air purifier reviews

The Inconvenient Truth

2006-06-22T08:40:00.000-07:00

I just saw Al Gore's film, An Inconvenient Truth. The ex-next-president came across as very sincere in his belief that a crisis could be averted if we all just got together to reduce carbon emissions.

He included a brief segment on overpopulation, including a graph of population headed nearly straight up. Al did put up several slides of disease organisms and discussed insect vector encroachment in terms of mosquitoes and flies.

As expected the film was flattering to a politician. But I do not share Al's optimism. I believe a decision was made in the early 1970's to stay the course on fossil fuels. The consequenses do not seem obvious to everyone: a big drop in world population is inevitable.

PhotoCatalytic Air Purifier: New Technology

2006-06-02T14:17:00.000-07:00

The photocatalytic air purifier is based on photocatalytic oxidation (PCO), an emerging air purifier technology that converts fine particles and toxic gasses into safer compounds.
Photocatalytic air cleaning uses broad spectrum ultraviolet light, which energizes a thin-film titanium dioxide-based semiconductor catalyst, in the presence of water, creating hydroxyl radicals and super-oxide ions which oxidize finer particulate matter, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and destroy microorganisms adsorbed on the catalyst surface.
Now that everything is perfectly clear, we can all go home right?
Maybe we should try again.
Let’s analyze this animal one concept at a time; a real bright light shines on a wet metal thing which makes tiny pac-man people that get rid of bad stuff stuck on the surface and turn it into carbon dioxide and water. When the pac-people are done, they turn back into to oxygen and hydrogen.
That better?
A high-intensity broad spectrum ultraviolet lamp, with germ killing wavelengths included, is the first building block of photocatalytic air purification technology.
A catalyst is a substance that can accelerate a chemical reaction without being used up itself. The catalyst material in photocatalytic air purifiers is titanium dioxide, TiO2. This semiconductor is applied as a thin film on aluminum or ceramic substrate.
When a semiconductor is illuminated with light of certain wavelengths, electrons in the material’s surface are excited, coming loose and starting chain reactions. This excess energy ends up splitting nearby water vapor molecules into two parts, hydroxyl radicals and super-oxide ions.
These free radicals are like tiny pac-people from the old video game: little round guys with enormous mouths that gobble up everything in their way. Hydroxyl radicals are among the most active oxidizers in the world, stronger than chlorine, ozone, and peroxide, and therefore very short lived.
Superoxide, not the same as ozone, is created by the addition of one electron to oxygen. This free radical has a "long" half-life: less than one second.
Toxic substances, like germs and volatile organic compounds, are coupled together by carbon-carbon, carbon-oxygen or carbon-hydrogen bonds. Oxidizers chop these bonds and break the molecule into smaller compounds. This continues until only carbon dioxide and water are left.
Since the process happens at the photocatalyst surface, and the oxidizers quickly expend their energy, photocatalytic air purification is safer than existing ozone-based oxidation systems. Only the ultraviolet bulb needs replacing, about once a year, so maintenance costs on these air cleaners are low.
This is an exciting area, with new science and improved products almost daily. There are even photocat lightbulbs and paints that eat pollution.
Photocatalytic air purifiers are the air cleaning machines of the future.

Candle Soot: Is Candle Burning Healthy?

2006-05-26T09:35:00.000-07:00

An "emerging" indoor air pollutant is soot from candles. The "discovery" of sooting in homes from candle burning has accompanied the growth of a multi-billion dollar business. Defenders like to point out that candles have been around for a long time and nobody complained before.

Not so fast.

Since before recorded history, humans have lived near fire. In medieval times, laws were passed requiring high ceilings and tall windows in new buildings. This was because smoke and soot, built up near the ceiling, and had to be exhausted through windows. It wasn't called the "dark ages" for nothing.

The fact that our ancestors used candles is scant evidence of their safety. Only about one hundred years ago whole families would cluster around the light of a candle. If company came they lit a second.

Despite the availability of electric lights, most homes have at least one candle. Everyone should have an emergency light source, but modern candles have gone far beyond that. Yesterday's light source has been changed into a romantic and festive mood-setter by marketing muscle. Can you guess what industry needs to unload tons of petroleum base products, waxes and paraffins, after light distillates are piped away?

Uh-huh, Big Oil.

Studies show the marketing barrage has worked. In one survey, 96% of female respondents had made a candle purchase in the most recent year. Now that other forms of "romantic" lighting are available, we can just say no to routine candle burning indoors.

Incandescent Carbon

Fire is invisible to the naked eye. It is just heat created by a chemical reaction. The light we see as flame is the luminescence of carbon particles which are very hot but do not burn completely. These non-combustible carbon atoms are released, rising into the air. These combine to become sooty particles made of thousands of carbon atoms. In the hot flame these particles are incandescent and glow, so giving the flame its yellowish-white color. As the particles rise, they cool and stop glowing, they are now black candle soot.

Dirty Laundry

Airborne soot particles eventually collide with other particles, combining into larger particles. Particles of soot have a positive charge which causes them to clump together around negatively charged airborne particles. This flocculation creates a snowball effect: the resulting charged clumps stick by electrostatic attraction to everything. Soot attaches to furniture, walls, and drapes. It is this soot which causes the ionizer air purifier's "black wall effect." Carpets slowly change to a darker, sooty color. A/C ducts become lined with soot. Soot is difficult to clean with normal household detergents. Good luck getting your electrostatic air purifier plates clean after the candles go out.

Candle Soot Damage

Homeowners have recieved some real shocks when they got the cleanup charges for the damage candles cause. Environmental damage disclosure standards which must be met for real estate financing are on the horizon. Candle soot analysis by professional engineers is employed more often in property appraisal and litigation. Heating and air conditioning companies have successfully defended furnace failure lawsuits on the grounds that the homeowner used candles.

Of course candles are not the only soot source; fireplaces, gas appliances, smokers, and other particulates are also present. Frying raises oils above their smoke generating temperatures. But many who would work to exclude these dangers will unknowingly accept the "romantic" mood setting, festive candle.

Aromatherapy is In

Aromatherapy candles have recently gained popularity. These disperse scent chemicals in addition to black soot. That "fresh" smell comes from volatile oil added to the wax. Stronger scents come from higher concentrations of oil in the air. Fragrance oils are unsaturated hydrocarbons which soften the wax so that it doesn't burn as hot.

Cooler burning produces more soot. As a candle in a jar burns down inside the container, oxygen, needed for a clean flame, is reduced.

Candle Soot and Health

Workplace soot exposure is associated with respiratory disease. The winter months, while homes are closed against the weather, see the highest candle consumption. Candle soot has a chemical composition similar to diesel engine exhaust! Soot from candles is .06-.1 micron in diameter.

These particles are deep lung penetrators. Particles of this size class can go right through home air conditioner filters. Soots' tiny carbon core acts as a carrier for many types of toxic molecules. Studies have found candles emit low levels of toxic substances such as toluene, acetone, mercury, benzene, and styrene.

The Environmental Protection Agency tested a random group of over 30 candles and found 20 toxic Volatile Organic Chemicals.

Toxic Wicks

Metal core wicks, formerly made from Lead, have not been made in America since 1974. Metal core wicks spread particles through the home. Carpets, where pets and children hang out, accumulate soot and metal. There are no standards or labeling requirements, so imported candles may still have metal wicks. Most U.S. made candles now have cotton wicks, though a few zinc-core wicks persist.

Candles are a leading cause of home fires and fatalities.

A new business has emerged offering beeswax or soy-based alternatives. While these may be preferable to older candles, those with asthma, allergy, MCS, or respiratory problems are advised to remove all burning from the home. Softer candles outgas toxic chemicals while they are just sitting around waiting to burn.

For better health eliminate all combustion sources, nothing should burn inside a home.

I know a few people are calling me "Grinch", a nasty party pooper. Of course, birthday cakes with candles are an exception, just let the child blow them out after a minute and ventilate the room. Why not recycle the same birthday candles next year?

Neoair 68108 Air Purifier Review

2006-05-26T09:31:00.001-07:00

A complete review of the Neoair Enviro 68108 is available at http://www.air-purifier-power.com

Neoair 68108 Air Purifier Review

2006-05-26T09:31:00.000-07:00

A complete review of the Neoair Enviro 68108 is available at http://www.air-purifier-power.com

Quiet Air Purifier

2006-05-23T10:58:00.000-07:00

Most people purchasing their first air purifier are surprised at the noise it makes. Only a few purifiers are really quiet.
Despite the "quiet" claim by air purifier manufacturers, “Noisy on the high speed” is by far the most frequent user complaint.
The real issue is not how loud a purifier is on high, but how much sound does it make while cleaning meaningful amounts of air. Several premium air purifiers are loud on high, but offer as many as six speeds for useful quiet air purification.

The decibel (dB) scale measures noise in scientific terms.
On the Decibel scale, each 10 points represents 10 times as much noise. For example; 50 dB(A), is not just louder, but ten times as loud as 40 dBA. With many purifiers running in the low 70’s, louder than normal conversation, sound levels are a major concern.
A few Decibel ratings;
Threshold of human hearing: 0 dB(A)
Quietest air purifier: 15 dB(A)
Soft whisper: 20 dB(A)
Good air purifier on low: 32 dB(A)
Ordinary air purifier on low: 36 dB(A)
Refrigerator: 50 dB(A)
Normal conversation: 60 dB(A)
Dishwasher: 55-70 dB(A)
Typical air purifier on high: 66 dB(A)
Loud air purifier: 70 dB(A )
Car interior on highway: 75 dB(A)
Vacuum cleaner: 80 dB(A)
Home stereo: 80 dB(A)
Lawn mower: 90 dB(A)
Rock concert: 110 dB(A)
The air purifier industry has no standards for noise levels. Only a few vendors voluntarily reveal actual decibel sound emissions.

The notion that a quieter air purifier produces less stress and improved health is confirmed by scientific studies. Prolonged exposure to noise levels above 70 dB(A) can cause hearing loss. Noise levels higher than 50 dB(A) can make conversation impossible.
Most air purifiers have a fan that moves air. Nobody has found a way to purify air without moving it. Moving air makes noise.
We are told to buy based on the largest room size an air purifier can clean. Manufacturer’s room size recommendations are based on full time top speed air cleaning. This is not acceptable to most users, who will turn the purifier down or off.

A bigger air purifier can clean the room on lower speeds, often quietly. Many air purifier buyers are "saving money" by selecting a less expensive purifier when the most powerful model in that same vendor's product line is maybe only $20 higher.

A smallerair cleaner will have to run on high continuously, and most smaller air purifiers are noisy on high. A bigger air purifier can run for a few minutes on high, and then be turned down to a quiet level.

Noise levels in decibels are not useful without associated airflow data. If it isn't moving any air, who cares how "quiet" it is? Reviews should cite a noise level with a related Clean Air Delivery Rate (CADR) or airflow rate in cubic feet per minute (cfm). For example: 40dB(A)@212cfm is pretty quiet for the air being cleaned.

Well designed backward curved fan blades and sealed ball bearing motors are quieter. They cost more.

Noise can also develop when bearings or bushings wear out on cheaper motors, allowing side play of the fan shaft. When slippage allows fan blades to rub cases, vibrations increase.

Consumers can prevent “quiet air purifier” disappointment by demanding true sound data from vendors, and installing a larger model than sellers recommend for their room.

Demographics of Immunocompromise

2006-05-12T12:37:00.000-07:00

The primary theme of Air-Purifier-Power.com concerns unseen health threats; chemicals and rapidly evolving microorganisms. I argue that humanity is facing an evolutionary crisis in the new century. I think our current situation is analogous to the plight of the RMS Titanic, sailing overconfident into an icefield. With lifeboats enough for the upper decks.

One aspect is the growth of a large sub-population of immunocompromised human beings. I suspect many readers will be suprised to find themselves in a category below.

Someone who is immunocompromised is less capable of mounting a normal immune response to an injury or disease organism.

Traditional categories would include the HIV positive, organ amd bone marrow transplant recipients, blood cancers, chemotherapy/radiation therapy, spleen surgeries, and a few genetic disorders. Diabetics and those with a long list
of "autoimmune" disorders are considered at a lower level of risk.

Although these categories cover a large number of persons worldwide, I think
the list could be expanded considerably. Everyone who is positive for "latent"
tuberculosis (15 million US, plus 1/3 of world) has potential to progress to
active. As the population ages, many will develop symptoms of diseases now
considered latent. Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Gulf War Syndrome, plua a host of others, have been linked to long term infection with a new strain of immune disrupting Mycoplasma.

When I was young, prisons used to be called "colleges for crime." While that may still be appropriate, they join the hospitals, nursing homes, homeless shelters, illegal immigrant detention centers, and debriefing camps for returning war vets as incubators for disease.

So what is the point? We are collectively kept ignorant of the true threat, while being herded toward vaccination programs which provide short term profits and long term risks.

Germicidal Air Purifiers

2006-05-05T11:13:00.000-07:00

There are several technologies used to limit the growth of microorganisms. Some are
confined to reducing biological build up on the filters themselves, while the more
ambitious attempt to sanitize the room air.

Oxidizers are prominent, with ozone and hydroxyl radicals being leading technologies. This is because many viruses are too small to be captured by HEPA
filter media. Ultraviolet light, alone or in combination with photocatalytic titanium-dioxide substrates, is often added to air purifiers as a germicidal mechanism.

In reality, we have little evidence of the effectiveness of air purifiers as a
preventative measure in a pandemic situation. Many were installed in China, as a
response to the SARS flare up. Studies have shown reduced microbial populations
in buildings with UV lamps isnatlled in the ductwork.

Can we use air purifiers as part of a template for coping with airborne disease?
I intend to try.

See Mitsubishi Bio Fresh Air Purifier for a recent germicidal air
purifier without hazardous oxidizers.

The Coming Epidemics

2006-05-04T06:11:00.000-07:00

The Bush White House recently reminded local community leaders that the federal govenment will not be able to assist with the burdens of a nationwide/worldwide bird flu epidemic. Such an outbreak is considered inevitable by experts, who predict over 2 million U.S. casualties. I believe we as individuals are completely unprepared for the new evolutionary reality; we talk of saving whales as if we ourselves are not at risk.

Saving vanishing wildlife is a laudable goal, but in-my-humble-opinion, billions of humans are destined to join them. The longtime scourge of humanity, epidemic diseases, proclaimed beaten by "science", will soon return even stronger.

Now is the time to think of survival, not in the old fashioned guns-and-shelters sense, but in a biological context. How strong is your immune system? Knowledge of the threat, carefully studied in Asia, is largely ignored stateside.

Vaccine shortages are predicted, and alternative remedies are likely to experience spot shortages if a panic ensues. I was in Florida during the bad hurricane season a couple years back: the few open stores were cleaned out fast.

I know my family is poorly prepared for the 21st century, and we are doing our best.

Stay tuned to Air-Purifier-Power.com for news about the real world; germicidal air purifier reviews, herbal and natural H5VN1 natural remedies, and safe room ideas.

Friedrich C90B

2006-05-02T05:31:00.000-07:00

Not everyone is aware that Friedrich's C90A air purifier has been superseeded. The newer model, Friedrich C90b, has increased power, but identical appearance and price. This has allowed many dealers to continue selling the old model to unwary consumers.

Whirlpool ap45030r

2006-05-01T09:03:00.000-07:00

If you need airborne particle removal on a limited budget, consider the Whirlpool AP45030R. This air purifier ranked near the top in Consumer Reports most recent review. 45030 lacks a carbon chemical filter, but is very good at removing particulate allergens, like pollen. Good for seasonal allergy sufferers, this machine has lots of power for the price.

Air Purifier Consumers

2006-04-29T16:15:00.000-07:00

Many people who buy air purifiers have wasted money, purchasing "air purifiers" they saw on TV infomercials. Some proceed straight from viewing the TV ads to the purchase without further study. Air purifiers purchased in this manner often do little air cleaning and may not improve health. The ad campaigns cost millions, so the buyer pays even more. Indoor air is dangerous, but buying based on disinformation is dangerous, too.

indoor air quality crisis

2006-04-28T10:30:00.000-07:00

many are unaware of the looming biological crisis. sure, most have heard of global warming, mass extinctions, polar ice melt acceleration.... but few understand the true nature of the evolutionary threat: evolving infectious organisims, with airborne
transmission. While an air purifier is no guarantee in the epidemics of the 21st century, I will never be without mine. Air purifier reviews, are a good place to begin an investigation of hidden chemical and biological hazards in your air.