IAQ - Indoor Air Quality acronym, concept background

The narrative surrounding how COVID-19 can transfer through the air continues to change. For example, the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) posted on it website language claiming that the virus can spread through the air beyond a six foot distance only to take that information down last Monday, reports KPBS. But many scientists say the CDC made the wrong move to backtrack on its stance because their expertise leads them to believe droplets that cause COVID-19 can in fact travel further than six feet and can even stay in the air for hours. So maybe it is time to start focusing more on keeping the air free of dangerous particles. And the best way to do so while indoors is to ensure proper ventilation, according to ServiceMaster Restore By Simons, a family-operated cleaning business in the Chicago area.

To keep indoor safe, ServiceMaster recommends the following:

1. Embrace Fresh Air

If the air in a room feels stuffy and stagnant then the ventilation is probably not good. To fix the situation during warmer weather, ServiceMaster suggests keeping windows open with a box fan blowing out to increase the amount of fresh air that is brought inside. If the air conditioning needs to be on then the windows can be left just slightly open.

Sadly, warm weather is quickly coming to an end in the United States, so keeping windows open all day might not be practical - or sane if located in the Midwest, Great Plains or Northeast. But it's not dangerously cold outside it's okay to crack open a window just a bit in each room to let fresh air to enter. To maintain heat, check if the room has a ceiling fan and if that fan has a switch that allows it to operate in the opposite direction. When in use, this fan setting pulls the cold air upward.

2. Check The HVAC

Air conditioning and HVAC systems recirculate air, which is an issue if the air indoors is contaminated. To filter out the bad stuff, install a filter that removes particles down to 1 to 3 microns.

3. Purify The Air

Use an air purifier to remove particles from the air that contain viruses and bacteria. In selecting an air purifier, ServiceMaster suggests one that uses a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter. And if the room the filter is in is massive, select an air filter that's powerful enough to clean the space.

4. Check The C02

A room that is well ventilated should have around 800 ppm of CO2, according to ServiceMaster. If a test reveals numbers higher than that, then the room needs better ventilation.