The Janitors' Closet

Consider before you flush

I posted a bit ago in this space about the plume of fine droplets ejected from a toilet at each flush; here's an article from Smithsonian, of all places, presenting a graphic version.

I've seen studies that the finer droplets can spread some 40 feet from the offending fixture, likely carrying an unhealthy mix of viruses and bacteria.  Thus, it's recommended to close the lid before you flush, to somewhat mitigate the effect.  Easy to do at home, but many commercial facilities lack a lid.  In particular, the fancy low water  ones rely on high pressure - a really aggressive flush - to do the job, and that aggressive flush likely spreads droplets further and faster than the old fashioned kind (new is not always better).  Further, in my limited experience, the fancy ones almost always lack a lid.

So - an N-95 mask while you're in the "room down the hall", or simply don't inhale?

A very Merry Christmas, to you and yours.

  “Christmas is not a time or a season but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas.  If we think on these things, there will be born in us a Savior and over us will shine a star sending its gleam of hope to the world.”  

Calvin Coolidge, Presidential message  on December 25, 1927 

CBN's offices in the restored 1914 L.L. Steward House, in downtown Phoenix

Air quality and dementia.

Caught an interesting article, in Medical News Today, about increased dementia risks associated with polluted air, specifically the inhalation of small particles, under 2.5 microns in size.

The article focuses on traffic related air pollution, but doesn't distinguish particles from vehicle emissions from any other particles.  Everything I've seen, over several decades of following the research, indicates that it's foreign particles per se, rather than any particular kind of particle, that causes damage. And, that's damage to many parts of one's body.  Per the article:

"....there are many ways by which air pollution could drive dementia risk, including causing inflammation of the brain and nervous system, oxidative stress, and harmful impacts on the lungs and heart.  And under it all, we know that air pollution increases the risk of heart disease and stroke, and vascular damage in the brain. And we know that underlying vascular pathology along with neurodegeneration drives the risk for dementia, too”.

If it doesn't much matter what the particle is, it likely doesn't matter where you encountered it.  And we all spend much more time at the office than in traffic.

That's why, for better than 30 years, CBN has stressed office cleaning with a focus on improving indoor air quality: wiping rather than feather dusting, vacuuming rather then sweeping or dust mopping hard floors, and - most critically - using HEPA filtered vacuums.  The particles that are dangerous (penetrating deep into the lungs, entering the bloodstream) are those under 2.5 microns.  A HEPA filter will intercept particles down to 0.3 microns - 99.97% of them.  It stops pretty everything in the harmful range.

Quite a difference, in air quality and in our clients' health.