Have you ever heard of “Sick Building Syndrome”?
If not, you should learn more about it, especially if you are a building owner renting out units to tenants.
Sick building syndrome is a condition where building occupants start getting sick without any known cause. This is especially concerning for those responsible for maintaining the health and safety of the tenants.
Although the cause is usually unknown, it is often airborne contaminants and can be handled using the best commercial air purifier.
Chemical Contaminants
Most airborne chemical contaminants come from outdoor and indoor sources. The contaminant size is smaller than 0.003 microns.
Outdoor chemical contaminants include car exhaust, urban waste, pesticides, smog, and forest fires can contaminate the indoor air quality of the entire building.
Indoor chemical contaminants include pesticides, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) radon, lead, asbestos, mold, and contaminants from cleaning products, heaters, computers, paints, lighting, and more.
Biological Contaminants
Increased humidity or moisture makes biological contaminants rise. These include living organisms such as bacteria, mold, viruses, dust mites, cockroaches, and more. It also includes by-products of living organisms such as pet dander, pollen, insect droppings, mold, and more. These biological contaminants settle in different building parts such as carpets, curtains, rugs, tiles, ceilings, air vents, ventilation systems, and more.
Symptoms of Sick Building Syndrome
Finding the exact cause of sick building syndrome is crucial to treating it. However, this can be done only when you observe the symptoms. Notice if your building occupants show the following symptoms:
- Chronic fatigue and lethargy
- Eye, Nose, and Throat irritation
- Nausea, dizziness, and headaches
- Contagious diseases
- Rashes and skin irritation
If your occupants tell you that they are experiencing these symptoms, chances are the indoor air quality has degraded. As a property manager or landlord, you must improve the indoor quality promptly.
What Can Building Managers do to Avoid Sick Building Syndrome?
As mentioned above, a definitive cause of sick building syndrome is difficult to pinpoint. So, property managers must conduct a healthy building checklist to determine whether the occupants suffer from sick building syndrome.
During the checklist, ask your occupants and building employees questions to see if they are experiencing headaches or nausea. Consider what year the complex was built and try to look for dirt or dust accumulating near air diffusers. Inspect the HVAC system to identify if there is any mold or microbial growth. Try to detect frequent odors that don’t seem to go away easily. These odors can be a result of building cleaning products.
If you find that most of these things are happening in the building, chances are your building occupants are suffering from sick building syndrome.
What is the solution?
There are a few things you can do as a landlord to reduce the risk of sick building syndrome. You can install the best commercial air purifier with H13 HEPA filters and advanced technology. These air purifiers will filter the building’s air efficiently and alleviate symptoms from sick building syndrome.
You can also ask building occupants to invest in high-quality residential air purifiers for their own rental units. This way the indoor air quality can improve across the board and reduce the risk of sick building syndrome.
To get high-quality and advanced air purifiers for residential and commercial buildings, get in touch with us at Medify Air. Not only do we provide air purifiers, but we also offer consultations to determine which air purifier will be the best choice for you. Keep your building safe and your tenants healthy with Medify Air purifiers.
Contact our sales team now to schedule a consultation.
