When creating a healthy, green living space in your lodging establishment for your guests and employees, you need to pay very close attention to indoor air quality. I have posted many articles on the Green Lodging News website that address this subject. According to the EPA, indoor air can be as much as 10 times as hazardous to our health as outdoor air. There are many reasons for this: smoking, formaldehyde, lead, pesticide residue, pets, cleaning products, paint, etc. In "Greener Cleaner Indoor Air," author Mark R. Sneller, PhD provides a valuable reference guide for building owners, designers, managers and anyone else concerned about indoor air quality. I highly recommend checking out this book published by wheatmark.
Did you know, for example, that a refrigerator can be the worst area of a property to harbor bacteria, mold and viruses and that the laundry room may be the second worst? Or that indoors there is more emissions from paint than carpeting? In his book, Dr. Sneller separates content into 14 sections. Among the sections: Allergy Basics, Asthma, A Hazardous World (dust, soft furnishings, candles, radon, fiberglass, etc.), We're Covered with Chemicals (perfumes, air fresheners, etc.), Pesticides and Other Hazards, Indoor Air Quality, Pets and Critters, Machines and Devices in the Home, Home Maintenance, Mold, Safe Household Cleaning, Other Valuable Information. While several of the chapters apply to residential homes, the information is applicable to a lodging environment as well.
The "Machines and Devices in the Home" should be of particular interest to hoteliers and innkeepers, as it addresses ozone machines, air purifiers, vacuum cleaners, and air-handling systems. Dr. Sneller says, for example, that the use of ozone machines, often used in hotel rooms to remove odors, can result in an increase of formaldehyde in the room--because of how ozone reacts to other chemicals that may be present. I suspect sellers of ozone equipment would argue with Dr. Sneller's position. Regarding portable air purifiers, he says there has yet to be a peer-reviewed scientific or medical journal that has shown a lessening of symptoms with an air purifier present. Again, air purifier vendors would argue with him.
How much attention do you pay to air quality in your lodging establishment? Based on what Dr. Sneller says in his book, probably not enough. Your thoughts?
