Indoor Air Quality During Covid 19 Pandemic

Since it was discovered in December 2019, COVID 19 has spread rapidly worldwide. To curb the spread of the highly contagious virus, closed management methods have been implemented, causing people to spend most of their time at home.  This has led to a renewed focus on the indoor air quality during COVID 19 and the measures we need to adopt to make the air healthier.

Regular maintenance of your HVAC system can help to purify the indoor air quality during COVID 19. Although the transmission of the COVID 19 disease cannot be resolved by the regular maintenance of your HVAC system, it’s proven that improving indoor quality air during the COVID 19 pandemic can support your health and well-being. So even though the airborne pathogens and viruses are not killed, if your HVAC system is maintained, you will definitely breathe pure air, which is vital to remain healthy.

Gateway Mechanical Services is a leading service provider in the commercial and industrial refrigeration, heating and air conditioning industry (HVACR) with the technical capability to attend to all your service requirements.

As there is not enough information about COVID 19 with regard to it definitely being airborne, there seems to be widespread doubt and confusion, which is making people stay indoors. But though you may be protected from the virus if you lock yourself away at home, poor indoor air quality may lead to other health issues including respiratory diseases, heart diseases and cancer too.

Regular maintenance of your filtering, heating and cooling systems can help to improve the indoor air quality during COVID 19. When there is home isolation and people spend most of their time at home, there will definitely be a deterioration of indoor air quality.  Gateway Mechanical Services attend 40,000+ service calls per year and is the largest HVAC service provider in Western Canada.

Indoor air quality also depends on outdoor sources; therefore a close check on the building’s ventilation systems is vital to reduce the concentration of some contaminants. Gateway Mechanical’s fully qualified personnel can help to ensure the indoor air quality of your home and office space is safe to breathe.

There is bound to be a reduction in the indoor air quality when the windows and doors of a home are not opened. Indoor air quality during COVID 19 is more of a challenge because there is an increased fear of being outdoors, resulting in high occupancy in homes. The higher the number of occupants in the house, the more the need for proper ventilation to ensure the indoor air quality does not decrease.

Factors such as furniture, personnel products and cleaning materials can affect the indoor air quality. To reduce contamination of indoor air, ventilation and other processes such as filter changes, UV and Plasma air purification and proper operation within your HVAC system can be carried out to improve indoor air quality during COVID 19. So it’s best to leave it up to the experts at Gateway Mechanical Services to help you breathe easy.

According to the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) certain strategies can be followed to improve indoor air quality during COVID 19. These include UVC and plasma disinfection systems. Though these can help to prevent the growth of pathogens that can become airborne and get circulated by your HVAC system, the impact of UVC on COVID-19 is not yet known. So even though a good UVC air purifier can decrease the likelihood of spreading contaminants through HVAC systems, effective hygiene practices are still of utmost importance to stay healthy.

Understanding indoor air quality is also important due to its constant modifications in composition as a result of changes in the environment, which can lead to other health issues. As there is still some uncertainty with regard to how the COVID-19 virus is spread and what steps are required to reduce the transmission of the disease through indoor air, the ventilation approach should take into account that there are infected people in the building.

Therefore it is essential for the operators of buildings to engage the services of experts like Gateway Mechanical Services to help disinfect the indoor air quality, especially during the COVID 19 pandemic. There is evidence stating that through droplets, the virus can be suspended in the air for three hours which means it could travel in the air that is present in a room.

With people spending almost 100% of their time at home, there is a dire need for better and cleaner indoor air quality during COVID 19. Interestingly, some experts are of the opinion that the air indoors is up to five times more contaminated, that outdoor air. Also, a major misconception doing the rounds is that air conditioners can make the air more pure. This is untrue as air conditioners don’t have the filtration required to do this.

On the other hand, air conditioners and especially the centralized air conditioning units may help to spread the virus that causes COVID 19.  This is because droplets from an infected person can travel at a great speed in enclosed air-conditioned spaces. Due to this, there is an increased demand for high filtration systems to be installed in homes and workplaces to get rid of contaminants present in the air.

Gateway Mechanical Services can help you get efficient filtration devices installed in your homes and enterprises to enhance indoor air quality. These filtration devices help to reduce the risk of airborne diseases and help to purify the air. Gateway Mechanical leverages innovative, cutting edge mechanisms to bring about a major improvement in the indoor air quality, helping to increase your overall well-being and health too. So choose Gateway Mechanical to be your partner in your fight against poor indoor air quality during the COVID 19 pandemic.

The Gateway Mechanical team ensures your HVAC systems are installed and maintained properly. This helps to enhance the air circulation which in turn prevents illnesses by getting rid of germs, viruses, mold, pollens and other air contaminants.

Gateway Mechanical makes sure you have an efficient HVAC system at all times. The team recommends the most appropriate HVAC system according to your home or office and also provides suitable suggestions regarding the indoor air quality solutions you may require.

The power of technology combined with basic hygiene practices can help to increase your safety. Sanitation and indoor air quality during COVID 19 are the two most important aspects in these uncertain times as they directly affect our health and well-being.

Steps to improve ventilation:

•   Ensure outdoor air percentage is increased.
•       Opt for natural ventilation.
•     Try to improve central air filtration without reducing airflow and check the efficiency of filters.
•   To maximize ventilation, try to keep the building ventilation system on, even when not occupied.
•   Keep a check on the building operations and maintenance plan to improve indoor air quality during the COVID-19 pandemic.
•   Engage the services of experts like Gateway Mechanical for custom service and installation of HVAC systems.