You never know just how many invisible pollutants can affect your building’s indoor air quality.
With the new year just beginning, there is no better time to resolve to change your building’s environment. You never know just how many invisible pollutants can affect your building’s indoor air quality. Let’s take a closer look at how to identify these problems and deal with them.
Clean Air Matters
In simplest terms, clean air matters. Sometimes, a problem with your business’s indoor air quality won’t be evident until someone speaks up; but even so, it can is still observable before the fact. If your employees aren’t meeting expectations or are continually taking days off because they are sick, that should tell you something. After all, lawsuits are not unheard of, and every member of a company’s leadership should do all they can to prevent one if it doesn’t need to happen.
How an Issue Builds
How much drywall is there in your building? If it grows damp, it can play host to mold, and there the problem can begin. After a while, the smell will become apparent, along with nearby workers feeling ill. Inadequate ventilation can also contribute to an IAQ issue growing worse. While carbon dioxide is commonly detected and prevented, you might not be able to detect the presence of volatile organic chemicals, also known as VOCs. Renovations, upgrades, repainting, or even redecorating can all introduce VOCs into your building’s environment.
We’ve previously touched on the connection between indoor temperature and employee health and productivity. Since winter is painfully cold and dry, you may be inclined to begin using humidifiers to improve comfort for your staff and visitors. Unfortunately, increasing the humidity can exacerbate any problems with mold and mildew that might already be present.
Where You’ll Find the Most Common Problems
Where might you find the other areas around your building with the most common indoor air quality problems?
The Parking Garage: This area is less problematic if your building has an outdoor parking garage, where the wind will carry away any unpleasant smells. But in indoor parking lots or garages, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and nitrous oxide are all hazards you need to avoid. Fans and sensors are your best tools for detecting and stopping these risks before they grow too oppressive.
Entrances and Exits: Entrances and exits will also pose a problem. Any time air pressure can change the possibility of an IAQ complaint can lurk – especially around loading bay doors or connecting tunnels that link different buildings on campus.
The Kitchen: Look out for any IAQ problems in the kitchen. The vents might need to be updated, or an aging microwave should be replaced if these are the source of the problem.
Bathrooms: Broken fans and poorly maintained ductwork can cause your bathrooms to smell worse. This situation can be especially problematic in buildings where multiple businesses share one set of bathrooms on each floor.
Crockett Facilities Can Help!
Crockett Facilities Services, Inc. (CFSI) is committed to helping building owners, property managers, engineers, and facility professionals lower their operating expenses through HVAC preventive maintenance. We can develop a cost-effective, customized preventive maintenance plan for your commercial building that will provide you with peace of mind, improved comfort, and energy savings.
To learn more about the importance of HVAC Preventive Maintenance, please contact us at 202.600.2787 or sales@crockett-facilities.com. Our PM contract customers receive priority service with 24/7 emergency service in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, DC.