​As we return to offices and commercial buildings following the COVID-19 pandemic, wouldn’t it be great to ensure your staff are safe and protected with a simple, affordable, low maintenance solution that doesn’t take up lots of space? Introducing AIRsteril, the discreet, effective, air sterilisation unit that helps control infection spread within your workplace, as well as combatting odours and improving overall air quality. The units can be free-standing or fixed to a wall or ceiling and take up considerably less space than screens and social distancing measures. They also get to work in a matter of minutes and offer all-day protection, without you having to lift a finger.
What is air sterilisation?
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Often referred to as air purification, a portable or wall-mounted unit is used to combine several cutting-edge technologies, specifically designed to clean and purify air, and eliminate pathogens and nasties. Air is treated and released back into the atmosphere along with a substance called Plasma Quatro. The Plasma goes to work in the wider environment, settling on surfaces (both hard and soft) and moving through the air, degenerating bacteria, viruses and spores in as little as 60 minutes. A quantified study in a call centre office found that staff absenteeism fell by 54% over the nine-month study, saving the business over £200,000, most of which was attributed to a fall in respiratory and intestinal illness transfer.
For you, AIRsteril means better, cleaner air quality, and reduced risk of person-to-person illness transfer; a key concern post the COVID-19 pandemic. What’s more, the same technologies eliminate odours, and help improve overall air quality removing dust and particles too.
Why is it effective? ​
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Unless you work in a sterile clean-room environment, the air around us is filled with an extensive collection of bacteria, viruses, spores, moulds, pathogens, germs and volatile organic compounds. Some of these are naturally occurring, and some are introduced to the environment through employees breathing, talking, coughing and touching surfaces. In exchange, these same nasties can then be breathed in helping to spread the infection, or and will settle on surfaces and begin to reproduce. A good quality, regular cleaning schedule can help to reduce the risk, but the challenge within an office environment is the constant movement of people. As soon as cleaning has finished and people return to their normal flow, infection and cross-contamination risk rises again, and is very difficult to manage. This problem is then exacerbated in rooms with poor ventilation or with air conditioning or air circulation systems which circulate contaminated air.
Bacteria multiply rapidly on surfaces, and a single bacterium can reproduce upwards of 8 million new bacteria in as little as eight hours. Installation of air sterilisation units provide a proactive, 24/7 management of this risk, not only eliminating surface viruses, bacteria and pathogens, but also eliminating airborne ones too. It works in as little as 60 minutes, providing ongoing infection management, regardless of how many people there are, where they interact and how they move.
As well as infection control, air sterilisation can also be used to manage and eliminate bad odours and improve air quality. The same processes which work on bacteria, viruses and pathogens, also control and eliminate odours, and remove particles and dust from the atmosphere too. This means fresher, cleaner, purified air and no offensive odours! Many businesses find they can also reduce the use and cost of cleaning products and perfumed products as they simply aren’t needed anymore! Read more about the technology here +
Which units are most suitable?
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There are a number of styles and formats of AIRsteril units, including mobile units which can move from room to room, often alongside cleaning teams, or wall- or ceiling-mounted units which provide constant in-room protection. They are priced and installed based on size, but the units most commonly in use in education environments are:
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Multipurpose MP100– the AIRsteril mobile version, which can be moved from room to room or can accompany your cleaning team. This can also be used in vehicles during a deep clean if you have a commercial fleet
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Multi Flex – a wall- or ceiling-mounted unit best for common areas and open-plan offices
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Air Silent – the quietest wall-mounted unit, best for quiet working zones and individual offices. Also suitable for boardrooms and meeting rooms
Managing Asthma and allergens
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Although absenteeism and infection management are likely to be your primary focus, it is worth noting that the AIRsteril units are not just effective on viruses and bacteria. They have six unique technologies inside, which also remove dust, particles, mould spores and other allergens from the air. This has the added advantage of helping to support staff and visitors who have asthma or other respiratory challenges, or who are sensitive to many airborne allergens.
Sick Building Syndrome
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Often used to explain workplace specific symptoms including staff with headaches, respiratory problems and inattention, sick building syndrome is often attributed to an unhealthy or unnatural workplace environment. It costs businesses through sickness and absenteeism and causes misery for the people who work there. It’s not a surprise it’s happening when offices are described as stuffy, too hot, too cold, or have bad lighting.
AIRsteril has been anecdotally described as alleviating many of these problems in offices, which accounts for drops in absenteeism and increases in productivity. While this has not yet been scientifically quantified, improving air quality using air purification does ensure that less stress is placed on staff respiratory systems which likely accounts for the financial and happiness gains.
