How to Choose the Right Air Purifier

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How to Choose the Right Air Purifier

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Everywhere you turn there are air filter options. Very different machines

promise allergy relief and health in magazines, on TV and on the Internet.

Choosing one is hard. Currently some offer new technologies that are helpful or

useless, so lets look at the basics. The first thing to decide on is what

" junk " you are trying to remove.

* Particles--mold, pollen, dust, dust mites and pet residues such as

cat dander.

* Gases--we typically think of cigarette smoke, but look at your TV

set, your computer or your stereo. They all give off gases. Most people are

exposed to a wide range of floating chemicals from new paint, new carpeting and

new furniture. Most cleaning products emit serious gases that are toxic to

humans and promote cancer. Forget about " safe " levels. It is only a matter of

relative safety. No one tracks the effects for decades, and the more we learn,

the more we realize that synthetic petroleum derived chemicals increase

cancer. They land on human cell receptors and change them. So use non-petroleum

cleaners and lets get these toxic products out of our offices, homes, schools

and lawn care environments. And lets remove the ones we cannot remove with

good air purifiers.

* Bacteria & Viruses--Some air purifiers can remove bacteria and

viruses. These are particularly useful for people with malfunctioning immune

systems, the elderly, young infants, and those with asthma or bronchitis.

Placement of An Air Purifier

First, many homes have air cleaning systems that have air intake areas.

These generally have filters. Since the motors that run these usually come with

the home and your AC/Heating system, you do not have to " buy " or " place this "

anywhere. However, many people neglect this " air purifier. " So start with

putting in " good " filters. As a trend, most folks would do well with something

that would remove mold spores and gases. That means you would get a filter for

particles with a charcoal film for gases and chemicals.

The more the filter filters the slower the airflow. So HEPA is fine as long

as the air is not still. Also, mold can grow through a filter; so do not plan

on ignoring it for 20 years. (If you wonder if you are getting mold in the

home, you might consider sending off your filter to QMS labs for three media

testing and speciation of three forms for $215.00.

You would also be amazed at how much charcoal will change as it reacts to

gases in a new home. We have had good results with a thin film sheet charcoal

that is about 3 mm thick, which sits over the pre-made 12x12 or 12x24 inch

inlets for the HVAC system. In Home Depot, some of the smart helpers are not

aware that this 6 inch by 12 inch white boxes of charcoal sheets are in the

store.

Placement of Portable Machines

Many of these machines come with very impressive room size cleaning numbers.

I am biased in two areas. I like air cleaners bigger than the room size,

since most people tend to over-rate the cleaning ability of the machine and

under-rate the junk coming from 300 sources in their structure.

One reason I like the air purifier on the oversized end is that the ratings

for room cleaning are for open rooms,

not rooms with desks, sofa's, refrigerators or two bookcases. The air

cleaner is not reaching around a computer workstation, a couch against the wall

or

reaching down the basement. It is fairly amazing that some machines claim to

clean multiple rooms with virtually no air movement. I suppose it is magic.

In any event, make sure bedrooms and the main living spaces are covered. And

be alert to hot spots with need, e.g., newly painted rooms, areas with

painting supplies and chemicals, and high traffic entry areas carrying in mold

spores, pollen and dust.

Zapper Machines

At this point let me address the " zapper " machines. As the co-author on a

book about mold and mold biotoxins, I am very concerned with spores that carry

chemical toxins being zapped, and having their chemical toxins floating

around after the spore is zapped.

What Size?

The most important rooms to clean are your main family living areas, the

kitchen and bedrooms in which you spend at least 7-8 solid hours. Machines

often

talk of square feet, and for simplicity lets say that is merely width times

length. So a 12 x 15 foot room is a large 180 square feet. If you have

20-foot ceilings you should assume you would need some extra power. If they are

modest 8-9 foot ceilings, plan on a machine that can do 360-400 square feet.

Also, if you set the machine in the slow button do not assume much is being

cleaned. So when you leave a room, e.g., the living room at night or you bedroom

in the daytime, blast the machines!

CADR Ratings

This rating is not something I will go into detail on since it is not used

universally in the air-cleaning field.

Types of Air Purifiers

HEPA filters have been used for years and fit most home or small office

settings. The best home machines I know are IQAir machines. They also offer

various amounts of charcoal. We have been pleased with them.

Is Ultra Violet Important?

If you are out in the sun for 5 seconds, you will not get a burn. And if the

air you want to purify is only exposed to a filter's UV light for seconds,

it will do little to help you.

Yet one that is well engineered can be useful, and consider this one below

if you want the killing power of UV for air. I have used UV for water

cleaning, and this company has a good reputation for quality, and understands

the

need to special exposure so that UV will be effective.

_www.allergybuyersclubshopping.com_

(http://www.allergybuyersclubshopping.com/car20airpur.html?NLC-70 & link=chooseair\

purifier)

So What About Ozone?

Ozone purifiers produce electrical charges that can go through walls. It

will purify many environments, but is not a discriminator. It will hurt

bacteria, molds, and your lungs. I have been stunned to walk into home of

asthma

pateints, during house calls, and found the home filled with a mild ozone

bleach

smell. When inhaled, ozone hurts fragile lung sacs. Some report chest pain,

coughing, shortness of breath, headaches, and throat irritation. I have had

all of these after 45 minutes in ozone filled room. It can worsen COPD,

emphysema and asthma. According to OSHA, ozone is 50x more dangerous than

carbon

monoxide.

While some groups feel ozone never is useful, I do think it can be helpful

to a home. However, lets mention two limitations first. Ideally, you cannot be

near them when they are on, because they hurt lung cells just like they hurt

molds and bacteria. I do not know how long one needs to allow the ozone to

dissipate, but certainly hours. Also, I am not sure if they have any effect

on the toxic chemicals carried by some indoor mold spores.

Electrostatic Air Cleaners are Tricky

They cause floating air particles to be sticky. Now if they can be removed

inside the air cleaner and stick to parts of the filter that might be useful.

However, in some machines the sticky particles are not trapped entirely and

fall on you, the dog, the floor and your furniture. If mold spores or mold

biotoxins are made sticky, they merely remain in the room or stick to your body,

perhaps even enter your lungs.

What is a Seal of Approval?

You have to ask yourself if you feel the government is good at evaluating

filter machines. Since the EPA put toxic carpet down in its own building, I

found since then I am not too trusting of government environmental science or

medicine.

The best seal of approval I know of is the careful research done by a smart

consumer looking at all products carefully and critically. If you decide to

buy a unit that has replacement filters, consider buying one set of

replacements, so they are handy. It will prevent you from leaving in old junked

up

filters for a long period.