Surface dust contamination and perceived indoor environment in office buildings

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the impact of cleaning on indoor environment quality. Surface dust contamination and occupants' perception of the work environment factors and symptoms were the parameters studied. Six multi-floor office buildings were selected. Dust contamination on surfaces was sampled with gelatine foils and quantified using a BM-Dustdetector. Occupants' perceptions of the environment were assessed with modified MM-40 questionnaires. The results indicated that each building had its own surface dust contamination profile. Weekly cleaning maintained the surface dust contamination at the highest acceptable level for indoor environments. The occupants and their activities have a major effect on the level of dust particle contamination on desks. The correlation between the perceived surface dust contamination and the level of satisfaction with cleaning was as expected. Furthermore, surface dust contamination appeared not to be associated with work-related symptoms.

The results provide information about current program for contractors and clients, e.g. appropriate cleaning intervals of different surfaces, and the influence of disorder on result. After the evaluation of surface dust contamination levels, it will be possible for cleaning companies to focus on the most important surfaces to clean in order to enhance the quality of the indoor environment in office buildings. This should lead to future development work, which will require cooperation between contractors, clients, and research scientists. In office environments where high cleanliness is required, objective measurements (with instruments) are needed in addition to subjective measurements (the perceptions of occupants). It is essential to evaluate the efficiency of cleaning programs regularly with effective and appropriate quality-monitoring methods.