Throughout Allen County, you can find what are called hydroxyl generators of different sizes placed in buildings like the courthouse. They were purchased by the county from Londell Smith & Associates using CARES Act funding.
The idea behind having the generators inside is to help with the sanitizing process amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Hydroxyl generators work by taking the air that’s already in the environment, the H2O, and converting it into H202, which is hydrogen peroxide," said Londell Smith, president, of Londell Smith & Associates. "You actually have millions of hydrogen peroxide molecules sanitizing the environment in real-time."
"At the end of the day, we can wipe down surfaces and if somebody would come in and have the virus or something like the flu, there’s no protection after that person in on-site," said Jason Patchet, Allen County Building & Grounds Supervisor. "We thought this would be added protection to put in any of our public areas where we’re having large amount of flow."
The generators are now placed in 15 different buildings in Allen County, and while they are helping with the sanitizing, those with the county stress that the generators are not replacing CDC guidelines and practices that are already in effect.
Instead, they are just another way of keeping things safe in county buildings. "It assists us; we’re wiping down surfaces multiple times a day and there are sometimes where our schedules get a little bit behind, so this is an extra tool that is definitely going to help us try to keep everything safe," said Patchet. "When people come in and touching handrails, hopefully, that will help add to the protection that we can provide for them."
