Air Purifiers

“Anyone have a particular brand they use?

I am looking at one of these...
http://www.sharperimage.com/us/en/catalog/product/sku__SI724GRY”

“...being an asthmatic, those tend to emit more ozone...sharper image has been highly criticized lately for their products....so be cautious is my only advice....and I would lean towards a whole house model....Lennox is the one I'm using......

Here's some stuff from CR that might help...

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/appliances/heating-cooling-and-air/air-cleaners/air-purifiers-sub/purifier-types/air-purifiers-types.htm

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/appliances/heating-cooling-and-air/air-cleaners/air-purifiers-sub/ozone-generators/ozone-generators-not-acceptable.htm


Ratings on Whole House Models:

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/appliances/heating-cooling-and-air/air-cleaners/air-purifiers-sub/whole-house-air-purifiers/latest-ratings/ratings-whole-house-air-purifiers.htm#1

Ratings for Room Models:

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/appliances/heating-cooling-and-air/air-cleaners/air-purifiers-sub/room-air-purifiers/latest-ratings/ratings-air-purifiers.htm”

“We just got an electrostatic air purifier, a Kenmore that rated well in Consumer Reports http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_03285264000P?keyword=85264 , did not have a consumable filter, and had sufficient capacity for the large room we sought to use it in. (I see it's now on sale for less than we paid... and it's been a little more than 30 days... oh well...)

In addition to the above cited URL's, the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers has certifications and ratings for clean air delivery capacity. http://www.aham.org/industry/ht/d/sp/i/1224/pid/1224 then links to [url]http://207.140.180.12/dirsvc/aham.nsf/fraAirCln?OpenFrameset&pgm=Room%20Air%20Cleaners [/url]with the actual info.

After two months, our experience has been fairly positive. It seems to be improving my wife's and my sinus issues, and also the dust level in our house.

We have a hand-fired fireplace insert that burns anthracite coal that we use in the hard winter months, and I used to, um, get black stuff coming out of my nose constantly. That hasn't happened since we got the air purifier.

A major caveat to getting what we did, is that electrostatic precipitation MUST ionize the air to collect dust on its wires.

The unit we got has a dishwasher-safe collector cell (it will take up the whole dishwasher when it's time to de-crud it, hasn't happened yet)

Our unit has an "ION" button, when it's on the room starts smelling like a thunderstorm passed through. We had a houseguest who had a bad headache until we turned that off, then she was fine.

I do wish our unit had an event timer function. We can press buttons enough to have it use an "off" timer after an hour or few, but we can't set it to cycle on say from 4 to 8 am and 4 to 8 pm.”

“Oh yeah, I would have got a whole house electrostatic when we replaced our old central air with a new heat pump system, except as an air conditioner the intake was upstairs - and we didn't want the coal dust drawn from the downstairs, upstairs, before having a chance to be collected.”

“....I didn't realize I was posting links that require CR subscription, which I have but unfortunately it won't allow me to link their results....oh well....”

“kiOeh--Does the kenmore unit do anything for mold spores?

I am buying this for my basement so I need something that kills mold spores. Maybe I am looking the wrong direction.”

“Generally speaking WK getting a filtration/purification system for the whole (installed in the ductwork) is far better then a free standing model. I have heard lots of good stuff about electrostatic filters/purifiers, they are easily cleanable and use very little electricity, also infrared air purfiers are geting quite reliable and effective.”

“for mold spores focus on dehydration and filtration. Also limiting foodsources (cellulose).”

“What do these things cost?

"I have heard lots of good stuff about electrostatic filters/purifiers." Is this different from a filtration/purification system?”

“An electro-static filter is part of a homes ductwork. It is normally installed near the furnace on the supply side of the duct. It creates a positive charged "field" that the air passes through, any particle down to a given size (in the microns) is positively charged, the filter media is negatively charged so the particles are attracted. The filter media is normally washed when the machine alerts you (usually an indicator light, the machine measures pressure drop across the filter media and when its too low the filter media is dirty....on some models anyay).

Disposable filter type
http://www.air-purifiers-america.com/product.asp?product=EnviroFF&utm_source=BizRate&utm_medium=PPC&utm_term=EnviroFF

another example
http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/items/4YA26

They arent cheap, upwards of $400. If you interested I can get one wholesale and ship if for less than retail. email if you want.”

“Do these help with mold spores in the basement?”

“quit being a pansy and just breath the air”

“If your basement has supply and return ducts it will help, but not eliminate the prob.You would need more then a filter. You need to get to the source.

Is this a carryover from the flood?

If so I would recommend a serious mold remediation project. The spores can hang our for decades in books and boxes and on wood surfaces. It may be necessary to reclean resort dispose of stuff that is musty or mildewy, the extreme would be emptying the space and using a 10% bleach solution (dont use more as it doesnt help at all) and sterilize the floor joists walls etc.

You will never get rid of the spores entirely, its more about controlling the environment to inhibit growth. Humidity,food (cellulose products like paper backed drywall and many adhesives in wallpaper) and temperature. Humidity is the key.

If you have a reaction to the spores when moving boxes or vaccumming or the like you are back to some serious cleaning.”

“LMAO!”

“The tiles I removed from the basement I had tested for asbestos. Turned out positive.

The humidity in the basement hovers near 70%. I run a de-humidifier however I have been told this can do more harm than good due to the cinder block walls of the foundation.

We are making a portion of the basement into a play area for Grace and I am a bit worried about the surroundings.
last edited: 1/17/08 2:47:16 PM”

“umm, you might not want to admit that on here...removal of asbestos by a non licensed person is a federal offense

i understand your concern and (as i'm sure you know) i was just kidding earlier...we're in the process of putting together a play area too...man, first i loose my gear storage to my kid now i'm loosing my home entertainment area too”

“umm, you might not want to admit that on here...removal of asbestos by a non licensed person is a federal offense

Actually its only a crime if you do this on anothers property or do it for pay. Sadly in many states you can pull your own asbestos tiles out and put em in unmarked household trash and let it go to the municipal landfill. Crazy for sure. and If you are concerned many many products you buy at the local homestore are ACM's (asbestos containing materials), its NOT illegal and getting more common. The kicker is that there is no required labeling because of the court injunction back in the 80's that blocked an all out ban to ACM's. Our environmental trainer at work bought random tiles and wallboards and ran tests to verify this within the past two years.

70% humidity is way too high, thats prime for mold growth. 40-50% is ideal leaning towards the 40%.

I wonder how a dehumidifier could effect the cinderblocks? The will always retain a certain moisture content but beyond that???
last edited: 1/17/08 3:00:23 PM”