Page 6 - New England Condominium November 2020

6 NEW ENGLAND CONDOMINIUM -NOVEMBER 2020 NEWENGLANDCONDO.COM to homemade Purell-type concoctions and alternative topical disinfectants—a method neither recommended by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) nor endorsed by this publication, it should be noted... but desperate times call for desperate measures. Whether the supply chain got its act to- gether or the public heeded the exhortations of the CDC (and pretty much any medical professional) that the best way to prevent the spread of COVID-19 is by washing your hands with plain soap and water for 20 sec- onds, hand sanitizing products can again be found on store shelves and online retailers. They’ve also become a fixture in condos, co-ops, and other multifamily housing sites in common locations where residents, visi- tors, vendors, and staff don’t have access to a sink. Why is this important? While the coro- navirus is transmitted mainly through re- spiratory droplets expelled when an infect- ed person is talking, sneezing, coughing, elements. Its viral particles can linger in and dividual apartment to the corridor. Because pense to an association’s or a cooperative’s singing, or the like, it can also be acquired travel through the air in respiratory drop- when someone touches a surface that has the virus on it and then touches their nose, mouth, or eyes. So washing one’s hands not only helps prevent the virus from transmit- ting from a surface to a person; it also pre- vents a person from transmitting the virus to a surface where it can infect other people. Beyond Soap and Sanitizer Unfortunately, it’s hard to trust that ev- eryone coming into contact with our com- munities is washing their hands with the frequency and duration that are known to prevent viral spread to surfaces. The next level of sanitation is to wash those surfac- es regularly and safely. Again, according to health agencies, regular soap and water should be employed for keeping surfaces clean—and looking nice, which is always an important consideration in residential communities with shared common spaces. Following a thorough washing, surfaces can be disinfected using a variety of prod- ucts, each with its own instructions for safe and effective handling and use. While these products are known to kill viruses that are harder to kill than the one that causes COV- ID-19 when used properly, according to the CDC, they are only as effective as their tim- ing of application vis-à-vis an infected per- son coming into contact with that surface. Therefore, boards and managers of multi- family communities have implemented ro- bust schedules of cleaning and disinfection of high-touch surfaces and frequently used common areas, such as railings, elevator buttons, laundry facilities, mailboxes, door knobs, and lightswitches. According to the CDC, there are a va- riety of considerations when determining which disinfectant product to use on which surfaces and when. Porous surfaces require different types and methods of applica- tion than non-porous surfaces. Outdoor environments pose less risk and therefore Team Lead for ASHRAE’s Epidemic Task and particle-free air are being marketed as do not necessarily need disinfection after Force, tells routine cleaning. Disinfectants should not “Central systems in any homes give more door transmission of the coronavirus—es- be used on objects or surfaces touched by options for doing filtration. Homes without pecially as winter approaches and fewer ac- children, especially objects or surfaces that central forced air systems may need to use tivities can be enjoyed outdoors. children can put in their mouths. Caution more portable air cleaner options. In apart- must be taken with indoor use of disin- fectants that produce dangerous fumes or systems, it is important to make sure that air intended harmful consequences, including other toxic effects. Custodial staff and other from one apartment cannot flow to another. respiratory hazards and production of “dan- people who are carrying out the cleaning or Fortunately, most \[building\] codes in the gerous hydroxyl radicals that may injure disinfecting are at increased risk of being U.S. do not allow this.” exposed to the virus—and to any toxic ef- fects of the cleaning chemicals—and should stock does not have a centralized HVAC sys- therefore wear appropriate personal protec- tive equipment (PPE) and be instructed on winter and window-mounted or through- how to apply the disinfectants according to wall air conditioning units—or simply open buildings and communities are the same: the label. Information on concerns related windows—to cool in the summer. In fact, Limit interaction with people outside of to cleaning staff can be found on the Occu- pational Safety and Health Administration’s opening windows and running A/C are indoor areas and anywhere that six-foot (OSHA’s) website on Control and Preven- tion: www.osha.gov/SLTC/covid-19/con- trolprevention.html. Surface to Air The aerosolized transmission of coro- navirus presents another consideration for multifamily properties that share common that we don’t want air to move from an in- lets—including through heating, ventila- tion, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems simple.” of a multifamily building, or through the air flow systems that are designed to mitigate man says, “the issue is simpler. Generally spread of smoke and fire between and into speaking, these things recirculate air and apartments. The American Society of Heat- ing, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning that allows for some outside air to come in. Engineers (ASHRAE) has therefore de- veloped indoor air management strategies have the risks of \[over-pressurization\] and aimed to reduce occupant exposure to in- fectious aerosols. Recommendations vary depending on sources for Multifamily Buildings, “Strate- the climate where a building is located, gic window fan placement in exhaust mode whether it uses a forced-air system for can help draw fresh air into room via other HVAC, and other building-specific fea- tures, but generally, to optimize indoor air ing strong room air currents.” quality, “thermal comfort conditions” (the industry’s term for temperature and humid- ity levels) should be maintained at normal ing the chances of viral spread, needing to levels: 68–78ºF (20–25ºC) and 40–60% rela- tive humidity (RH). This might be easier to winter might not be such a bad thing, in accomplish with a forced air system, but in spite of the inefficiency and energy cost. buildings where a central system services multiple units, measures to filter and purify the air should be considered. Professor Max Sherman, Residential products promising super-clean surfaces New England Condominium , panaceas for a public concerned about in- ments with common centralized ventilation products are overkill and may even have un- Much of New England’s older housing who advise against their use, recommend- tem, but instead uses radiators to heat in the sures of hand-washing and mask-wearing. those of us that live in such units know that your household. Wear a mask in common year-round “thermal comfort mechanisms” separation cannot be maintained. Wash (to borrow the industry’s term)—methods hands with soap and water or use a sanitiz- that have an outsized energy cost, to be er with 60% alcohol content if those aren’t sure, but also might have virus-spreading available. And—lest we forget—remember potential as well. “The issue here,” explains Sherman, “is and surfaces clean in a pandemic should if there happens to be an infected person in daily operations. that apartment, then their virus-containing aerosol particles (i.e., small droplets) can get into the corridor to spread the infec- tion to the larger community. Corridors in larger apartment buildings are required to be pressurized to keep that situation from happening, \[but\] if someone opens their window and a lot of air blows in from that window, it will make the apartment be at a higher pressure and force air into the cor- ridor, and maybe to adjacent spaces as well.” If it seems counter-intuitive that fresh air would be a vector for the virus, it’s because open windows can have a mitigating effect on virus transmission as well, according to Sherman. “Of course,” he continues, “open- ing a window can help dilute the amount of virus in that given apartment, so it is not so As for window-mounted A/Cs, Sher- do not ventilate. Some units have a damper That amount is rather small and does not so is not a problem and could be a benefit.” Also, according to ASHRAE’s Technical Re- open windows and doors without generat- Since ventilation is one of the keys to maintaining indoor air quality and reduc- keep windows open or A/C running this Simple Is Best As the New York Times detailed in a recent article, fancy, high-tech, expensive But, as the Times indicates, most of those cells.” The Times cites a number of experts ing instead the simple risk-reduction mea- The recommendations for multifamily to breathe. Keeping common indoor air not add too much stress, complexity, or ex- n Darcey Gerstein is Associate Editor and Staff Writer for New England Condominium . CLEANING... continued from page 1 “Communal spaces, community activities, and close living quarters in multifamily housing increase the risk of getting and spreading the \[corona\]virus.” —the CDC heat pump for its two Towers—the newest of its 11 buildings and home to about 300 of its families. “Newest” is relative—the Towers were completed in 1968 and 1970, and many of the mechanical, electric, and plumbing (MEP) el- ements are at or nearing the end of their useful life. Long-time manager Charles Zsebedics relays that the galvanized drain pipes original to the buildings have so much build-up that condensation can’t drain, resulting in costly and disruptive flooding to apartments. With the supply pipes also at the end of their use- ful life, the entire heating and cooling system in the buildings is compromised. Addition- ally, the current chiller system’s cooling pan, also original to the buildings, has undergone so much patching and emergency repair that Zsebedics is not confident that it will survive the year. What’s more, the concern over cool- ing towers’ potential for spreading Legionella bacteria is especially pressing given the asso- ciated diseases’ symptomatic similarities to COVID-19 and the propensity they all have for exacerbating the already rampant respi- ratory illnesses that have been extensively brought about by the very emissions-heavy systems that the co-op is looking to replace. With the urgency to replace these sys- tems existing well before the COVID crisis, the co-op began researching and procuring professionals to move to a new technology about two years ago. They discovered that a continued on page 8 MULTIFAMILY... continued from page 1