To avoid the use of employee sick days and keep your staff focused on work instead of their sinuses, consider the air they're breathing. The air being circulated by your office's furnace or air conditioning system likely contains bacteria, mold spores, dust, pollen, and other contaminants that can make your workers ill and lessen their productivity. However, the information below should help you improve your indoor air quality.

4 Ways to Improve Your Office's Indoor Air Quality

1. Have Your Ducts Cleaned

Your office HVAC ducts collect a lot of dust, which gets blown into the air every time the furnace or AC blower kicks on. This dust contains a number of allergens that can lead to respiratory problems or allergy symptoms, but you can keep it out of the air—and your workers' lungs—by having your ducts cleaned at least once a year.

2. Use an Air Purifier

Air purifiers pull contaminants out of the atmosphere and make it easier to breathe. A personal system, which sits on a desk and cleans the air near you, is inexpensive and ideal for one person. A whole-office purifier attaches to your furnace air intake and cleans the air for the entire office.

3. Use Natural Products

When possible, choose furniture made from natural textiles and use cleaning products that don't use harmful chemicals. Harsh cleaners and synthetic materials release volatile organic compounds (VOCs) into the air, including carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, carbonic acid, and other carbon-based contaminants. These can be toxic in concentrated doses.

4. Ventilate Properly

If possible, fling open your office windows occasionally to let contaminants escape and to let fresh air inside. Unfortunately, many offices have windows that do not open. If yours is one of these, make sure the premises offer adequate ventilation by means of the furnace and or AC system.

Poor indoor air quality can lead to itchy eyes, sore throats, runny nose, sneezing, and even symptom of asthma. By attaching an office air purifier to your furnace, you can eliminate such problems and keep your employees healthy and productive. Contact Donovan & Jorgenson, an experienced HVAC installation and heating contractor in New Berlin, WI, for assistance. They maintain three locations in Greater Milwaukee and have been serving the region since 1985. Visit their website to submit a contact request form if you have questions.