The Importance of Air Quality in Your Mercer County, NJ Business

9/14/2022 (Permalink)

Since the onset of COVID-19 pandemic, indoor spaces, cleanliness of surfaces, and air flow have become more important elements when considering the overall health of a commercial property in Mercer County.

Maintaining a healthy environment in your building, maintains the health of employees, customers, patients, and residents alike. Research points to building occupant cognitive ability is 60-100% higher in Green Building environments.

What determines clean air?  According to the EPA pollutants fall into 3 main Categories: 

• Biological
• Chemical
• Particles

Indoor Air Quality or IAQ is defined by the EPA as the “air quality within and around buildings and structures,” which can impact the health and well-being of the building’s occupants.  Exposure to indoor pollutants can impact the health of occupants immediately or build over many months or even years.

Air pollutants can be created by indoor and outdoor sources.  Inadequate ventilation can increase indoor contaminates by not bringing sufficient outdoor air in to dilute emissions or the reverse, but not expelling enough indoor air.  High humidity and temperatures also increase the concentration of harmful or hazardous particles.

DETERMINE THE SOURCE

The most effective way to minimize the effect of indoor air pollution is source control.  By eliminating the source of the pollutant to reduce their emissions.  Common indoor sources of pollutants can be building materials such as asbestos, fuel burning combustible appliances, building materials (flooring, carpeting, upholstery, cabinets of pressed wood products), household cleaning products, tobacco and excessive moisture. Outdoor sources are Radon, pesticides and outdoor air pollution.

 Indoor Air Quality is best handled by:

• Isolation: Removing the pollutant from the air
• Dilution: Removing the pollutant through ventilation
• Filtration: Removing the contaminants through cleaning the air

Action steps to improve indoor air through integrating air quality protocols in purchasing decisions for building, furniture and cleaning products.  Establish and enforce an effective no smoking policy.  Educate employees in the building on management of air quality and healthy building environment.

Green Building certifications help your company communicate your commitment to sustainability and energy efficiency performance through certifications and reporting.

SERVPRO of Bordentown/Pemberton is available 24/7 to address your water, fire /smoke, mold and biohazard restoration needs.  Call us at 609-894-8555.  We are proud to serve our local communities in Mercer County.

Managing Your Commercial Property in Burlington County

9/7/2022 (Permalink)

Managing Your Commercial Property in Burlington County

When managing your commercial property in Burlington County, checking the indoor air quality and humidity levels are important to the overall health and wellness of your building. Healthy buildings, means a healthier workforce or residents.  

Excess moisture is a perfect environment of mold.  Control moisture and you can control mold. Here are 5 Important tips:

Quick clean-up of water leaks. Any water leaks or spills that occur need immediate attention.  Act quickly to thoroughly dry damp areas and materials with 24-48 hours to eliminate the potential mold growth.

Grade Landscaping Beds.  Slope landscaping beds away from your home and building to limit the opportunity for ground water to collect and jeopardize your foundation.

Maintain your Gutters and Roofing.  Seasonally clean and clear your gutters and spouting to keep it clean and flowing.  Debris build ups contribute water leaks around windows and roofing.

Inspect Air Conditioning drain lines and drip pans.  Routine inspection of filters, drip pans and drain lines for your AC system is a good practice to ensure lines remains unobstructed with a proper flow.

Indoor Humidity Levels.  The relative humidity in your home or office should ideally be below 60%.  This is easily monitored by a moisture meter that is usually available at the local hardware store.  Condensation on windows is an indicator that you may have humidity.  Running exhaust fans and a dehumidifier can alleviate this issue.

If you see mold and needed assistance with mitigation, SERVPRO of Bordentown/Pemberton are the professionals to call. They offer expert clean-up and mold remediation services. Avoid the risk of long-lasting damage to your home or business; call the ‘faster to any disaster team’: 609-894-8555