How a Negative Pressure Room Works?

Negative Pressure Room

There are special circumstances when the air in a room becomes contaminated from such things as airborne diseases or dangerous fibres like asbestos or mold spores. When this happens, the room must be isolated from the surrounding area until the air has been cleansed. One way to do this is to turn the contaminated space into a sealed negative pressure room.

How It’s Created

A negative pressure room is created by lowering the air pressure in a room below what it is in the hallway or area outside it. The first step in creating a low pressure space is to seal all joints or cracks that air could leak through. This includes door jambs, window frames and air circulation vents. Once all of these have been sealed sufficiently, an air purifier and regulator, or a specialized negative pressure machine, can be brought in. This machine will not only clean the air within the room, but will lower the overall air pressure of the room. Purified air will be pumped out of the room as it is cleaned, which will maintain the negative pressure even if workers need to move in and out of the room.

How It Works

The low pressure of a negative pressure room is an effective way of keeping the air inside the room from entering the outside environment. If a door is opened after low pressure has been established, air will flow from the high pressure area outside the room into the low pressure room, attempting to equalize the pressure. This natural diffusion from high to low pressure ensures that the air within the room will stay in the room, along with any dangerous particles that it carries. After the large inrush of air, the negative pressure machine being used will run, pumping the extra air back out of the room as it is cleaned, re-establishing the low pressure required to maintain the isolation of the room.

Possible Uses

There are many areas in which a negative pressure room is useful. In a medical setting, negative pressure rooms are used to isolate patients infected with a contagious, airborne disease, such as COVID-19. Outside of a hospital or clinic, negative pressure rooms are extremely useful in protecting workers and other individuals from harmful particles. In a building overridden with a dangerous material such as asbestos or mold, creating a negative pressure in the area containing the hazardous particles will protect those working in other areas of the building. The damaging airborne particles will be contained within one space. Any time a door or window is opened, air will always flow into the room to balance the pressure, confining the danger to the negative pressure room. Everywhere outside the room will be protected from the health hazard, as long as the low pressure is maintained.

Negative pressure rooms are an exceptionally effective and relatively simple way of containing hazardous airborne particles in one space. With the use of negative pressure machines, lower pressure can be maintained whenever the space is completely enclosed. This is an important part of the remediation of contaminated areas and ensures the safety of everyone outside the room for as long as necessary.