As schools, parents, and local governments weigh the decision to bring students back to school, a municipality 30 miles southwest of the capital city of Vienna in Austria, is field-testing an air filtration technology that could help schools reopen around the world.
The Mayor of Hainfeld and a school principal have turned to Dexwet, a private air filter technology company, to help improve air quality in classrooms by removing airborne pathogens, making it safer for kids to return to the classroom. With guidance from Peter Tappler, one of Austria’s top air quality experts, 1st-grade students at Volksschule Hainfeld school will participate in a month-long field test on the effectiveness of Dexwet’s air purification filters in capturing hazardous particles.
Dexwet Pure Air Filters were selected because they use a uniquely engineered design to capture airborne particles such as allergens, viruses, bacteria, down to nano-fine dust. They are silent, require no energy, and they are sustainable.
“We want to help our children return to school in the safest possible environment, so our town is championing this initiative to protect students and teachers by using Dexwet’s scientifically proven technology,” said Hainfeld’s Mayor, Albert Pitterle. “We are excited about this scientific live field test to confirm Dexwet’s new air filter technology can effectively make classrooms safer through the pandemic and beyond.”
“Teachers, staff, and parents are excited to participate in this live field test and we are grateful to Dexwet for helping bring our children back to in-person classes while ensuring everyone’s safety,” said Herta Smetana, Volksschule Hainfeld’s school principal. “We also value this as a unique educational opportunity for our students who will assist in this test guided by Mr. Tappler, with the results potentially leading to adoption of this air filter in schools across Austria and potentially the world.”
Volksschule Hainfeld is a K- 8 school with 12 classrooms and 134 students, but its challenges are echoed across Austria, where students have been out of classrooms for months. This has had a negative impact on students’ education, parents’ ability to work, and ultimately, on the economy.
On February 15, Peter Tappler began the live field test by explaining how Dexwet Pure Air Filters work and describing the role students, parents and teachers will play in this test. It includes several weeks of monitoring the classroom’s air quality under varying conditions, including one week where students will be required to open and close windows throughout the day.
Dexwet Pure Air Filters are an Austrian-developed technology that are sustainable, silent, and require no monthly maintenance or power. The patented design allows air, with minimal resistance, to pass through staggered rods coated in an oil solution that permanently captures airborne particles, allowing clean, pure air to flow through. Tappler, who serves as a leader in the Austrian Ministry of the Environment, reviewed the same filters through his private institute in 2020 and concluded Dexwet’s Pure Air Filters effectively captured particles and would be effective against capturing the airborne SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19.
“The data showed that Dexwet’s filters caught aerosols in size range below 5 microns (but also larger particles) in an efficient way. This technology can allow us to take significant steps towards infection prevention, especially concerning the prevention of transmission of aerosol borne viruses (e.g., SARS-CoV-2) by air,” said Tappler. “The entire country will be watching this live field study, and I hope the world as well because the results of our study could give schools the tool they need to reopen safely.”
Dexwet is looking forward to doing similar tests in the U.S. to confirm their efficacy in purifying indoor air. The company has more than 60 patents worldwide and is widely sold for consumer use in Austria, Germany, and Europe. In 2021, Dexwet plans a U.S. expansion with a new factory and R&D facility to supply North America directly with its revolutionary air filters.
“Across the world, one of the larger pandemic challenges faced is how to bring students and teachers back into schools and classrooms safely,” said Gregory Scott Newsome, Board Director and Chief Financial Officer of Dexwet Air Filters. “Our technology has been used for years behind the scenes for machine health, and we are excited that Dexwet’s air filter technology is now being utilized to benefit human health with this new test serving to validate our effectiveness in improving air quality in classrooms, or in any room anywhere in the world.”
About Dexwet Holdings Corporation
Headquartered in the U.S., Dexwet Holdings Corp. is an air filter manufacturing and technology company with more than 60 patents, the first of which was filed in 2000, to mitigate fine dust particles effectively. The company has grown to develop and commercialize its patented wet air filter technology which has now been selling in Europe for homes, commercial properties, and custom business applications for more than 15 years. Dexwet was built on a mission to have a positive effect on health by providing clean air for humans and machines. In 2021, the company plans to launch its products into North America. More info at www.dexwetholdings.com.
