I have to have my A/C replaced. This is just a damned mess that worries me a lot.

Probably three guys, 2 inside and one outside.

Obviously this is a bad time to have workers in the house, but the unit is old and uses the old expensive Freon and something else on it could break at any point.

It will take about 6 hours. They'll have to come in the front door to the TV room and then go upstairs to the area where the unit is, open to the room below. They'll be downstairs near my bedroom to do the thermostat.

I plan to leave the house while they're working.

I can lock the door to my bedroom.

The company claims employees have to self-report any illness, etc., but that's hard to trust. They'll wear masks, but they may take them off if I'm not there, further spreading their breaths.

How worried should I be about them doing physical labor and breathing heavily inside my house for six hours?

Should I sleep somewhere else that night and let the virus droplets settle?

Should I open the windows and turn on the fans?

What can I do to minimize the risk?

If you're not going to be there when they're working, I think you would be okay when you get back, especially if you sanitize your surfaces. Ironically, it's probably good that your AC isn't working and recycling the air for the majority of the time they're working.

If you want to be abundantly cautious, it's not a bad idea to stay somewhere else for a night.

Sorry this is making you anxious. Get some antibacterial wipes and wipe down door knobs and surfaces they may have touched and you should be okay!

I appreciate the replies. I'm good about wiping down surfaces. I just want to give the rooms the chance to let the droplets settle.

I think I'll leave the windows open upstairs while they're working and run the fan.

I may stay elsewhere overnight, especially since the AC will have been out all day and it'll be hot in the house.

That idea of staying in one room is attractive, especially since my bedroom has an outside door.

I think you're right to be cautious. I believe you mentioned on another thread that you're in your 70s.

Can you enter your house from your exterior bedroom door if you want to return during the day?

Can't believe no one has mentioned this. Make sure you have the highest level filters in your system. Those will trap viruses. Turn your AC lower than you normally would for 24 hours so it runs a lot. Within a day I would guess you would have a complete exchange of all the air in your house. There are formulas to figure this out based on the system and your space, but I don't know them. Your installer should have the information. This is how hospitals decide how much time has to elapse for an isolation room or operating room to be ready for use after a Covid patient has been in it.

Yes I can. That's a good idea.

Thank you! That is very helpful!

Thank you!

Get that AC fixed it gets HOT this time of year........faith over fear my friend and Gigem!

I would ensure there are allowances for you to assess their work and ask for them to come "fix" anything you may subsequently find since you are not going to be there during the work. I have never had AC replacement so this may be industry standard but I would want to be able to inspect and for you to do so safely will be after they leave.

When we do remodels of any sort we are basically helicopters and the contractors hate us but we always end up with high qualtiy work.

I don't think enough weight is being given to the fecal transfer, which I think is more of an issue than the aerosols and why it is random. If they are wearing "outside shoes" I recommend disposable boot covers when they come in the house.

https://www.health.com/condition/infectious-diseases/coronavirus-fecal-transmission

Quote:

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According to research from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CCDC), those with confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus (aka, COVID-19) have live virus in stool specimens. That means, in addition to spreading via close contact with the respiratory secretions of patients (aka, droplets produced by coughing or sneezing), COVID-19 can also be transmitted via a fecal-oral route.

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We already know our money and our phones are filthy. So are shoes when walking in public places. I leave mine outside. . . .

Anyway, off my soap box.

They do wear shoe covers.

There was an article in the paper this morning about a large group of scientists worldwide who have written a letter saying that the virus is transmitted by aerosols much more so that we are acknowledging.

Just what I needed to hear!

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-07-06/aerosol-transmission-of-covid-19/12425852