Maintaining a healthy facility environment is a prime objective for most BSC's. This is especially true for those BSC's that provide cleaning services for schools, hospitals, office complexes and other high-traffic public spaces. Maintaining healthy indoor air quality is the linchpin to providing a healthy environment for students, patients, workers, and visitors.

In this three-part series we will discuss tools and methodologies that can be employed to improve---and maintain---the indoor air quality within virtually any type of facility. First up will be....

HEPA Filter Vacuums

While any type of flooring surface can hold contaminates, carpeting is especially notorious as a trap for dust, dirt, contaminates, and allergens. High-traffic areas that are carpeted, and not adequately maintained, can be a primary source of illness and discomfort for a building's occupants and visitors.

The use of HEPA Filter Vacuums can significantly improve the health of your carpeting by removing contaminates that could otherwise be released into the air when vacuuming with a non-HEPA machine. Studies have shown that vacuuming with outdated or poorly-maintained equipment can actually degrade indoor air quality.

Microscopic Filtration and Containment - A Key to Indoor Air Quality

A vacuum equipped with a certified HEPA filter will provide powerful filtration and trapping of dust and allergens at the microscopic level. A high-quality HEPA filter vacuum with provide high-CFM cleaning power as well as multiple levels of filtration. Those levels typically include: a large HEPA bag, a shake-out bag, a HEPA pre-motor filter, and an exhaust filter. It is important to follow all operation and maintenance instructions from the manufacture to ensure maximum performance and reliability from the machine

Configurations

HEPA filter vacuums are available in both upright and backpack configurations. Backpack vacuums have increased in popularity due to the advantages they offer, including: weight, size, ergonomics, flexibility, and higher productivity rates. In general, backpack HEPA filter vacuums are considered the superior choice within facilities where "green cleaning" is an operational imperative.

For more detailed information on the advantages of backpacks vs uprights please refer to a previous post via the following link: Vacuum Wars: Backpacks vs Uprights.

Using a high-quality HEPA filter vacuum to clean your facility's carpeting can be a very effective way to improve indoor air quality and thereby provide a healthier environment for the building's occupants and visitors. Your ROI will likely be realized in reductions in illness, higher productivity, and improved morale.

In Part 2 of this series we will discuss "HVAC Disinfection" and the role it can play in indoor air quality.