Today’s tip comes from Liz Schmidt, owner of Organic and Healthy and a resident of Foothill Ranch at the southern edge of the Santiago fire.
Is the air inside your business irritating or even dangerous to breathe? My husband went to our local Wal-Mart two days ago and came home feeling sick from breathing the smoke and fumes still hovering in the store air.
On Wednesday, I also noticed the strong smoke odor when delivering some packages to our local FedEx/Kinko’s. I’d sure hate to be the employer of the people working in buildings with air quality problems, and I’d hate to be the retailer whose customers leave my store feeling ill.
If you have a business in an area affected by the smoke from the wildfires, get a good air purifier - one that filters chemicals, odors, and particulates - and run it on high speed all night, and on a comfortable setting throughout the day.
If you have been breathing the smoke and fumes for a while, you may not even realize that odor and contaminants are still in the air. I’ve heard that unless we get a good rain soon this problem may be with us for months. By continuing to purify the air after the smoke clears, you may end up with happier customers and healthier employees.
If you have a tip for small-business owners, send it to me at jnorman@ocregister.com. If I use it, I’ll use your name, company and Web site.
