...And how you can reduce absences in classrooms, also!![]()
A teacher living with Long Covid recently reached out to their local clean air lending library to ask if there were any resources available to help them stay safer at work. Like other educators, they spend their days in a crowded classroom with limited control over ventilation—and for someone with a post-viral condition, repeated infections can be devastating.
They shared that their school district had purchased air purifiers during the 2020–2021 school year, when masking was still required. However, once masking policies ended, purifier maintenance went away (including replacing the filters), leaving the purifiers ineffective. We also know that only one purifier is almost always insufficient in the first place.
The teacher explained that having access to properly functioning air filtration could make the difference between being able to continue teaching or being forced out of the classroom altogether due to declining health.
This is exactly the kind of situation CleanAirKits was created for.
What We Provided—and Why
To meet the teacher’s needs, CleanAirKits supplied a setup designed to meaningfully reduce airborne virus exposure in a typical classroom environment:
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Two Energy Star–rated Luggable XL Ultra air purifiers (assembled for them thanks to our trusted videographer, William!)
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One Exhalaron (always comes assembled), placed on the teacher’s desk to provide near-field protection during close interactions with students or when unmasking briefly to eat or drink
These units were chosen not just for their power, but for their practicality in a real classroom. Air purifiers only work if they’re actually turned on—and noise matters. The Luggable XL Ultras are quiet enough to run continuously without disrupting teaching or learning. The teacher can (and should!) leave them plugged in 24/7 knowing they will only add a few dollars to the energy bill. The always-on approach prevents forgetfulness leading to not having the needed protection. And it also means that after a power outage, the units turn right back on, unlike almost every other purifier (with notable exceptions like SmartAir and some Levoits!)
Classroom Air Quality Calculations
To protect the privacy of the teacher and their students, we modeled a generic classroom with a similar layout:
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Approximate room size: 30 ft × 30 ft × 8 ft (about 7,200 cubic feet)
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Total Clean Air Delivery Rate (CADR): 1,031 CFM
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Air changes per hour: ~8.6 ACH
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Coverage: About 26 people, based on ASHRAE 241 guidance
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CFM per person: 40 CFM
In crowded settings like classrooms, ASHRAE 241 recommends calculating clean air needs per person rather than relying on room size alone. While homes often use a target of 6–12 air changes per hour, classrooms tend to reach similar requirements when you factor in occupancy.
Note: even when an HVAC system is rated to provide more than 6 air changes per hour, it may not be running continuously, or it can be too loud for the teachers to talk over. It’s also rare for a school to use the recommended MERV 13 filters to capture viruses and bacteria. We advise not to assume an HVAC is providing any air changes per hour above natural room leakage (135 cfm).
The Exhalaron adds another layer of protection by addressing proximity risk—especially important in a setting where one-on-one interaction is unavoidable and the teacher needs to unmask to eat and drink occasionally.
Placement flexibility is another advantage of the Luggables. They don’t need to be perfectly positioned to be effective; they can be placed against walls, in corners, on opposite sides of the room, or even next to each other if space is limited. This flexibility comes from the intentional placement of the fans on only one side and on the top so that there is a fanless/filterless side that can go against a wall or corner. Just make sure the two filters and the fan side are clear from obstructions.
Why This Matters
CleanAirKits can’t support every request like this—but helping when possible is deeply aligned with why we started this company in the first place. We wanted to help this one teacher (and the students who benefit from the gift!) but also show you what is possible. For approximately $800 (or $30-$40 per student), you could replicate this setup in your child’s classroom (the cost of two Luggable XL Ultras). And then put yourself or a couple of trusted room parents in charge of changing the filters once or twice a school year. It would also be a great idea to purchase and donate one right now and then a second one when you’re able to save up or get enough parents to contribute.
Clean air in schools isn’t a luxury. It’s a foundational public health measure that protects students, teachers, and the broader community. Did you know 70% of community illness comes from kids? And we know where kids pick up the majority of their illnesses! Schools.
For educators with Long Covid or other chronic conditions, clean air can be the difference between staying employed and being forced to leave a profession they love. Repeated, unchecked infections don’t just affect individual health—they undermine learning, stability, and long-term outcomes for entire communities.
How You Can Help
If you’re a parent, caregiver, or community member, one of the most impactful things you can do is share information about air purification with decision-makers at your local schools—whether that’s your child’s school, a neighbor’s school, or schools in the U.S. or U.K. (where we also have a distributor now – cleanairkits.co.uk.
Visit CleanAirKits.com to learn more. And check out our section for schools with practical guidance on how to bring effective air purification into more classrooms.
Study after study has shown that clean air reduces illness and improves learning environments. While it can be discouraging to see how often systems fall short, progress is possible—especially when communities come together to prioritize health.
We’d love to hear how you use, or would like to use, air purification in your own life—whether you’re a teacher, student, caretaker, remote worker, or someone navigating chronic illness. Clean air benefits all of us.
