Now more than ever people, have reason to fear what’s in the air they are breathing.
As exemplified by Vietnam’s closed restaurants and shops and the ubiquity of face masks worn on the streets, as the corona pandemic upends the global order, people are taking drastic steps to avoid harmful pathogens. Ensuring the cleanliness of the air one breaths is thus of the utmost importance.
The 2003 SARS outbreak hit Hong Kong especially hard and sent hospitals scrambling to control its spread between and amongst patients and healthcare workers. After extensive testing of air filtration systems, the Hong Kong Hospital Authority (HKHA), in coordination with the government, selected IQAir air filtration systems for exclusive use in patient rooms to combat the virus.
During this current, even greater, health emergency, hospitals are again turning to IQAir. In January, soon after the detection of the coronavirus, hospitals in Wuhan, China ordered HealthPro 250 air purifiers from the Switzerland-based company to ensure the health and safety of hospital patients and employees in an effort to contain the disease. IQAir’s CEO, Jens Hammes, recently revealed that “several hundred [IQAir purifiers] were sent on a freight to the hospitals when coronavirus first broke out in January. Now, we have orders from China, South Korea among other Asian countries such as Thailand and Vietnam where they want to prepare effectively as they lack infection control rooms.”
Not All Filters are the Same
Hospitals across Europe, North America and Asia, as well as tens of thousands of private homes, select IQAir air filtration units because they are 99.97% effective in filtering out particles as small as 0.003 microns, which is 10 times smaller than a virus. This means they are able to remove the pathogens that cause coronavirus, SARS, MRSA, influenza, tuberculosis and H1N1, amongst others.
The hospital-grade filters, which are available for home and office use, achieve such effectiveness thanks to advanced multistage purifying processes. The prefilter removes the larger particles from the air, while the second stage gas filtration, thanks to the activated carbon that is equal to 50 times the amount found in 50 military-grade gas masks, removes harmful gases, chemicals and odors. The final high-performance HyperHEPA technology removes the smallest particles.
In addition to the size and strength of the filters, IQAir air purifiers differentiate themselves from their competitors via its seal. Cheaper alternatives have gaps that allow air to move through them without actually passing through the filter, and thus they spread the very elements they are intended to remove.
Some people turn to ionic filters that apply negative charges to harmful particles, thus making them attracted to positively-charged collection plates. But these particles eventually lose their charge and can then be absorbed by one’s lungs. Other methods include using UV to kill viruses and bacteria, but these do not remove the molecules from one’s environment. And popular models that rely on ozone can have a myriad of negative health effects for humans and animals.
Not Just for Emergencies
While people are especially mindful of keeping their air as clean as possible during a pandemic, IQAir air purifiers have numerous benefits in the most normal of times. The filters are especially helpful for people with allergies or compromised respiratory systems because they remove pollens, mold spores, pet allergens, soot, volatile organic chemicals (VOCs) and dust, and thus are especially important for young people, pregnant women and the elderly. The ultra-quiet units also remove odors, leaving rooms feeling fresh and clean.
People in Vietnam are also turning to air purifiers in response to worsening air quality, as pollution kills more than 70,000 people in Vietnam per year. Exhaust, construction dust and other particulates can all easily make their way into one’s home, where they are joined by a variety of other contributors to unsafe air, including cooking, cleaning supplies, carpets and building materials. A sleek and easy-to-move IQAir Healthpro 150 or Healthpro 250 eliminates these dangers.
Sometimes it takes an emergency to make one value what they have. Certainly, people all around the world are reassessing the importance of safe air. Trusted in the direst of situations, a hospital-grade IQAir air filter provides healthy air and peace of mind regardless of the situation outside.
As employers and individuals think towards the future, they are starting to consider their options for healthier home and office environments. The pandemic also serves as a warning signal to international schools as they prepare to welcome students back once they reopen. Now is the time to make serious preparations to avoid similar large scale pandemics in the future.
[Top image via Evening Standard.]
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