Tag Archives: Commercial air purification

In recent years, employers have looked to employee wellness programs as a means of increasing productivity, reducing insurance costs and fostering better employee wellbeing and satisfaction. There’s a direct correlation between employee wellbeing and costs to employers. Worker’s compensation claims and healthcare bills amount to more $60 billion per year in the U.S. So, it makes sense to help boost employee health in order to boost a bottom line.

There’s also emotional aspects to wellness. Job satisfaction and the notion that employers have a social responsibility give employees a feeling that companies care for them.

And so, employers roll out the usual suspects when it comes to employee wellness programs: smoking cessation classes, exercise breaks, yoga classes, weight loss challenges and the like.

Problem is, these efforts don’t work.

According to a clinical trial published by the Journal of the American Medical Association and reported by the New York Times, employee wellness program efforts don’t provide any substantial benefit in terms of healthcare savings. More importantly, don’t impact employee health all that much.

Researchers tracked 33,000 employees of BJ’s Wholesale Club over a yearlong period and found that employees participating in employee wellness programs saw no reduced blood pressure or other health measures. And there was no financial gains or savings for the employer in undertaking the wellness program.

“Wellness is this multibillion-dollar industry where there has been a really weak evidence base of what these programs do,” said Katherine Baicker, dean of the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy, in the New York Times when asked about the clinical trial.

Do employee wellness programs foster a culture of health?

So, is there anything employers can do to positively affect the health of employees?

We believe wellness begins by creating a conducive workplace. Given that indoor air is two to five times more polluted than outdoor air—and that employees spend an average of nine hours a day in these enclosed spaces with others—it makes sense to provide a cleaner indoor environment.

Ultimately, instead of tired smoking cessation programs, or five-minute exercise sessions, we feel employers should focus on a better way to boost productivity and build a culture of health: Cleaning the air.

For example, AeraMax Professional’s line of commercial-grade air purifiers removes up to 99.97 percent of airborne contaminants like viruses, germs, allergens, bacteria, dust, odors and volatile organic compounds from indoor air, providing a healthier, cleaner environment. That means less pollution to exacerbate asthma conditions, and less germs and viruses coursing through the air, making employees sick. And that means less strain on insurance and health benefit programs.

Read Article

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the dental profession is one of the most dangerous, because of the typical working conditions and chances of breathing in harmful contaminants.

But some of the dangers affecting dental lab workers aren’t because of dust coming from the substrates they work with—germs, bacteria and viruses affect workers, too. Given the close proximity of work stations and workers, the threat of catching the flu or germ-spread diseases is very real.

So how can the dental profession combat contaminants? There are several ways.

First, supervisors should encourage workers who are ill to stay away—sounds harsh, but the transmission of flu and viruses can be greatly reduced by ensuring sick workers stay home.

They should frequently wash their hands to remove any germs they might come in contact with on common surfaces, like doorknobs, tabletops and the like.

And for those workers who are on-the-job?

They should frequently wash their hands to remove any germs they might come in contact with on common surfaces, like doorknobs, tabletops and the like.

The complete line of AeraMax Professional air purifiers does just that, removing up to 99.97 percent of contaminants—like viruses, germs, bacteria, allergens, volatile organic compounds and odors—from indoor air. Using hospital-like True HEPA filtration, these purifiers sense when the air is dirty and work quietly and efficiently to automatically rid the air of pollutants. As an added bonus, commercial-grade AeraMax Professional air purifiers help dental labs keep ahead of the ever-present problem of airborne dust derived from grinding and casting molds.

Read Article

Another fall, another flu season. Last year’s flu season was particularly harsh, and some are predicting this season will match or exceed the severity of last year’s. That’s why the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is asking everyone over the age of six months old to get inoculated against the flu.

According to the CDC, flu vaccines this year are designed to match most flu strains that are out there. However, the risk of getting the flu is still present, regardless of whether someone is inoculated or not, because there isn’t a vaccine developed against all strains. And, according to a Rice University study, these vaccines are expected to have the same reduced efficacy as last year’s flu vaccines. For those folks who opt not to get vaccinated, the risk of getting the flu this season is very real.

That may mean the potential for more absenteeism and less worker or student productivity. You can calculate the cost to your facility or educational institution with our easy-to-use Flu Calculator You’ll be astounded by the eye-opening costs in terms of lost productivity.

So, how do you combat the flu in your facility? Focus on cleaning the Triumvirate: Hands, Surfaces and Air.

So, how do you combat the flu in your facility?

Focus on cleaning the Triumvirate: Hands, Surfaces and Air. First, hand washing helps to reduce the spread of germs that occur in workplaces. Consider opting for hand sanitizers to reduce that contact. Next, aggressively cleaning surfaces will greatly reduce the spread of germs; flu germs can survive for up to 24 hours, depending on the surface.

But most importantly, focus on cleaning the very air indoors. According to a study conducted by the University of Maryland school of public health, influenza germs last in the air up to several hours, and people can get sick simply by breathing in air tainted with the germs, which contradicts the thought that people contract the flu by touching infected droplets from coughs or sneezes. So, it’s time to clean the air.

Luckily, the complete line of AeraMax Professional air purifiers scrub the air of contaminants, removing up to 99.97 percent of germs—as well as bacteria, pathogens, volatile organic compounds, other viruses and odors—from indoor air, using a True HEPA hospital-type filtration system.

In fact, independent testing by airmid healthgroup in a controlled laboratory setting showed AeraMax Professional III air purifiers remove 99.9 percent of airborne H1N1 flu particles in a test chamber within 35 minutes of operation.

And, since AeraMax Professional units continually scan the air, they work tirelessly to clean air and remove harmful particles from your workspace. So, you can meet this flu season head on…and win.

Read Article

These days, facility managers have more responsibilities. More occupant interaction, more belt-tightening decisions—and more opportunities to truly affect change in their facility. This is why the director of the Healthy Buildings Program at the Harvard Center for Health and the Global Environment, Joseph Allen, Ph.D., stated that a facility manager has more of an impact in the health and well-being of the occupants than physicians.

Find out more about how you can clean smarter, not harder.

Read Article

The Problem

Some governments have been known to avoid the persistent problem of poor air quality, but a recent decision in Britain could possibly set the (low) standard.

Seems the British government has identified a large number of “hotspots” for pollution in the idyllic peninsula of Cornwall. The cause: major roadways in close proximity to villages and towns mean a heavy concentration of diesel fumes.

A Radical Solution

But instead of tackling the pollution problem with restrictions, heavy-vehicle taxes, the construction of an overpass to eliminate the proximity to affected villages or other measures, the government is planning on relocating residents. That’s right—instead of treating the problem, the government is considering moving the people affected by the problem.

The Cornwall Council says relocating families is a cheaper alternative to building an overpass and is floating the idea of developing an area farther from pollution sources for residents in the towns of Camborne, Pool, Redruth, Bodmin, Tideford, Gunnislake, St Austell, Truro and Camelford. Another option is removing people from homes closest to the roadway, bulldozing the homes and widening the road to reduce traffic backups and standing traffic.

Lost in the announcement is the fact that the government isn’t addressing poor air quality; instead, it is avoiding the problem with a plan that uproots lives without eliminating pollution. Critics have suggested taxes on diesel vehicles as an incentive to drive less, a law to migrate drivers of such vehicles to cleaner alternatives and restrictions on travel in the area. Still, the council is seriously considering the relocation as a “best option.”

Aeramax Professional a True Pollution Solution

The move in Britain is similar to instances when people avoid addressing the root of indoor air quality issues, opting instead to mask odors or simply boost HVAC outputs. Instead, cleaning the indoor air is the only effective way to increase air quality. And we think the most effective solution is installing AeraMax® Professional commercial-grade air purifiers in shared indoor spaces. Our complete line is designed to remove up to 99.97 percent of airborne contaminants, like germs, allergens, bacteria and volatile organic compounds from indoor air, offering a true pollution solution for facility managers.

Read Article