In southeastern Michigan, local schools and pre-school/daycare centers are working with Livonia-based company Airotrust to improve the quality of its indoor air for students, children, and employees. Detroit-based charter school Covenant House Academy, Summer Early Learning Center in Detroit and Livonia Little Tots location have all recently purchased and installed Airotrust Building Masks™, visible air filters that use a magnetic filter housing for easy installation. These educational and daycare institutions join a growing number of manufacturers and retailers not just in metro Detroit, but around the U.S. in purchasing these Airotrust units.
These efficient air filters and corresponding housing units magnetically attach to a standard two-foot by two-foot ceiling tile grid, an industry standard in many commercial and office buildings. This product can help facilities comfortably welcome back students and employees in the age of COVID-19 with a safer environment designed to limit the number of foreign air particles that can lead to viruses and other issues while being used in conjunction with other PPE.
Summer Preschool Early Learning Center recently purchased three Airotrust air filters and housing units for its location in Detroit with the goal of improving air quality in its facility, which works with more than 30 families. One of the filters has been installed in the ceiling of the entrance where parents drop off their kids, and the center is taking extra precautions during the pandemic.
“There are so many benefits these filters provide and it gives us extra peace of mind – for our families and our employees,” said Margaret Rainer, executive director of Summer Preschool Early Learning Center. “It shows that we care about our families and their health and that we are going to invest in our center to make improvements whenever we can to benefit their children.”
Beth Cinque is the owner of Livonia Little Tots and said that her purchase of 10 Airotrust filter and housing units was done to be as proactive as she can be in the fight against the coronavirus and other air irritants. She wakes up every day with the idea of doing everything she can to help make her business safer in the wake of COVID-19.
“Cleaner air is cleaner air and no matter how you get there, it’s critically important for our students, families, and employees,” said Cinque. “We want to provide a safer environment and it’s up to us to do just that.”
Livonia Little Tots has been able to afford some of the cost of the Airotrust filters with grant money provided to some businesses by the State of Michigan because of the virus’ impact, but she admits this period has been extremely difficult for small businesses like hers, as well as non-profits like schools and churches.
“Hair salons, fitness centers, churches – they are all struggling,” added Cinque. “We need to support each other and adapt to the new normal, just like the team at Airotrust has.”
Covenant House Academy purchased more than 100 units for its Detroit East location and is considering additional filters for its other three campuses in Detroit and Grand Rapids. The school’s Superintendent Terrence George said providing the best possible learning environment for students and workplace environment for teachers and staff was paramount in the decision to make this investment.
“We all know how critical it is to have in-person schooling, not just for the classes themselves but for social reasons,” George said. “Our parents understandably have questions about what we are doing to protect students (during the pandemic) and this is one of the major examples we can point to.”
According to Airotrust President Matt Carr, the educational market is an ideal one for this product given how efficiently the units and filters run and how easily they are installed. They also come at an affordable cost.
“It provides some peace of mind that the air quality is better than what it would normally be, which is why we like to say that it is a mask for buildings,” Carr explained. “We feel it’s an ideal solution that conjunction with the other precautions and guidelines that these schools and daycare centers are enacting, can support an environment of better indoor air quality.”
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