Seasonal and High-Risk Period Air Quality Measures for Schools (2025)

Every school year comes with its surprises, but indoor air quality (IAQ) shouldn't be one of them.

From flu outbreaks in the winter to pollen spikes in the spring and dust from summer renovations, air quality inside your school buildings fluctuates more than you might think. 

While surface-level cleaning and routine HVAC maintenance are standard during school breaks, these efforts often miss the real problem: airborne contaminants that quietly contribute to student absences, teacher fatigue, and long-term health risks.

This guide breaks down what to expect across each season and how to stay ahead with scalable, proven air technologies and solutions tailored to high-risk periods.

The Real-World Pressure of Managing School Facilities

We know your job goes far beyond filters and fans.

You’re balancing tight budgets, limited staffing, and maintenance backlogs, all while making sure the building stays safe, operational, and compliant. When a piece of equipment fails or a concern is raised, you’re expected to solve it quickly and cost-effectively.

Indoor air quality can be especially frustrating because it’s often invisible. You can’t always point to a broken part or show a clear before-and-after fix. Yet, you’re still held accountable when an infection breaks out or allergies run rampant. And while everyone agrees that IAQ matters, it often takes a back seat to more urgent, visible repairs, until the complaints or health concerns start to pile up.

That’s why you need air technologies that are easy to implement, scalable, and built for real-world school environments.

Why Proactive IAQ Planning Pays Off for Schools

Too often, IAQ issues only get attention after symptoms show up: a nurse reports a spike in asthma attacks, a teacher logs a complaint about a musty smell, or a parent calls about allergy symptoms. By that point, it’s already affecting learning and operations.

The better approach? Get ahead of the problem.

A proactive strategy gives you the time and tools to address common triggers before they take a toll:

• Viral transmission during colder months
• Allergens and dust in the spring
• VOCs and pollutants from summer renovation projects
• Sudden emergencies like wildfires, mold, or HVAC failures

Planning ahead also helps minimize disruptions. When air quality issues lead to complaints, it often triggers a cascade of meetings, investigations, and emergency maintenance, taking valuable time and energy from you and your team. 

But when you’ve built seasonal IAQ checks and air technologies into your normal rhythms, you reduce surprises and can resolve concerns before they become a bigger problem.

When you plan around these seasonal shifts, you create a safer, healthier environment for everyone and reduce the pressure on your team to scramble when something goes wrong.

High-Risk Periods That Require Your Attention

Here’s what each season tends to bring—and how you can use air technologies and planning to stay ahead.

Fall & Winter: Virus Transmission Spikes

Cooler weather means closed windows and reduced ventilation — conditions that allow viruses like influenza, RSV, and COVID-19 to spread more easily.

How to respond:

• Place portable HEPA air purifiers in classrooms, offices, and nurse stations
• Upgrade HVAC filters to MERV 13 or higher
• Increase outside air intake with smart HVAC scheduling
• Use air quality monitors to identify and resolve underperforming zones

Spring: Allergy Season in Full Swing

Pollen, dust, and mold can trigger symptoms in both students and staff, especially those with asthma or seasonal allergies.

What to prioritize:

• Schedule a full system cleaning: vents, fan blades, ductwork
• Replace or upgrade HEPA filters for improved allergen capture
• Use air movers to enhance circulation in poorly ventilated rooms
• Track absenteeism and nurse visits to spot IAQ hotspots

Summer: Renovation and Maintenance Work

Projects like painting, flooring, or ceiling repairs introduce VOCs and construction dust — pollutants that linger without proper containment.

Smart steps to take:

• Use portable purifiers with carbon filters in active work zones
• Set up dust containment barriers to isolate construction areas
• Follow EPA guidelines for keeping materials dry and properly stored
• Ventilate and flush renovated spaces before reoccupation

Year-Round Emergencies and Air Quality Events

Not all air quality issues are seasonal. Wildfire smoke, mold outbreaks, flood damage, or HVAC failures can appear without warning.

Be ready with:

• Mobile air purification units for quick deployment in any room
• Real-time IAQ monitors to detect changes in particulate levels or VOCs
• A clear response protocol for reporting and escalating IAQ concerns

Air Technologies That Help Your School Stay Ahead

You don’t need to replace your entire HVAC system to improve air quality. The key is building a toolkit that’s flexible, scalable, and easy to deploy across different zones in your building.

GermBuster® Room Air Purifiers

Our GermBuster units feature medical-grade HEPA filtration and are ideal for high-risk areas like classrooms, health offices, and administrative spaces. The GermBuster 300 operates up to 40% more efficiently than similar models and captures 99.97% of airborne particles down to 0.3 microns. For added disinfection power, GermBuster with UV-FORCE® uses far-UVC technology to neutralize airborne pathogens in rooms up to 3,200 cubic feet, refreshing the air up to six times per hour.

HEPAFORCE® AIR Negative Air Machines & Scrubbers

When you need to manage contamination during renovations or emergencies, our HEPAFORCE AIR machines provide 99.99% efficiency at 0.3 microns. These systems help establish negative or positive pressure environments, contain airborne pollutants, and maintain safe indoor air during higher-risk activities.

Real-Time IAQ Monitoring

With real-time air quality monitoring, you gain continuous insight into particulate levels, humidity, and temperature. Having access to that data lets you take action the moment your school’s indoor conditions begin to slip, keeping small problems from becoming larger disruptions.

Smart HVAC Scheduling

Optimizing your HVAC system to adjust based on occupancy and time of day helps to maintain consistent IAQ while reducing your school’s overall energy waste. Smart scheduling improves airflow, balances ventilation needs, and means you're not relying on guesswork when the stakes are high.

These tools are designed to give you more visibility and control without adding complexity to your maintenance strategy.

Don’t Let Air Quality Become a Hidden Liability

IAQ affects every student, teacher, and staff member in your building. And for those with asthma or other respiratory sensitivities, the stakes are even higher.

A seasonal, proactive approach helps you prevent health complaints before they happen, reduces the burden on your school nurse, and supports better academic outcomes. Most importantly, it signals to parents and staff that you’re taking student health seriously.

And remember — better air quality doesn’t just benefit health. It’s also tied to sharper focus, fewer behavioral disruptions, and improved academic performance, according to multiple studies. 

The good news? You don’t have to overhaul everything to make progress. Start with one adjustment in the upcoming season, then build your strategy from there. Download the Ultimate Guide to Indoor Air Quality to access checklists, planning tools, and expert insights you can put to work right away.