Improving Workplace Air Quality for Your Employees

Blog > Improving Workplace Air Quality for Your Employees

A large percentage of our lives is spent indoors, either at home or in the workplace, so it’s essential to have quality air to reduce the risk of allergens and irritants. Air which contains pollutants can affect your and your employees lives, comfort, and health.

Polluted air not only affects physical health – it can cause headaches, fatigue, nose, throat and eye irritations, colds and trouble breathing – but it can also be detrimental to your mental health, affecting performance and productivity.

That’s why as a business it’s important to improve workplace air quality for your employees by having a commercial HVAC company detect air quality issues. Commercial HVAC companies can track pollutants, inspect ventilation systems and test for the presence of air pollutants, including mold, carbon monoxide, toxic gases and other chemicals.

It’s also important to perform regular preventative maintenance to keep indoor air clean and safe for your business. You can help maintain good indoor air quality with these simple measures:

Keep Your Workspace Clean

Regular cleaning helps reduce the risk of illnesses associated with a poorly functioning commercial heating and cooling system. A routine sanitation schedule will keep mold, allergens, contaminants and dust at manageable levels and help HVAC companies better maintain your ventilation unit. Unfortunately, all of these irritants and other airborne objects can get sucked into your HVAC system and remain in your air ducts. Cleaning is essential to prevent these irritants from staying in the workspace.

Have Your Air Quality-Tested

In spring, it’s common for office spaces to be struck down with sick building syndrome , where people suffer from illnesses that seem to be linked to spending time in the building in which they work. Conducting air quality tests more often can help you to remain on top of the situation, and you’ll have a better understanding of where your air quality stands when it comes to employee health. If you’re getting more sick call-ins than usual, it might indicate that it’s time to get your air quality tested, especially if multiple people complain of breathing problems.

Having a professional come in and measure air quality in your office air flow helps you to see where improvements can be made. An air quality test checks for humidity levels, ventilation, odors, leaks, standing water, water damage, and mold growth.

Stabilize Your Building Humidity Levels

You want your building humidity levels to remain in a sweet spot of between 40% to 60%. When air is too dry, it can result in breathing discomfort. Respiratory ailments such as asthma, bronchitis, sinusitis, and nosebleeds are common forms of negative health effects of severely dry air. Alternatively, air that is too moisture-rich with high humidity is the leading cause of mold and mildew growth in a commercial space, causing health concerns such as increased asthma and allergy problems.

Go Greener with Office Plants

Having plants in your workplace doesn’t just make your workplace look more attractive, but it also helps improve air quality. Modern office buildings with predominantly sealed air can contain up to ten times more pollutants than the air outside . From basic elementary science, you know that plants produce fresh oxygen. Plants in the office improve air quality by removing harmful pollutants. Plants also stabilize humidity levels. Indoor plants have also been shown to reduce the symptoms of “sick building syndrome” or SBS.

Have Your Air Ducts Inspected and Cleaned

While dirty ducts don’t necessarily mean unhealthy air in your workplace, they may be contributing to larger health issues or harboring contaminants that could cause serious problems, especially for people with respiratory health conditions. Dust and debris collect in your building’s air ducts, spreading it around your building when the air flow is on. If you’re not addressing the source of the contaminants, it makes it tough to perform a deep clean of your commercial property.

Hire A Professional Commercial Heating and Cooling Company

It might be worthwhile hiring a professional commercial HVAC company to assess and correct any issues in your HVAC system before anyone’s health is compromised. Routine preventive maintenance checks ensure your heating and cooling system is in optimum working order. A professional heating, ventilation and air conditioning contractor is also able to let you know of potential problems to look out for in your unit.

If you’re in the Kansas City metro area and need HVAC servicing or maintenance, contact us today for your customized quote.

Founded in 2004, DMC Service, Inc . is proud of our decade plus service to the Kansas City Metro and beyond. Based out of Olathe, we are a 100% woman-owned business with Karen Crnkovich at the helm as President and “Chief Hand-Shaker”. Karen leads the DMC Service team with unwavering passion and enthusiasm to fulfill our purpose: To keep people comfortable, safe and healthy.