Keeping the work environment clean is challenging for any business owner. Keeping your office livable, clean, and clutter-free is not all about having a cleaning company on for multiple shifts each day; there is a lot more to the concept.

How often do you worry about or test the indoor air quality in your office as a business owner? Do you know the impacts of overlooking indoor air quality rating within commercial workplaces? Businesses these days employ different strategies to alleviate the concerns of germs, bacteria, and other contaminants within the workplace, but how seriously they look into workplace air quality is a question unanswered on most occasions.

Indoor air pollution poses significant risks to the health of your employees, especially when the work area is of considerable size.

 Dangers of indoor air pollution

Most people are unaware that the air they breathe within their office walls could expose them to multiple adversely affect both their mental and physical health.

Indoor air quality is known to trigger various health concerns, including sore throats, chronic cough, skin rashes, itching eyes, and lethargy. Prolonged exposure can even make you vulnerable to severe threats, including cancer, chronic asthma, and lung diseases.

Causes of indoor air pollution at offices

Workplaces, on most occasions, are crowded and contaminated with potential properties that could pollute the air. Identifying these sources and eliminating them should be the first step to any air quality restoration program. Failing to consider air quality requirements during structure design and renovation is another cause of air pollution at workplaces.

Some familiar sources of office air pollutants include:

• Smoke from tobacco
• Pressed wood products emitting formaldehyde
• Asbestos embedded insulating and other office supplies
• Air fresheners
• Poorly managed ventilation systems
• Poorly stored paints, cleaning chemicals, and adhesives
• Unsupervised pesticide usage

Workplace air quality testing

Ensuring and maintaining workplace air quality is a serious task and requires professional expertise. Addressing these invisible contaminants requires high-level quality testing, including air sampling and testing kits that measure the Volatile Organic Compound (VOC)s.

Interestingly, no one method helps in identifying all contaminant types. This is where you need air quality experts who can run multiple tests and sort out the critical pollutants that need to be addressed first.

Steps to follow if you identify air quality issues at the workplace:

• As a business owner, if your employees report discomfort or health issues while being at the office, there are certain things that you can look into:
• Hire a professional company to start an investigation. Choose a company based on their experience and expertise in terms of reinstating air quality at commercial buildings.
• Revise or establish strict smoking policies at the workplace and look into anything which you might have missed if there is a policy that exists
• Talk to your employees to get a deeper understanding of the issues that they face.

Improving commercial indoor air quality

• Hiring air quality experts to run routine air quality checks at least twice a year is a smart means to ensuring ideal air quality
• Keeping track of your employee’s health problems is crucial when it comes to identifying any potential air quality hazards
• Upgrading the facility materials, including furniture and air duct vents yearly, can also thwart concerns of air quality
• Reviewing and improving ventilation is an excellent strategy to manage and maintain ideal air quality at workplaces

Workplace air quality has become and common and serious problem faced by most businesses in the United States. A professional approach is the best way to tackle air quality issues at the workplace, especially considering pandemics and other infectious health concerns.