Cleaning the air in a high square footage
building is a challenge.
Because indoor pollutants affect each
person differently, IAQ levels are difficult to pinpoint.
Maintenance crews should track how soon
dust bunnies form and how often dusting is needed.
They should also evaluate the performance
capabilities of each tool in their cleaning arsenal.
Commercial buildings typically utilize
commercial carpeting and hard floor surfaces — including linoleum, resilient,
tile, hardwood and other options — in nearly equal measure.
Since the majority of dust, allergens and
pollutants will concentrate on these floors, IAQ should be factored into the
daily floor maintenance routine, especially on high-traffic hard surfaces.
One easy step to take is to incorporate
heavy-duty entry mats.
Studies indicate that 30 percent of
outside dirt is deposited in the first three feet, and 90 percent is tracked
off in the first 25 feet.
A maintenance team should vacuum entry
mats and all other high-traffic areas daily and rotate all other floor surfaces
into the mix on a weekly basis.
Push brooms and dust mops never truly
eliminate allergens from a building.
Instead, they tend to move dust to new
locations in the same space and send microscopic particles back into the air.
They also redistribute dirt and fine
particulate on and into the floor, leaving scratches and dulling a high-gloss
finish.
The development of suction-only, high-filtration vacuums is helping to maintain the appearance and longevity of hard surface flooring while improving IAQ as it relates to hard surface maintenance.
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