Anyone recommends an air purifier?

[Windows95]

Hi, I have allergies of sorts, like post nasal drip, constant generation of muccus thats white, its really annoying. I suspect the air qualitiy on my flat is dogshit. I would like to be safe from possible mold spores and other stuff and reduce the load on my inmune system. My mom has the same problem and it started when she moved there.

 

I would like an air purifier that is also capable of reading the air quality. Some claim to do this. I have no idea how the sensor works in order to know the quality of air tho. I guess HEPA filter is a must and filters must not be annoying to find and not too expensive otherwise its dumb.

Im also not into smart bullshit that forces you to have your wifi enabled in order to operate the device. Why the hell they don't make classic remote controllers anymore?

[Windows95]

18 minutes ago, James Evens said:

Get apointment with a allergologist or better get the mold fixed .

I cant locate the mold. I have already went to doctors and they cant find a solution. It has to be something in the air contributing to this because I live in a place that has poor ventilation so an air purifier wouldn't hurt. Also when i moved for the holidays in a house that was surrounded by trees with good ventilation it wasn't as bad thus the need for an air purifier is obvious since I cant move right now.

[THraShArD]

Do you live in England ? We don't use the term Flat in the USA

[Windows95]

1 hour ago, THraShArD said:

Do you live in England ? We don't use the term Flat in the USA

no im from europe

[Windows95]

1 hour ago, gabrielcarvfer said:

Most air filters are for small spaces. If you want something for the entire house, air conditioner is the way to go. Also, make sure you get direct sunlight into your rooms, at it helps killing microbes/spores/etc.

that is the problem, its a 3 x 3 meter room, with no fucking sunlight, welcome to being poor

 

an air purifier is the only logical option in my situation while I save money to eventually move

 

i already an air conditioner, however it's old as fuck, i doubt those filters are hepa, also air conditioners aren't really designed to clean existing room in the air, they push air from the outside inside the house, and the filters arent as good

[Peskanova]

Quick google search for your purposes this is the best on the market.

https://www.amazon.com/IQAir-HealthPro-Plus-Medical-Grade-HyperHEPA/dp/B002VXDCHW

[Windows95]

10 hours ago, Peskanova said:

Quick google search for your purposes this is the best on the market.

https://www.amazon.com/IQAir-HealthPro-Plus-Medical-Grade-HyperHEPA/dp/B002VXDCHW

Too expensive just for a 3x3 meter room.

[Windows95]

Something that worries me about the concept of an air purifier is that all the shit is concentrated trapped within the hepa filter... isn't this a problem? specially when you are going to wash it or replace it. I've seen some have UV-C light to kill the stuff trapped but im not sure. Some also emit negative ions which apparently make particles collapse within each other forming bigger particles that are easier to trap by the hepa filter, my worry is that the emit ozone as well.

 

Any engineers or something here?

[LukeSavenije]

i mean... i have one

 

or better yet my mother has one, but we mostly use it in summer to put some more moisture in the air

[Guest]

The Chinese users might have some good recommendations. There’s plenty for sale in that country. 

 

I should’ve gotten the name for them. 

[Windows95]

12 hours ago, James Evens said:

Normally you have multiple filter (2-4). The one for larger particles can be cleaned. Only the small diameter ones (hepa) as far as I know can not be cleaned and must be replaced.

UV or ionization/O3 is also a concept to modify organic materials. This could kill mold but the fragments would remain in the air.

 

The probllem is apparently ions or UV can create ozone:

 

https://www.mygenefood.com/how-find-best-air-purifier/

 

There's one called Molekule something that claim to use a method that destroys the stuff without creating ozone, however they are asking 800$ for the thing and 125$ yearly filter replacements. Fuck that shit.

 

 

This one seems cool but again, im paranoid about ozone. Also some dumb ass design moves there: they put the LED of the sensor on all the time so even on sleep mode you have a light on you room, how smart. Then the air gets sucked in throught the back which means you put it against a wall as everyone does and I don't see how that's optimal.

[Windows95]

1 minute ago, James Evens said:

They will generate some ozone and ozone is semi stable and not good for your body. If you are scared of ozone there are limit for workers but those are for 8 hours per day over the entire working life. But I expect the air purifier to be far below these threshold.

The one which claim to not produce ozone might use a catalyst to speed up the destruction so less ozone will leave the unit or they just relay on filtering.

 

Most important don't be to afraid. Educate your self and make your own decision. 

 

Black electrical tape  

So do you own one? which one would you recommend?

 

What if I just enable the UV-C when im out of the room? how long would any possible ozone particles take to decay? what's scary is accumulation in certain surfaces

[Windows95]

3 minutes ago, James Evens said:

Don't worry ozone isn't stable enough.

 

I am sure you can google the half life of O3. Personally I would not  be to much scared of the UV used in air purifier as long as it is not a china unit (they don't care about standards, they are interested in money).

There are many people working every day in more dangerous environments. They know the risk and take measures to prevent accidents.

Thanks. I just would hate to have to put a lame ass tape on top of the sensor, I like the sensor but I dont want lights when sleeping. I cant believe the engineers dont take these things into consideration.

[Windows95]

On 2/23/2019 at 3:14 AM, James Evens said:

Don't worry ozone isn't stable enough.

 

I am sure you can google the half life of O3. Personally I would not  be to much scared of the UV used in air purifier as long as it is not a china unit (they don't care about standards, they are interested in money).

There are many people working every day in more dangerous environments. They know the risk and take measures to prevent accidents.

A forum user here says that it will take 24 hours for any ozone to clean:

 

4 hours ago, Dylanc1500 said:

Be careful with marketing some can be very clever with their wording. They aren't incorrect, however the circumstance that the are referring to is how whole home ones (in the U.S.) are used. You are still suppose to use a standard pleated filter for the return, and I personally use a Filtrete filter with a MERV rating of 14. You don't use just the HEPA as the main filter.

 

I even said previously that on any purifier to make sure there is a prefilter before the HEPA filter because otherwise you would be replacing it quite often due to being clogged.

 

In regards to the ozone issue, keep in mind that O3 has a half life of ~24 hours at room temperature, and that NIOSH doesn't allow exposure of 0.1ppm without PPE. 5ppm can become immediately harmful to you. Those ratings are also for a normal fully healthy individual. If you have any sort of respiratory issue then it changes, especially if your body is sensitive to it. Another thing to keep in mind is that, even if you aren't in the room it will speed up the break down of things like plastics, rubber, and plastics.

 

Im by no means trying to tell you what to get, and I apologize if I come off that way. I just want to give you all the information I know so that you have that information to hopefully help you in your decision. I'm just giving food for thought. I hope you the best your decision.

 

Edit: It appears that you have made a decision, well I hope you the best!

 

 

So im not sure anymore about the purchase I was about to make.

[Dylanc1500]

24 minutes ago, Windows95 said:

A forum user here says that it will take 24 hours for any ozone to clean:

 

 

 

So im not sure anymore about the purchase I was about to make.

The ~24 hour half life means that however much the initial level is will be roughly half as much after 24 hours.

 

I would take a look at the EPA's NAAQS. It gives a good outline, the FDA even has their own standards for equipment. Most pulmonary physicians also recommend straying away from using germicidal purifiers/ air sanitizer for residential use.

 

https://www.epa.gov/criteria-air-pollutants/naaqs-table

https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/cfrsearch.cfm?fr=801.415

[Windows95]

7 hours ago, Dylanc1500 said:

The ~24 hour half life means that however much the initial level is will be roughly half as much after 24 hours.

 

I would take a look at the EPA's NAAQS. It gives a good outline, the FDA even has their own standards for equipment. Most pulmonary physicians also recommend straying away from using germicidal purifiers/ air sanitizer for residential use.

 

https://www.epa.gov/criteria-air-pollutants/naaqs-table

https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/cfrsearch.cfm?fr=801.415

The GermGuardian is sold on US along with others with UV-C, so why are they allowed then.

[Windows95]

On 2/26/2019 at 10:03 PM, Dylanc1500 said:

The ~24 hour half life means that however much the initial level is will be roughly half as much after 24 hours.

 

I would take a look at the EPA's NAAQS. It gives a good outline, the FDA even has their own standards for equipment. Most pulmonary physicians also recommend straying away from using germicidal purifiers/ air sanitizer for residential use.

 

https://www.epa.gov/criteria-air-pollutants/naaqs-table

https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/cfrsearch.cfm?fr=801.415

ALso ,at some point, you must ask: What is more harmful, having UV-C that destroys shit that may build up on the filter but may emit a small amount of ozone which decays after 24 hour, or having no UV-C thus having a single point at your home where all of the possible shit like mold spores and other harmful stuff is stored? With the UV-C you could attack and sort of cleanthe filter from those tiny particles using it from time to time

 

I just dont see it

[Dylanc1500]

58 minutes ago, Windows95 said:

ALso ,at some point, you must ask: What is more harmful, having UV-C that destroys shit that may build up on the filter but may emit a small amount of ozone which decays after 24 hour, or having no UV-C thus having a single point at your home where all of the possible shit like mold spores and other harmful stuff is stored? With the UV-C you could attack and sort of cleanthe filter from those tiny particles using it from time to time

 

I just dont see it

Well, a HEPA filter will trap the mold spores preventing them from being airborne, therefore eliminating the concern of mold. They actually recommend using a HEPA filter/purifier if mold is found in an area, to help prevent the spread. There isn't any risk of harm until you replace the filter, however the likelyhood of anything surviving the length of time between replacements is very low. You aren't exposed to anything until your replace it, but it won't become airborne unless you decide to smack it like chalk erasers. To people with respiratory issues the risk of ozone typically outweighs the risk of the very short exposure time during replacement, especially when the majority of the micro organisms and spores would no longer be alive and would be trapped within the filter.

 

honestly, I'm not an expert, however I do have a decent experience with this due dealing with pulmonary and infectious disease physicians (and multiple others however different discussion for a different time lol) monthly and have consulted them about your very concerns and this is what they have recommeded to me. I would highly recommend you consult with a pulmonary physicians if you have this much of a concern with airborne particles, organisms and toxic gases and the risks they can all present and how to properly weigh them all, for you specifically.

 

EDIT: side note I would recommend getting an air quality monitor to help tell you what the is in your air in realtime. I have one that measures particulate, CO2, CO, and Radon (wasn't necessarily concerned about it, but I included it).

[Windows95]

On 2/27/2019 at 11:48 PM, Dylanc1500 said:

Well, a HEPA filter will trap the mold spores preventing them from being airborne, therefore eliminating the concern of mold. They actually recommend using a HEPA filter/purifier if mold is found in an area, to help prevent the spread. There isn't any risk of harm until you replace the filter, however the likelyhood of anything surviving the length of time between replacements is very low. You aren't exposed to anything until your replace it, but it won't become airborne unless you decide to smack it like chalk erasers. To people with respiratory issues the risk of ozone typically outweighs the risk of the very short exposure time during replacement, especially when the majority of the micro organisms and spores would no longer be alive and would be trapped within the filter.

 

honestly, I'm not an expert, however I do have a decent experience with this due dealing with pulmonary and infectious disease physicians (and multiple others however different discussion for a different time lol) monthly and have consulted them about your very concerns and this is what they have recommeded to me. I would highly recommend you consult with a pulmonary physicians if you have this much of a concern with airborne particles, organisms and toxic gases and the risks they can all present and how to properly weigh them all, for you specifically.

 

EDIT: side note I would recommend getting an air quality monitor to help tell you what the is in your air in realtime. I have one that measures particulate, CO2, CO, and Radon (wasn't necessarily concerned about it, but I included it).

What do we know is UV-C is effective at killing some viruses and bactaeria or at least corrupting the core dna. We also know that there's ozone is just out there as soon as you go out specially on the afternoon.. so the question would have been: it's worse to breathe some ozone particles or potential stuff that the UV-C could have killed in case the HEPA was not enough?

 

Im interested in in air quality monitor, however from what i've seen many suck. For instance the ones within the Xiomi air purifiers:

 

https://smartairfilters.com/en/blog/xiaomi-particle-counter-inaccurate-not-control-purifier/

 

Looks like these guys know what they are doing and they recommend the "Laser Egg" for an accurate reading.

 

Maybe ideally would want one that can measure ozone somehow... so we would know if the UV-C feature on the air purifier is or isn't safe.

 

Im still undecided in which one to buy tbh.

 

What about this one?

 

https://www.amazon.com/Coway-AP-1512HH-Mighty-Purifier-True/dp/B00BTKAPUU/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=Coway+AP-1512HH&qid=1551443567&s=gateway&sr=8-3

 

I would just keep the ionizer off. It has a sensor but I assume it's shit given what that article says.

 

Replacment filters is affordable:

 

https://www.amazon.com/Coway-3304899-Replacement-Filter-AP1512HH/dp/B00C7WMQTW/ref=pd_bxgy_201_img_2/135-7683986-4649960?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B00C7WMQTW&pd_rd_r=26f7f366-3c1e-11e9-bd63-17b75475049f&pd_rd_w=U9vMT&pd_rd_wg=xekUY&pf_rd_p=6725dbd6-9917-451d-beba-16af7874e407&pf_rd_r=4YQFFESRP9R3SBZ56AAR&psc=1&refRID=4YQFFESRP9R3SBZ56AAR

 

So for 40 bucks a year you can maintain it (I would just vaccum the carbon one instead of changin it every 6 months, I would just change them once a year along with the HEPA)

 

 

 

[captain_to_fire]

On 2/21/2019 at 8:38 PM, Windows95 said:

Hi, I have allergies of sorts, like post nasal drip, constant generation of muccus thats white, its really annoying. I suspect the air qualitiy on my flat is dogshit. I would like to be safe from possible mold spores and other stuff and reduce the load on my inmune system. My mom has the same problem and it started when she moved there.

 

I would like an air purifier that is also capable of reading the air quality. Some claim to do this. I have no idea how the sensor works in order to know the quality of air tho. I guess HEPA filter is a must and filters must not be annoying to find and not too expensive otherwise its dumb.

Im also not into smart bullshit that forces you to have your wifi enabled in order to operate the device. Why the hell they don't make classic remote controllers anymore?

 

https://www.amazon.com/sharp-air-purifier/s?k=sharp+air+purifier 

 

Aside from a HEPA filter, it’s also best to clean the house regularly. 

[Windows95]

13 minutes ago, captain_to_fire said:

 

https://www.amazon.com/sharp-air-purifier/s?k=sharp+air+purifier 

 

Aside from a HEPA filter, it’s also best to clean the house regularly. 

Those are too expensive and include humidification and other features im not going to use.

[captain_to_fire]

2 minutes ago, Windows95 said:

Those are too expensive and include humidification and other features im not going to use.

Well humidifier is useful when it’s cold 

[Windows95]

9 hours ago, captain_to_fire said:

Well humidifier is useful when it’s cold 

If you have suspects of mold and you see those damn annoying silver bugs sometimes then you have some humidity problem and you don't want further humidity.

[Allmykidsareblack]

On 2/21/2019 at 10:21 AM, Windows95 said:

they push air from the outside inside the house

Air con does does not operate like this at all. It uses the high evaporation temperatures and condensing freon to slowly remove the heat & humidity from your house.