testing results that measure both air flow rates and extraction levels. Highly effective vacuums can extract 99.9 percent of particles 1 micron and larger.
One vacuum manufacturer is even partnered with the American Lung Association to educate on the importance of indoor air quality issues. The filters feature eight layers heat blown into a crosshatch pattern to trap microscopic dust and pollutants. The disposable filter is the first step in a four level filtration system that also includes a micro cloth filter, a dome filter and an exhaust filter to trap microscopic pollutants even further.
Henry Alilionis, the Director of School Facilities and Operations for the Locust Valley School District in Locust Valley, New York, noted a distinct change when he switched over to a vacuuming program using true sealed HEPA and ULPA certified backpack vacuums.
"Our indoor air quality has improved, there's no doubt about it," Alilionis comments. "The filter maintenance for the air handling systems in the district dropped by 20 to 40 percent."
One recent study at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill charted the differences between two cleaning methods — zone cleaning with upright vacuums and Team Cleaning with backpack vacuums. The UNC study scientifically measured airborne dust levels, fungal spore counts, bacteria levels and Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) emissions in the two university buildings.
Results from the study showed that, using Team Cleaning, hard floor dust levels dropped by half, carpet floor dust levels dropped by a factor of four, and fungal spore levels were reduced by 90 percent.
When it comes to IAQ, an effective vacuuming program can make all the difference.
Jessica Holmes is a writer based in Boise, Idaho with a focus on the cleaning and construction industries.
author: BY JESSICA HOLMES