Educational facilities across the country are once again back in the classroom. Every year, daycare centers / preschools K-12 facilities, and higher educational campuses, are responsible for providing their students with the resources to better their education as well as providing their students with a clean and safe learning environment. Many facilities are taking extra precautions to improve their building’s indoor air quality.
Many nasty viruses are transmitted via airborne and can stay viable for many hours. As safety professionals, our focus is on how to keep the air in our school systems as clean as possible. Indoor Air Quality or “IAQ” is crucial not only to its students, faculty and staff, but also to the parents who have entrusted facility personnel to maintain the safety of their students.
As an environmental cleaning company, we recommend for schools to only use the best when it comes to the health and safety of everyone on campus. HVAC Systems Cleaning, UVGI Disinfection, and Air Purification Systems remain the only safe and scientifically proven technologies for airborne disinfection.
HVAC System Cleaning
Cleaning your facility's ductwork is the first step in removing airborne contaminants and allergens out of the air you breathe. Regular duct cleaning also improves airflow, allowing your facility’s HVAC system to run more efficiently. According to the EPA, a buildup of just 0.42″ of dirt on a heating or cooling coil can result in a decrease of efficiency of 21%. Dirty ductwork can load filters quickly and lead to more stress on the air handler and potentially higher energy costs. Blockages in reheat coils, mixing boxes, VAV boxes and other terminal boxes found in commercial HVAC systems can also restrict airflow. Components of HVAC duct cleaning include:
- Supply & Return Ductwork
- Dedicated Exhaust Ductwork and Fans
- Air Handler Units
- Internally Lined Ductwork: Cleaning and Encapsulating (Sealing)
- Mold Remediation from all types of Ductworks
- VAV’s Reheat Coils, Mixing Boxes
- Filter Replacements
- UVC Air Purification System
Air Purification Systems
An air purifier is an air cleaning device that captures and kills contaminants within the purifier itself. Air purifiers use one or more filtration and air treatment methods to remove pollutants from the air. Air purifiers that use HEPA filtration can filter air particles down to 0.3 microns in size with a 99.97%.
An air scrubber is an air cleaning device that utilizes a sear and retrieve method to eliminate contaminants in the indoor air. Air scrubbers are also available with HEPA filtration, allowing you to filter air particles down to 0.3 microns in size at 99.97% efficiency rating. In addition, they can work alongside a variety of three-stage HEPA negative air machines, which feature replaceable forest, second, and third filters. Air scrubbers are excellent for construction and healthcare organizations as they are highly effective at removing both airborne and settled dust and bacteria.
An air filter can only filter out particulate matter before it has time to spread into the air. But what's more important is what they can't filter out - viruses and bacteria.
UVGI Light Disinfection
UVC Lighting is a disinfection method that uses short-wavelength ultraviolet light to kill or inactivate microorganisms by destroying nucleic acids and disrupting their DNA, leaving them unable to perform vital cellular functions. UVC refers to ultraviolet light with wavelengths between 200 – 280 nanometers (nm). Light in the UVC wavelength can be used for disinfecting hospitals, sterilizing surfaces, destroying harmful micro-organisms in food products and in air. So how does it work?
These specialized lamps produce an ultraviolet (UV) light that disrupts growth and deactivates existing growths, aiding in the disinfection of surfaces, water and more. Using one in your facility can help improve everything from air quality to the health and well-being of your students, faculty and staff. By treating the air circulating in your heating and cooling system, UVC lighting can kill mold and destroy airborne viruses and bacteria that, ultimately, lead to colds, flus and other illnesses. Best practices for an educational campus include:
- UVC Disinfection Wand
- Mobile Remote UVC Disinfection System
- Ceiling/Wall Mountable Germicidal UVC Systems
- Upper Air UVC
- In-duct UVGI Lighting
- UVC Lighting at the Coil
Working With Hughes Environmental
Working with Hughes, you can expect technicians that are trained, certified and up-to-date on common best practices. We have an OSHA trainer on staff, and our technicians have been through OSHA 10- or 30-hour training. We also have Council-certified Indoor Environmentalists (CIE) and Council-certified Microbial Remediators (CMR) on staff.
Hughes Environmental is a member of National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and The National Air Duct Cleaners Association (NADCA) with multiple NADCA Certified “Air Systems Cleaning Specialists” on staff. We are also a member of the Indoor Air Quality Association (IAQA), and the American Council for Accredited Certification (ACAC) with multiple ACAC “Council Certified Microbial Remediators” and ACAC “Council Certified Indoor Environmentalists” on staff. In addition, Hughes is an ISNetworld(R) member contractor, as well as a member of the International Kitchen Exhaust Cleaning Association (IKECA). These memberships and certifications help us keep current with standard practices and any new regulations that are important to consider when performing cleaning projects, and help us demonstrate our ability and commitment to work safely.
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