Healthy, clean air – school air purifiers

Many children and young people meet in schools every day, hugging each other in greeting, talking about everyday life in their classrooms and sitting close to each other in lessons. However, the ambient air in any indoor environment contains microscopic pollutants in the form of fine dust, allergens, bacteria and aerosols. In addition, schools often use chemicals containing harmful substances to clean the classrooms. Old furniture also releases harmful chemicals and other volatile compounds, such as formaldehyde, which were once used for varnishing or impregnation.

The fact that this is not only detrimental to children’s well-being, but also to their progress at school, can be seen from the increasing number of absences due to illness in institutions such as daycare centers and schools. Even after the pandemic, this is often due to respiratory infections such as asthma or allergies. In addition, schools are public institutions where bacteria and viruses can spread particularly quickly and thus promote colds, coronavirus, gastrointestinal infections or the flu. A mobile air purifier or, better still, a permanently installed device can counteract this.

Ventilation to reduce pollutants in the room

With the spread of the coronavirus during the pandemic and the knowledge that air pollution plays a major role in such heavily frequented buildings, shock ventilation in schools has become increasingly important. Regular ventilation in classrooms can actually help to exchange the air and improve the quality of the air in the room – but not enough. Ventilation only makes sense if there is a large temperature difference between inside and outside or if there is a wind blowing outside, which on the other hand can be unpleasant for some pupils and teachers. In contrast, ventilation in the warmer seasons is not perceived as unpleasant, but is more ineffective due to the low temperature difference between inside and outside.

The risk of infection with SARS-CoV-2 in the classroom

The persistent aerosols that are responsible for the transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus can also hardly be removed by ventilation, as the tiny particles are emitted both when breathing and speaking. Due to their low weight, they buzz around the classrooms and are known to remain suspended for a particularly long time.

Distancing rules, wearing a face mask, halving school classes and regular ventilation – all these measures during the coronavirus crisis reduce the risk of infection with Covid-19, but the highly contagious aerosols quickly reach a dangerous concentration. As they are able to float around the school for hours and also overcome physical barriers, an additional solution should be sought for the safety of pupils and teachers – namely an air purifier that ensures healthy and clean breathing air throughout the school.

Air purifiers at school – safety for children, parents and teachers

The solution is as simple as it is ingenious, because an air purifier reduces the concentration of pollutants in the room air within a very short time. Depending on the device – there are built-in devices and mobile air purifiers – this happens fully automatically and without noise pollution in the background. The clean and safe air in the classroom provided by an air purifier keeps illnesses and allergies at bay. While the rate of illness decreases, well-being increases and pupils and teachers can finally breathe freely again and concentrate on their work.

It is therefore no coincidence that the Federal Environment Agency has issued a recommendation to install mobile air filter units in German schools. Air filter units integrated into ventilation systems or mobile solutions in particular help to reduce the risk of infection. A reliable air filter device is therefore necessary to ensure a safe learning environment.