With cold weather already here and a growing body of research suggests that COVID-19 is airborne, improving air filtration is a must for businesses to keep customers and staff safe. Since our reopening, AVNS at the Glen has upgraded their HVAC filters to a level MERV 13 filter to minimize risks of infection for all occupants.

MERV, standing for Minimum Efficiency Reporting Values, is a rating system that measures how good a job a filter does in capturing air particles.  The higher the rating the more particles the filter traps and the cleaner your air will be.  The EPA published the following information about MERV ratings and how well it cleans the air.

Viruses are typically much smaller than bacteria or mold spores. That's why a filter that effectively catches bacteria or fungi may not be effective in filtering out viruses.  The COVID-19 virus is on average only .17 micron. On the surface, this would mean only a MERV 16 filter can effectively reduce the COVID-19 virus from the air. Fortunately, viruses don't just float around without a carrier like water droplets or aerosols, making it possible for filters with MERV ratings of 8 to be an effective part of a multiprong approach to cleaning the air. At Anthony Vince Nail Spa at the Glen we have upgraded or HVAC filter to a MERV 13 and we make sure change our filters every 3 months. (Having auto delivery certainly helps as a reminder :)). This combined with nightly fogging helps keep you and our team safe.