As for air purifiers I have an old DeLonghi one purchased probably 7-8 years ago.
It was unused for a long period and I was unable to buy replacement filters in recent years so stuck with the old one.
The AQM was again interesting when I stuck the air purifier in the study and it brought the PM 2.5 levels down from around 300 to well under 50 at times (opening/closing doors aside), almost zero this morning having been left on overnight.
The AQM at least gives me some confidence that the DeLonghi is doing something with an old filter and not just wasting electricity, fortunately replacements are available once again, so may stock up while I can.
Ultimately Iām likely to invest in some newer models for various rooms as my āhayfeverā has been quite bad in recent years and lasts longer - convinced Iām allergic to tree pollens/leaves etc from the linen trees which line the pavements.
I occasionally smoked years ago (having vowed as a child never to do so), but generally āsociallyā.
I strongly suspect that I was exposed to considerably more cumulative passive smoke effects from pubs/clubs in my younger days. Thank heavens you can go out and not have clothes smelling like an ashtray the following morning nowadays.
The Philips air purifier that I use surprised me how good it is. It has particle and gas senses. I thought the unit would be a bit of a consumer gimmick, but needed a decent air filter in the bedroom anyway. Walking near it instantly raises itās particle measurement and I put some new furniture in there and it had an odd ānewā smell. This instantly set off the gas sensor and the unit increased to purify the air. Very clever and reliable.
I think you mentioned the Philips in the old āBestā thread. Certainly one to consider when I get a new one. The DeLonghi has some kind of auto air quality sensor too, suspect not as advanced as the Philips but it changes colour/speed depending on the air quality.
One thing to consider with air purifiers is the cost of consumables and how often they ought to be changed, I think the Philips ones last 12 months or so?
Good question and one that I looked into before buying any unit. The Philips filter on this unit is great. Excellent design and beautifully made. It lasts 3 years. You just need to vacuum the exterior of the pre-filter part every now and then when the unit tells you. Itās all based on how often itās used and what the air quality was like whilst it was filtering. Clever algorithms.
When it comes to household products, Philips seem to shine. The amount of money Iāve spent over 25 years on the āapparently bestā irons, only to be disappointed at how absolutely rubbish theyāve been and then I bought a very expensive Philips iron and it is superb. Very clever unit and not one issue in 4 years. Edit; Iāve just Googled my iron and itās now Ā£600! You gotta be kidding. Price rises nowadays have become a joke.
Weāve used Philips irons for as long as I can remember, not as fancy as a steam generator, though I have been tempted.
Virtually all of our internal lighting is Philips LED, some of it smart lighting but far from all.
I have several old Philips iPod/iPhone 30 pin docks which were excellent and still work well, one probably matched an original unreliable B&W Zeppelin sonically or even bettered it and was far cheaper (even more so as I got it half price end of line).
I got a few Philips waterproof rechargeable bluetooth fun speakers at Amazon for around Ā£30 reduced from Ā£90 or so - ideal for the kids to go out with friends (if damaged/lost no great deal) or casual garden or holiday listening.
So yes, Iād agree they do make excellent consumer products from basics to more advanced items.
I should have taken a photo, but I just turned the DeLonghi off and opened the front to access the series of filters - could not believe the first fluff/lint filter had 1-2mm of dust build up which Iāve now just hoovered off so it looks like new. The main HEPA/activated charcoal filter is looking grubby on the one side and although functional is surely past its best, so must order replacements now theyāre back in stock.
Could probably do with something like the Philips for the larger living space and a few smaller units for bedrooms. So many options to choose from these days and even cheaper ones which get dust out of the aire are probably better than nothing.
Do you remember the vogue for ioniser? Was never sure about the ones I had, but ionising the air seems to be an option on several dehumidifiers and air purifiers.
The comparatively cheap EcoAir dehumidifiers I bought some years ago from Amazon have actually been fantastic and still work well, though prices have increased a fair bit.
I WOULDNāT GO FOR AN IONISER! (big caps alert). Theyāre horrible and weird. I had one of those and it went back after a few days. Strange things happen to your throat.
The reason why I liked the Philips filter design was the large 360 surface area (and the fact it was Philips and the filter was expensive). This usually means itās going to be good. Not scientific, but itās proved correct again. I have a Mitsubishi dehumidifier and it has a hepa filter in it, even though thatās not itās primary function. The filter clogs up fast because itās basically a flat 2 dimensional design and has minimal effect on nano impurities. I imagine many air filters using this method and so are a bit gimmicky.
I have co2, temp and hum sensor. Iām very happy with the accuracy/usefulness temp and hum, but not convinced with the co2.
Just peeled a tangerine next to it and it maxed out at 5000. Also does this if Iām baking a loaf.
The hysteresis is non existent on a rise of co2, (as it should be) but seems way to high if the co2 is lowered.
We probably built up natural resistance from getting dirty.
When I went fishing with my dad weād chuck a handful of maggots in near the float and then get the butties out. Kept our bottles of pop in the water to keep them cool.
No handwash, alcohol wipes etc.
National statistics are showing a decrease in age expectancy.
Probably due to far too much chemical intervention diminishing the bodies natural defence system.
The figures are dropping after a flatline pre pandemic.
I reckon if we have to have electronic monitors attached it seems obvious that things arenāt going well.
Itās all down to people working in the background (some would call them heroes), monitoring and controlling Temperature, Humidity, Co2, Co, Smoke, VOC and other chemicals at large in work and leisure places.
Some people are ignorant of this fact, but thereās an obvious reason for this.
Natural exposure to bugs/grubs/dirt etc is undoubtedly helpful in keeping our immune defences on their toes - unless you have some kind of immunodeficiency of course.
I really hadnāt given much thought to air quality until recently, however I have often noticed I suffer less from itchy eyes/nasal congestion/coughs when we have breaks outside the city.
Weāve all had lots of coughs/sore throats/sniffles recently - chances are we are all just getting loads of seasonal viral infections, but as we do use log burners a lot I thought it might be interesting to try to ensure they are not affecting us as well.
Working from home today, Iām seeing this, not really that hot as the device is on a MacMini plugged in to USB for power:
Those particulate figures are with the De Longhi air purifier running on low mode - Iāll turn it off and see what happens.
Itās the PM 2.5 particulates (and gases my device doesnāt measure) which are of real concern to me - they are so small they can get into small airways and can be absorbed into the blood. There is supposedly a correlation with increased respiratory illness and cardiovascular/stroke risk especially if you have risk factors or pre-exisiting respiratory disease including asthma.
Maybe a toy/gimmick but the particulate figures go up a lot at night, probably from outside smoke and I suspect from cooking - the figures were very high the other night, inr etrospect I wonder if it was due to roasting some parsnips in the air fryer on high heat (never tried before) and they were a bit overdone - probably shouldnāt have used olive oil as itās less heat stable than various other fats.
I can understand if someone has a respiratory illness or immunodeficiency then using an air purifier may well be a good idea.
For normal healthy people is it not preventing natural immunity to build up especially in kids where they very quickly gain immunity without being too ill. Chicken pox as a young child isnāt too bad really, as an adult it takes on a different level.
Iāve not had a cough or sniffle since wellā¦before Covid was announced. My missus has recently been poorly, coughing and sniffling but nowt for me despite no air purifier.
Are you really concerned about particulates from roasting parsnips?
No, not really, simply that reading around a bit I found that these particulate monitors give higher readings with particulates generated by every day cooking or even using an electric toaster. My specific point regarding the parsnips was if they were āsmokingā at high temp, was it the air fryer (relatively new) or maybe using a less stable oil.
Ultimately itās a bit of an inexpensive gadget/toy which is quite interesting to use to see what causes these particulates to rise.
As Iām home Iāve had the log burners on all day.
In the evenings the readings go up considerably - Iām assuming this is smoke from everyone else using log burners locally not just ours, with outside air being drawn in as the house is old and difficult to fully insulate.
I find it laughable that the government show concerns over air quality and lung damage and make huge sums of money on the sale of tobacco, freely available in almost every shop in the land.
You only need to ride a motorbike to experience the fact that diesels emit particles and smoke. I do have one diesel but thatās because the petrol version is a 5.7 V8
