29.05.2018
Spring Cleaning: 5 Ways to Minimize Dust Buildup
No matter where you work, dust buildup can pose serious issues to the cleanliness of your environment, in turn giving you less of a clean bill of health and more of a cause for concern. This can result in sinus infections, various airborne illnesses, and other medical problems, which will cause reduced performance and lower efficiency in the workplace as well as increased absenteeism. In addition, when you’re in a workplace with plenty of dust, chances are your coworkers and visitors will be affected as well, making the chances of person-to-person transmission of illness increase. So, how do you minimize dust buildup before it reaches such levels? Let’s take a look at some spring cleaning and dust-busting strategies you can apply to almost any work environment.
Remove Carpeting
Depending on what kind of work environment you find yourself in there may be carpeting installed throughout your workplace. While comfortable and (sometimes) attractive, carpet is not exactly a joy to keep clean. A helpful strategy is to have all that carpeting ripped up and tossed out, replacing it with concrete, vinyl, or even environmentally friendly flooring such as bamboo or cork. You’ll find that it’s not only sometimes cheaper to install, but also more straightforward to keep clean as it involves incorporating a smooth, flat surface where dust can’t gather easily.
Have Everything Wiped Down from Top to Bottom
As a general rule of thumb, your workplace should be given a thorough scrubbing and polish at regular intervals to protect against dust buildup. Having everything from server racks to shelving and wall hangings wiped down from top to bottom will make your workplace feel cleaner and more inviting. By having everything wiped down and doing a little dust-busting, you’re not going to find troublesome dust bunnies lurking in your work environment as often, especially when followed up with regular cleanings. If you don’t have time to take care of this yourself, ensure that the cleaning staff take charge.
Spray Cutting Surfaces Down with Water
If you are in an industrial work environment such as an automotive factory or a furniture assembly plant, you’ll naturally find that it’s a harder to keep everything clean. A helpful approach is to spray down cutting surfaces with water, following up with a careful but thorough wipe-down. Afterwards, fit cutting systems with guards to keep dust out, which will not only make it easier to keep clean but will also protect sensitive equipment from getting clogged.
Inspect Your Ventilation and Airflow
The way air flows in and around your workplace is essential to battling dust accumulation. If the air is very still and stagnant, it allows for dust to settle faster than usual, but if you have a robust enough ventilation system that pushes clean, fresh air throughout every room of the building, it’s easier to keep dust levels under control. Try upgrading in-vent fan systems to more efficient and stronger models that are better at pushing cool, clean air through your workplace.
Upgrade to an Evaporative Humidifier
Often, the cause of dust buildup comes from a combination of air ventilation and humidity control, which can be well-addressed using an evaporative cooling system combined with energy-efficient humidification. If you and your coworkers identify that the issue stems from poor relative humidity (RH) control and/or air quality, then it’s time to replace your humidifier with an upgraded, modern system that helps to reduce dust buildup over time. Products such as a Condair direct or indirect evaporative humidifier help to bring in fresh air from the outdoors while controlling interior moisture levels to ensure that conditions aren’t so dry as to encourage dust mites to spread and multiply. Evaporative cooling systems are designed for larger environments such as offices and factories, ensuring that you get full coverage throughout every room for less cost and greater savings on both expenses and sick days taken.
Dust is a leading cause of everything from hardware and electronics failures to even some forms of illness. It can impact paint adhesion and quality control, coating finishes, and even workplace performance if equipment is clogged and suffering from diminished performance. With solutions in the form of various strategies and products such as an evaporative cooling system and evaporative humidifier technology, you and your coworkers can breathe easier and get more done. Contact us today at Condair if you’d like to explore humidity-controlling, dust-busting solutions!
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