Indoor Air Quality and the Flu Season

Influenza viruses are spread from person-to-person in respiratory droplets of coughs or sneezes.1

During flu season and throughout the year, families are exposed to viruses that circulate in the air they breathe indoors, so taking measures to prevent illness makes sense. Getting a flu shot, eliminating germs on surfaces through cleaning, and washing hands often are important steps to avoid getting the flu. Yet, many families are still susceptible to the virus in the air in their home.

With the highest clean air delivery rate in the industry, the American Standard AccuClean whole-home system is another powerful tool in battling the flu virus at home. Research shows American Standard AccuClean removes more than 99 percent of the common flu, or influenza A virus, from a home’s filtered air.

In addition to installing a whole-home air cleaner such as American Standard AccuClean to help avoid the flu, you can follow these good health habits based on tips from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

Avoid close contact with people who are sick. Keep your distance from others to protect them from getting sick, too.

Stay home when you are sick. If possible, stay home from work or school and avoid running errands when you are sick. You will help prevent others from catching your illness.

Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing; it may prevent those around you from getting sick.

Clean your hands. Washing your hands often will help protect you from germs.

Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs are often spread when a person touches something that is contaminated with germs and then touches his or her eyes, nose or mouth.

Practice other good health habits. Get plenty of sleep, be physically active, manage your stress, drink plenty of fluids and eat nutritious food.

Sources:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

FLU STUDY: BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health in collaboration with scientists at

Environmental Health and Engineering, Inc. evaluated the ability of American Standard

AccuClean to remove the common flu from a home’s air.

The common flu virus was released into the air inside of a test duct. The removal efficiency was calculated from the amount of the common flu virus measured in air samples collected before and after passing through our whole-home air cleaner.

The result: American Standard AccuClean removed more than 99 percent of the common flu virus from the filtered air. In addition, due to similarities among types of influenza virus, the whole-home air cleaning system also will remove greater than 99 percent of other forms of the virus including influenza B, influenza C, and avian influenza (also a strain of influenza A vir

While some manufacturers are making different claims about their air cleaners, you can clear the air and share these important facts with your customers:

• There is no other system your customers can buy that matches the effectiveness of American Standard
• AccuClean. We spend 90 percent of our time every day indoors. Today’s efficient, airtight homes are excellent at conserving energy, but that also makes them better at trapping potentially irritating particles inside. With the rising number of people who suffer from allergies and asthma, indoor air quality has become more and more important to families’ general health and well-being. American Standard

AccuClean works as part of your customer’s heating and cooling system to remove up to an industry-

leading 99.98 percent of the airborne particles and allergens from their home’s filtered air.

• Install an American Standard AccuClean system in your customer’s home, and you can lower the family’s risk of catching the flu. American Standard AccuClean removes more than 99 percent of the common flu, or influenza A virus, from the home’s filtered air, according to research by the Harvard School of Public Health in collaboration with scientists at Environmental Health & Engineering Inc. (EH&E). American Standard

AccuClean not only removes and inactivates the flu virus — it also removes more of it than other air cleaners because it has the highest clean air delivery rate.

— Other air cleaners have claimed that they can “kill” the flu virus; however, most virologists do not consider viruses to be living organisms. Therefore, they cannot be “killed.” The proper term is “inactivate” or rendered “noninfectious.” American Standard Heating & Air Conditioning takes great pride in being scientifically accurate and using proper terminology. The bottom line is, American Standard AccuClean not only removes and inactivates the flu virus, it also removes more of it than other air cleaners because it has the highest clean air delivery rate.

— American Standard Heating & Air Conditioning has received Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) registration from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

American Standard Heating & Air Conditioning is the clear industry leader in EPA compliance for FIFRA as the first whole-home air cleaner to obtain a FIFRA registration number.

• American Standard AccuClean reduces dust accumulation in the home by more than 50 percent, meaning families can dust less and have a healthier, cleaner and more comfortable home environment.1 Reduced dust accumulation also may lead to reduced exposure to allergens (such as fungal spores) and toxins (such as lead) present in surface dust, helping prevent allergy symptoms and asthma attacks. This is especially good news for families suffering from allergies and asthma. Plus, with less dust in their homes, customers

can spend less time cleaning and more time enjoying their families.

• American Standard AccuClean has the highest clean air delivery rate available to consumers. Clean air delivery rate is recognized by the Federal Trade Commission and EPA as a fair and objective measure of various air cleaner technologies. Clean air delivery rate provides the number of cubic feet of clean air that a unit delivers each minute. American Standard AccuClean delivers the greatest amount of clean air to your customer’s home.

American Standard AccuCleanTM Helps Families Feel More Comfortable and Breathe Easier In Their Homes

According to the results of a health impact study completed by scientists at Environmental Health & Engineering Inc. and professors from the Harvard School of Public Health, “Settled Dust and Airborne Particulate Pilot Study of [American Standard AccuClean].”

According to the results of a health impact study completed by scientists at Environmental Health & Engineering Inc. and professors from the Harvard School of Public Health, “The Benefits of Clean Air.”