Raleigh, North Carolina – Despite requests from health officials to limit meetings indoors, family and friends meetings continue to push the state’s total daily coronavirus cases to historic highs.
In addition to the often-repeated guide to wearing masks, stay at least 6 feet away from others and wash your hands routinely, one expert says keeping fresh indoor air will also help reduce exposure to the virus.
“COVID helped us a lot to understand people [that], if something is invisible, it doesn’t mean it’s not dangerous, ”said Ellie Amirnasr, chief executive of Rlair-based Qlair, which specializes in analyzing and improving indoor air quality in companies. and households.
Businesses have grown because of the virus and customers are often happy to know that many of the solutions are simple and fairly inexpensive, Amirnasr said.
“The best thing we recommend right now for our customers is to improve your filtration system,” he said.
With the market flooded with devices claiming to fight the virus, he warned people not to drop a lot of money on things like bipolar ionization systems. He agrees with a group of top indoor air quality that there is not enough evidence that these systems work.
“The tests have been done and show the effectiveness in the lab, not in real life,” he said.
Ultraviolet systems to kill the coronavirus are also announced. While this has been a proven method for years, killing viruses in the air at home is tricky, Amirnasr said.
“UV rays were originally used for surface treatment and for air treatment, if you want to do that, you have to slow down the airflow and you have to give it enough time,” he said.
Adding an ultraviolet system to your air manipulator may not do the trick, he added, “With one step, nothing will happen.”
High-end air inlet filters for your HVAC system can catch viruses, but if you’re determined to buy a device, Amirnasr would recommend getting an air purification system. While they are sometimes hard to find in stores, he made sure to get one with HEPA filters.
“HEPA filtration units are very useful for capturing very small particles, especially viruses,” he said.
Qlair is working with North Carolina State University and two more schools in the University of North Carolina system to prepare for face-to-face instruction in the spring.
The company installed sensors in laboratories and classrooms that constantly measure air quality. Using a simple red, yellow and green screen, the sensor shows when it’s time to cool off the air. One of the key detection methods is the amount of carbon dioxide in the air, which is what people exhale. Once this level increases, there is an increased risk of viral spread if someone in the room is infected.
No device has been shown to stop the virus and Amirnasr said part of the challenge is to get reliable test results,
“Measuring viruses is almost impossible because it requires air sampling [and] lab tests, “he said.” It’s super difficult. It is very expensive “.
But, he said, one of the best ways to fight the virus is for free. Simply open doors and windows on opposite sides of the house, especially if you have guests.
“This will help have clean air inside the building,” he said. “So you have the old air outside [and] clean air inside the building. Have fresh air and reduce the chance of any viruses sitting around. “
Amirnasr recommended that people recycle residential indoor air two to three times an hour. Businesses should recycle four times an hour and schools six times an hour just by opening a classroom window, if possible.
Ceiling fans or freestanding ones can help move the air, which helps. But Amirnasr said this is not effective on its own.
“When you actually turn on the ceiling fan,” he said, “if no fresh air enters, just recirculate the air inside the building.
“If you turn on the ceiling fan, you better do it in combination with the window opening,” he added.