Tips To Maintain Indoor Air Quality In Your Mobile Office
You may have enforced a no-smoking policy in your mobile office, but still, indoor air quality may remain as a concern with your mobile office being a space with smaller dimensions and lesser number of windows compared to a regular office. The air inside your mobile office may be carrying toxins that are primarily radiated by the insulation and the paint depending on the quality of the materials used. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs), found in paints, promote the formation of smog and ground-level ozone, which have been linked to respiratory illness and memory loss.
The US Environmental Protection Agency has set a limit on the use of VOC in paints and currently, it is 250 grams per liter (g/l) for flat finishes and 380 g/l for gloss and semi-gloss paints. Lead-free water or soy-based paints with a low VOC percentage are the best options for your mobile office interiors and you should check with your dealer whether you can get your mobile office interior customized with low-VOC paint and non-toxic insulation. Fiberglass is often combined with formaldehyde, which leads to the emission of toxic fibers into the air. Fortunately, the modern insulation market offers environment-friendly insulation alternatives including UltraTouch Denim, AirKrete cement foam, and Heatlok Soy. Check if your mobile office dealer agrees to use low-VOC paints such as Devoe Wonder Pure Interior Latex Odor-Free, Bioshield Clay and Casein, Olympic Premium, Benjamin Moore Pristine EcoSpec, Dunn-Edwards EcoShield, and Green Planet.
Additionally, you should monitor the air filters in your mobile office’s ventilator, heat pump, and air-conditioning unit. Ideally, you should replace air filters once a year and if your mobile office environment experiences a lot of dust, you should keep 2-inch filters in place. However, you may need to replace 2-inch filters more frequently as they inhibit the performance of your HVAC system when they get blocked with dust. It is rather interesting to note that frequent filter replacement is more cost-effective than allowing dirty filters to damage your system and add to your bills.
Last but not the least, it is your responsibility to conduct routine cleaning and maintenance works on a regular basis to preserve the purity of your mobile office’s indoor environment. If possible, hire a professional cleaner to clean your furniture, equipment, carpet, and upholstery. Spray an anti-allergen formulation on your furniture and equipment to prevent dust deposition. During heavy-pollen days, keep your windows closed. Some of your employees or guests may be susceptible to allergies and you will certainly not want to put them at risk. It is also a good idea to keep an electric air-purifier or an air-purifying plant such as English-ivy at your mobile office. Discard old books that you do not use as the printing acids decompose the paper, emitting toxic vapour.
Make your cleaning chore a monthly affair. This way, you will not only be able to provide your employees and clients with a healthy mobile office environment, but you will also be able to reduce your annual utility and maintenance bills.
