November Cleaning Tip:
By Mike Schaffer - President, Tornado Industries

Proper Containment

Many vacuum cleaners like to boast that they have HEPA filters. However, far fewer note that they are true HEPA machines—and this difference means a lot when it comes to indoor air quality and protecting user and building-occupant health.

When the Carpet and Rug Institute (CRI) first started testing vacuum cleaners several years ago, they found that many machines, even those with HEPA filters, did not do a very good job of containing dust and soil. Instead, as a result of small openings and cracks in a machine’s casing and seams, particulates were released into the air, essentially eliminating the benefits of an advanced filtration system.

Experts comment that this problem is still much more common than many cleaning professionals realize. According to CRI President Werner Braun, “If you have a vacuum that doesn’t have good soil containment, the result will be poor [indoor] air quality.”

Proper containment is attained by selecting true HEPA machines. With true HEPA machines, in addition to the design of the filter system itself, the entire casing of the machine, as well as hose connections, are sealed and designed to prevent contaminants from escaping.

Vacuum cleaners by their very nature are actually incredibly efficient contamination machines.  In a true-HEPA unit, particles recovered should not be released back out into the airstream.

What’s more, vacuum cleaners that feature efficient soil containment also make cleaning tasks easier. “Cleaners won’t have to redo their work or dust or vacuum as frequently because less dust escapes from the machine and becomes airborne, landing on desks, countertops and back on the carpet,” says Mark Bishop, Deputy Director of the Healthy Schools Campaign, headquartered in Chicago. “The other benefit to containment is that by removing [airborne] contaminants, cleaners will help keep building occupants healthier because [occupants] won’t be breathing in particles, whether redistributed from the carpet or emitted from the machine itself.”  

Vacuums are essential to virtually all cleaning duties. One cleaning expert has said that a vacuum cleaner is to a cleaning professional what a hammer is to a carpenter. Along with an appropriate cleaning schedule, the use of a true-HEPA vacuum will help maintain proper cleanliness within a facility, as well as improving indoor air quality.