And who needs one?

Well, to begin with, there’s more – much more – to a HEPA filter than first meets the eye. But first things first. What is a HEPA filter? And what does HEPA stand for?
HEPA stands for High Efficiency Particulate Air. When used to describe the quality of a filter, or a dust mask for example, the term HEPA also stands for High Efficiency Particulate Arrestor.

To us HEPA is not just an acronym, it’s a promise. A promise which we take very seriously.

HEPA filters are highly efficient air filters designed to hold back airborne pathogens. And being Filter Class H13 and H14 filters that means that they are able to retain a remarkable 99.97% of all airborne particles greater in diameter than 0.3 microns (the cross-section of a human hair is over 200x the size!).

When we refer to airborne matter, we are not just talking about any old airborne matter. We are talking about viruses, inhalable dusts, mites, pollen, grass pollen and smoke particles. These are particles which can have a serious effect on your health and negatively affect your feeling of well-being. HEPA filters can even filter asbestos fibres, bacteria and a variety of toxic dusts and aerosols. It therefore goes without saying that this does not only make HEPA filters ideal for people who suffer from allergies. It makes them ideal for everyone.

Which is why HEPA filters are often used in nurseries, residential homes and medical areas where they already protect those who are often more susceptible to illnesses and diseases which can arise from breathing in the airborne pathogens described above.

It is important to know that the filters are divided into filter classes which depend on the purpose for which the filter was designed. And although these classes must comply with the EN ISO 14644, a euro norm designed to subdivide rooms into individual clean room classes, they are not adhered to by all manufacturers. Some manufacturers of vacuum cleaners, for example, like to adorn their products with this special distinction despite the fact that the filters they are keen to promote do not perform the task you think they would. This is because the systems in question are not sealed systems, ie. there is no guarantee that the air actually passes through the filters.

Which is where we come to the promise we made earlier. Because this is a promise that is too important to be taken lightly. The HEPA filters that are used in the machines and appliances from Trotec do exactly what they are supposed to do.

At TROTEC you will find a broad selection of HEPA filters and they all fulfil the stringent EN norms.

• In water damage restoration:
  Trotec provides HEPA filters for water damage restoration, eg. in nurseries, hospitals and care homes. This means that pollen, viruses and other particles are filtered out of the layers below the surface before they can enter the surrounding air. The appliances even have a HepaControl status display which shows you when the HEPA filter has to be replaced so that you can continue to rely on us.
• To clean air:
  All the air filters from Trotec are equipped with special filter combinations which make them ideal for filtering allergens, bacteria and mould spores out of the ambient air. Trotec also has a range of robust air cleaning systems in the TAC series for use on building sites and in sanitary areas as well as a variety of sophisticated yet easy-to-use IQAir models designed especially for use at home, in offices and workshops and clinic rooms.

Not only do we pride ourselves on being specialists, we also pride ourselves on being able to offer you a wide selection of high-quality, highly efficient air cleaners that do exactly what they are supposed to do.

Perhaps it’s time we shook up the market and turned our hand to vacuum cleaners.

Trotec. Because good just isn’t good enough.

Imagine a strong smell. No, not just one of your average bad smells – a truly revolting one. But careful – don’t dwell on it for too long – because sometimes even only the fleeting recollection of being locked in conversation with someone serenely unaware that they were suffering from bad breath, a waft of boiled cabbage, the whiff of a clogged drain, the intense smell of sweat from a sauna or a pair of discarded socks can prove to be too much to stomach for some. In fact some smells are so overpowering that there seems to be little that one can do short of covering one’s face and mouth and making a run for it.

A further smell that recurs repeatedly on the top of the lists of people who have been asked which smell they would rank as being among the most offensive in a closed environment is stale cigarette smoke. And being a passionate non-smoker myself I must admit that the pungent smell of stale tobacco that hangs heavily in the air, clinging to curtains and working its way into the wallpaper in households where heavy smokers exercise their right to light up without being taken to task by the powers that be really is a test in self control. I have found that by not breathing through my nose and by keeping my breathing shallow I can only just resist the urge to add to the overpowering smell with a few overpowering smells of my own.

But hope is at hand.

Some Dutch designers have come up with an idea that is as simple as it is genius. The designers focused on the fact that there are some odours which have a positive effect on a broad band of the population and can even change the mood they are in. The odours were reproduced by odour machines which were placed in public places, like discotheques for example, where late-night revellers attested that they not only felt better, but also that the overall mood was more relaxed and congenial. The designers also observed that more people took to the dance floor when their machines were producing odours which covered the smell of cheap scent, spilt beer and the perspiration that was pouring from the dancers’ writhing bodies.

But what if you don’t want to be constantly surrounded by the sweet smell of sandalwood, vanilla or lemon groves and are not content with just covering a bad smell instead of getting rid of it for good?

The answer is also simple but genius. An air cleaner. The air cleaners from Trotec do not only eliminate lingering odours and unpleasant smells, they also enhance the quality of the air that you breathe. That’s because all of the air cleaners are equipped with built-in air filters that are specially designed to filter a variety of airborne contaminants, viruses and bacteria out of the surrounding air thus making it both cleaner and fresher.

Of course you don’t have to wait until the situation becomes almost unbearable before you decide to do something about getting rid of certain smells. The air cleaners in the IQAir series are also ideal when it comes to eliminating less offensive but nonetheless bothersome odours like pet smells, cooking smells, paint smells or musty smells either at home, in the office or in rooms that are frequented by guests or visitors. And just to make sure that the air stays just as clean and fresh as it was from the first day one all units are fitted with filter elements which can be easily replaced when the need arises. And with the GC MultiGas you also have a model designed for use with gaseous pollutants.

So if you what you want is to get rid of unpleasant and persistent odours instead of just covering them up, then the air cleaners in the IQAir series are just what you are looking for!

Just click on the link above. And follow your nose!

And even save your company?

Sounds simple. And it is.

With another week – and weekend – of showery weather and blustery winds behind us, even the most optimistic and stout-hearted cohorts will have trouble convincing the rest of their colleagues that summer is not over yet that autumn is not just round the corner, but still a long way off.

Although autumn is officially still a full five weeks off, sneezing fits, raspy coughs and running noses seem to greet you wherever you go – on the bus, on the train, in banks, bistro, shops and public places – and in the office, the production area and the workplace.

Workforce expenditure can make up a significant share of the running costs of a company. And if people are off work and have to stay at home because they are suffering from bad colds, flu or other infections, then this will have a serious effect on the company’s budget, especially if the strain or virus reaches epidemic proportions. No people, no productivity.

Yet although many companies – and many small businesses – know that there is a battle to be fought against high sickness rates and lost work hours, they do not fully realise the implications which a flu epidemic, for example, could have on their standing and their prospective performance in the long-run. As the last flu epidemic showed, some businesses are totally unable to cope with the situation when a large portion of their workforce is taken ill and it is left for a skeleton workforce to carry on making the company tick over and avert the worst from happening.

Far be it from a company like ours to spread fear and uncertainty or sew anxiety and sound like scare mongers, but according to the WHO, the World Health Organisation, and the renowned Robert Koch Institute there are serious grounds for concern that the next outbreak of flu could occur on a pandemic scale – and that it could even be worse than the last. Experts also warn of a new “superbug” that is even resistant to the strongest antibiotics: there have been 44 reported cases of patients who have been diagnosed as having been exposed to NDM-1, the new gene that has its name from New Delhi, the place where it was first identified before subsequently defecting to Pakistan and the UK. A study in The Lancet Infestions Deseases draws attention to the severity of the situation and states that “ a worldwide public health problem is great”.

So how, if at all, can you protect yourself, your loved ones – and your company or business – from such a pandemic?

Hygiene management. It’s that easy.

Steps should be taken immediately to ensure that you and your staff are protected. With work safety clothes and respiratory masks – and air purifiers. The air purifiers from Trotec are equipped with HEPA and HyperHEPA filters which are so effective that they can filter up to 99.97 % of all particles larger than 0.3 microns and more than 99.5 % of even the smallest particles (e.g. viruses).

Models like the splendidly sophisticated but easy-to-use HealthPro 150, the universally versatile HealthPro 250, which scored highly with Germany’s consumer product watchdog “Stiftung Warentest”, not least of all because of its particle retention qualities which made it the most suitable of the tested models for allergy sufferers, and the professional Cleanroom 250 MG which is so efficient that it is certified as being suitable for use in intensive wards, operating theatres, food and medicinal production and processing facilities and data storage and server rooms.

Air purifiers from Trotec can protect you, your staff and your company against risks which could blow out of all proportion and rock or even cripple your company if swift action is not taken. Don’t be caught napping. Make a decision which will bring down the number of man hours lost and cut out the risk of being hit unawares by the next flu epidemic or pandemic.

Benefit from a professional air purifier of the reliable and approved IQAir-series. The HealthPro 250 is suitable for rooms of up to approx. 50 m² and 125 m³. Equipped with a F8 fine dust pre-filter, a V5-Cell broadband gas and odour filter and a high-efficiency H12/13 HEPA-filter the appliance is able to even filter odours, hazardous airborne substances and mould, for example.

The BS15 digital sound level meter is the ideal tool for quick and easy measurements of noise limits and environmental sounds. A backlit display even allows you to measure sound levels in badly illuminated areas.

Go here to buy an IQAir HealthPro 250 and get a BS15 sound level meter for free …

This offer is valid only on December 10th.

Confirmed by a leading German consumer safety group called “Stiftung Warentest” with the test result “good” and the use in clinical areas in Hong Kong during the fight against the virus SARS IQAir air purifiers showed their excellent filtration, certified quality and advanced filter technology.

Even at home or in offices IQAir devices are a worth doing investment because researches prove that the air in living areas and offices is about 100 times more polluted than the outer air.

Especially allergy sufferers benefit from the air purification power of these devices. Pollen are filtered reliably and affected people can now sigh. Even asthmatics who are prone for pollutants in the air will be convinced fast by IQAir air purifiers. Clean air for a healthy life.

It doesn’t matter if they are used in facilities for data storage, surgeries, lock areas or laboratories, the IQAir air purifiers offer compact and powerful solutions equipped with the technical know-how of the Trotec company.

• Want to buy an air purifier? Go directly to the shop
• You can get an overview of our IQAir air purifiers here
• Favourably rent an air purifier at TKL