Safety Tidbit 6.06 – Open a Window to Reduce the Spread of Covid-19

 

Safety Tidbit 6.06 – Open a Window to Reduce the Spread of Covid-19

 

References:       Tufekci, Z. (2020, July 30). We Need to Talk About Ventilation. The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/07/why-arent-we-talking-more-about-airborne-transmission/614737/

Building on my last post from Adam DiCriscio, I want to add the simple act of opening a window periodically to help reduce the spread of Covid-19.

As Adam pointed out, the Covid-19 outbreak has significantly impacted our lives. It has changed how we work, shop, attend school, and more. According to a study done by the Pew Research Center, “nearly nine-in-ten U.S. adults say their life has changed at least a little as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, including 44% who say their life has changed in a major way.” Nearly 2.5 Americans died every minute from Covid related issues yesterday (December 17, 2020).

The CDC advises us to stay six feet away from one another and to wear face coverings to help reduce the number of droplets being expelled from our mouths and noses when we cough, talk, or even breathe. Experts tell us that the outdoor environment is safer than the indoor one as there is significantly more clean, fresh dilution air.

The American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists and the American Industrial Hygiene Association have each published their white papers on engineering controls indoors for the workplace. Primarily they say to increase dilution ventilation by increasing the amount of fresh outdoor air introduced into the workplace.

Now let’s turn our attention to our home living environment. Not many (probably no one) has an excellent HVAC system introducing fresh outside air and moving air around their homes. Some of us have forced air systems that pull air from the return vents, run the air through a generic filter, then heats and humidifies it, and blows the air back out into the living environment again. Sound familiar? Others have radiators that introduce heat but no air into the room.

So, how do we dilute the concentration of pathogens in our homes? We need to add new fresh air to the environment. We need to open a window. I know it’s cold out, so you probably don’t want to leave the window open all the time. However, I would advise you to open a window periodically to let in the fresh air. Think of how many smells are captured in your home when all the doors and windows are closed. There are pleasant odors from cooking, baking, or coffee brewing. However, think about the unpleasant odors such as dirty dishes, bathing, wet dog, or a cat box. If these odors are in your home, then so, possibly, is the COVID-19 virus.

All I ask is to consider opening a window for 15-20 minutes a few times during the day. Opening the window will help change out the odor-laden air inside your home with some fresh outdoor air.

 

I hope this was helpful and thank you for reading my Safety Tidbits! Comments and questions are always welcome. ~ Bryan

 

P.S. If you have a new safety or health question, please let me know