Why air quality matters
Beware of ‘Breath Backwash’
The average person breathes 12-16 breaths per minute, 720-960 breaths per hour and 17,280-23,040 breaths per day. That’s a lot of breaths!
A recent article NewsHub article looked at how much of the indoor air in schools and offices buildings contains ‘Breath Backwash’ i.e. someone else’s exhaled air. [1]
In a classroom with 30 kids, which spend 6 hours at school each day, approx. 4.5 hours is spent indoors. Over a 4.5 hour period, kids breathe between 3,240-4,320 breaths.
In the worst case scenario (with one door fully open), they found that each child will breathe in 81-108 backwash breaths each day (1 in every 40 breaths). Each month, that’s 1,620-2,160 backwash breaths..! In the best case scenario (with one door and two windows fully open), each child will still breathe in 24-32 backwash breaths each day (1 in every 132 breaths). Each month each child is still breathing in 480-640 backwash breaths..!
In an office, during an 8 hour work day, we breathe between 5,760-7,680 breaths. In the worst case office scenario each person will breathe in 113-150 backwash breaths each day (1 in every 51 breaths). Each month that’s 2,260-3,000 backwash breaths..! In the best case scenario, each person will breathe in 35-47 backwash breaths each day (1 in every 165 breaths). Each month that’s still 700-940 backwash breaths..!
We breathe backwash breath from people breathing, talking, sneezing and coughing daily. The extent to which the air contains bacteria and viruses from backwash breath varies depending on the number of people, ventilation and whether an air purifier used that is actually capable of appropriately removing this backwash breath contamination before it is breathed in.
You can minimise breath backwash. But first you need to do a deep dive to properly understand all of the factors that can minimise it before you make a decision. There are enormous differences between the efficacy of standard ventilation systems, standard filters, standard air purifiers and the world leading air and surface purification technology that Titoli distribute.
Putting into context why air quality and appropriate air purification matters
The Environmental Protection Agency advises that we spend 90% of our time indoors, and our indoor environments can be more seriously polluted than the air outdoors (2-5 times more polluted). [5] This includes microbial contamination particulate matter, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), pollen, bacteria, viruses, mould and fungi. This contamination is caused by not only indoor sources, but outdoor sources too. Continuous unabated inhaling any of these contaminates is the source of infections and more serious health problems.
A Ministry for the Environment study in 2016, found that human generated air pollution in New Zealand resulted in 3,300 people premature deaths, 13,100 hospital admissions for respiratory illnesses, 13,200 cases of childhood asthma and 1.745 million restricted days due to air pollution, and a $15.6 billion social cost. [6]
The World Health Organisation advises that an estimated 830,000 people around the world die each year from unsafe drinking water. [7] Fortunately in developed countries, we have developed water treatment systems to treat our drinking water, and this is the sole reason that we are not one of these statistics.
We consume approx. 2 litres of water [3] and 14,000 litres of air [4] daily. We treat this very small volume of water we consume daily to make sure we don’t get very ill, yet we are not appropriately purifying the 12,600 litres of air we consume indoors daily (which is 6,300 times more than our water intake)..!? Hmmm…
Surfaces are not as hygienic as you think
Only 40-50% of surfaces that should be cleaned are wiped by cleaners – despite their best intentions. [8]
Medical research has concluded that surfaces can be re-contaminated in as little as a few hours after manual disinfection. Further that frequent manual disinfection of surfaces is unlikely to control recontamination effectively, and they recommended alternative continuous disinfection strategies and technologies [9], such as Titoli’s air and surface purification technology.
They recommend alternative technologies, because standard ventilation, standards filters and standard air purifiers are not effective enough to remove continuously occurring airborne contamination that occurs in spaces before it is breathed in, and not enough to prevent contamination from continuously landing on, and recontamination surfaces. Standard filters and air purifiers also have absolutely no effect on removing surface contamination.
Our air and surface purification devices were originally designed for healthcare environments and the food industry to fill the gaps between what is continuously missed by standard ventilation systems, filters, air purifiers, cleaning regimes and cleaning products - as proven in independent medical research.
So, what indoor air quality measures are being taken to protect you, your students, or colleagues?
Do you have a natural, continuous air and surface disinfection system?
Has it been tested in a real life environments with measurable peer reviewed results i.e. not just tested in controlled labs environments?
Does it eliminate all pathogens i.e. bacteria, fungi, viruses, mould spores, pollen and VOCs?
If the answer to the above is no, it is unlikely that it is performing an adequate job.
Titoli’s air and surface purification technology ticks all of the boxes:
Continuous, safe disinfection naturally
Disinfects both air and surfaces
Peer reviewed evaluation confirms [2]:
* 95% reduction in microbial burden
* 54% reduction in acquired infections
* 42% reduction in absenteeism
Broad spectrum solution that eliminates all pathogens i.e. bacteria, fungi, viruses, mould spores, pollen and VOCs
Originally designed for the healthcare and food industries.
The technology has won many awards, including Health and Safety, Food Service, Medical and most significantly, an awarded by NASA for the significant advancement of their technology into what is now known as NCC Technology.
In summary:
In recent years, medical research has significantly advanced our understanding of airborne contamination, surface based contamination, how we transmit pathogens and their impacts on our health. This research is quite clearly saying that standard ventilation systems, standard filters and air purifiers, manual cleaning regimes, and chemical ladened cleaning products are not sufficient to remove the continuous contamination that occurs indoors, and therefore minimise the risk of transmission.
If you are going to the extent of purchasing an air purifier, ensure you choose a product that will actually make a significant measurable improvement to your air and surface quality, health and wellbeing. Ensure it has been proven to be effective in real life environments, not just lab tests in controlled lab environments.
Leading schools, hospitals (including neonatal wards), food manufacturing business, public transport agencies and business are using our air and surface purification products, because they have done their research and verified that our products are proven in real life environments to be highly effective - this is proven in independent peer reviewed literature. [2]
If you are serious about looking after the health of your students, staff or clients, ensure you fully understand the capabilities of the products you are buying.
Contact our Team today, and we will provide you with resources you need to understand the differences.
Footnotes:
Breath backwash - https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2022/07/the-places-where-you-are-breathing-the-highest-amount-of-other-people-s-breath-backwash.html
See our website resources for independent peer reviews and lab reports. https://www.titoli.nz/reports
Health Navigator NZ;
Ministry for the Environment, NZ Govenrment; - https://environment.govt.nz/facts-and-science/air/why-air-quality-matters/
Environmental Protection Agency - https://www.epa.gov/report-environment/indoor-air-quality
https://environment.govt.nz/news/study-reveals-the-health-impacts-and-social-costs-of-air-pollution/
World Health Organisation - https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/drinking-water
Boyce 2016
Cambridge University Press - Candida auris Rapidly Recontaminates Surfaces Around Patients’ Beds Despite Cleaning and Disinfection;