Simple Ways to Improve your Building's Ventilation and Fight Viruses

The technology and practices brought to the forefront during this pandemic need to continue to be ROUTINE. Improving your building’s ventilation is a great start as you re-engineer your cleaning process and create a healthier work environment. As you consider re-engineering your cleaning process, keep in mind the benefits that are available to you:

• Cut costs by using a proactive and preventative approach to your cleaning process
• Ensure transparency by having a highly detailed cleaning schedule
• Provide a cleaner, safer, and more inviting work environment
• Increase productivity by keeping your employees healthy 

Ventilation Improvements

Improvements to ventilation systems can help reduce exposure to viruses in our buildings and lower the risk of disease. According to the CDC, “Reoccupying a building during the COVID-19 pandemic should not, in most cases, require new building ventilation systems. However, ventilation system upgrades or improvements can increase the delivery of clean air and dilute potential contaminants.” Here are a few tools from the CDC to improve ventilation:

• Increase the introduction of outdoor air:
• Open outdoor air dampers beyond minimum settings to reduce or eliminate HVAC air recirculation. In mild weather, this will not affect thermal comfort or humidity. However, this may be difficult to do in cold, hot, or humid weather, and may require consultation with an experienced HVAC professional.
• Open windows and doors, when weather conditions allow, to increase outdoor air flow. Do not open windows and doors if doing so poses a safety or health risk (e.g., risk of falling, triggering asthma symptoms) to occupants in the building. Even a slightly open window can introduce beneficial outdoor air.
• Use fans to increase the effectiveness of open windows:
• To safely achieve this, fan placement is important and will vary based on room configuration. Avoid placing fans in a way that could potentially cause contaminated air to flow directly from one person to another (see FAQ below on indoor use of fans). One helpful strategy is to use a window fan, placed safely and securely in a window, to exhaust room air to the outdoors. This will help draw outdoor air into the room via other open windows and doors without generating strong room air currents. Similar results can be established in larger facilities using other fan systems, such as gable fans and roof ventilators.
• Ensure ventilation systems operate properly and provide acceptable indoor air quality for the current occupancy level for each space.
• Rebalance or adjust HVAC systems to increase total airflow to occupied spaces when possible.

Along with the tools listed above, companies should also schedule regular cleaning and disinfecting of ventilation both inside and out. Using some of the technology now being used for assurance, can become proactive when used in ventilation systems. Killing everything that can contaminate air flow on a regularly scheduled proactive program is cost effective and increases productivity.

Now that you have learned about a few tools that can help you improve your air ventilation in your buildings, let us help you! There are a number of key elements that must be implemented into your new cleaning process post-pandemic. You may have questions about what needs to change, how often you should be cleaning, how the number of people in person impacts cleaning procedures and more. At CSG, we specialize in engineering a customized cleaning plan that ultimately saves you time and money. We recognize the importance of keeping your facility’s cleanliness standards high and how it can benefit your bottom line. We use top of the line equipment with every service we provide. By choosing CSG as your facility services partner, you are choosing a partner who values our relationship with our customers, and is constantly innovating to provide better communication, accountability and technology for our customers and their facilities. Remember these key benefits to a re-engineered cleaning routine:

• Cut costs by using a proactive and preventative approach to your cleaning process
• Ensure transparency by having a highly detailed cleaning schedule
• Provide a cleaner, safer, and more inviting work environment
• Increase productivity by keeping your employees healthy 

Contact us today to learn more about the CSG difference!