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Air Cleaners for the Home?

G

Ginseng

Banned
Joined
Oct 2, 2005
Messages
8,802
Hey guys,

My wife has asked me to look into general purpose air cleaners for the home. The dust and sinus issues have prompted us to seek out a good unit or two for the living area and the girls' bedroom. This is not intended for smoke abatement as I don't smoke inside the house.

We'd like effective dust and dander capture, perhaps HEPA capability. No ozone generators or wet systems because of the safety and convenience issues. I've done a little research and it seems that the Sharper Image Ionic Breeze are ineffective and the Oreck units suffer from a myriad of product and support issues.

I've conducted a search on this forum here and have gotten some leads but I'd like to see what the current thinking and experience might be.

Any advice or experience you can share would be gratefully received.

Wilkey
 
Ginseng said:
Hey guys,

My wife has asked me to look into general purpose air cleaners for the home. The dust and sinus issues have prompted us to seek out a good unit or two for the living area and the girls' bedroom. This is not intended for smoke abatement as I don't smoke inside the house.

We'd like effective dust and dander capture, perhaps HEPA capability. No ozone generators or wet systems because of the safety and convenience issues. I've done a little research and it seems that the Sharper Image Ionic Breeze are ineffective and the Oreck units suffer from a myriad of product and support issues.

I've conducted a search on this forum here and have gotten some leads but I'd like to see what the current thinking and experience might be.

Any advice or experience you can share would be gratefully received.

Wilkey
Click to expand...

My man. I work at a heating and cooling distributer. I would be happy to hook you up. Most electronic air cleaners create ozone. A good amount of people are alergic to it and can make things worse. The best bet if you have alergy problems is a second wind UV bulb. It goes in your air duct and will help tremendously. It stays on all the time unless you unplug it. SO, you can program your thermostat to keep the blower running on your furnace. Now if you only have a 2 inch filter on your furnace you can upgrade to a Trion filter. It is 4" and will help. Stay away from the Ionic Breeze.

Now you could install a ERV in your house. This will bring in fresh air and have a hepa filter on it. Broan makes a decent one thats called a Guardian. An ERV makes it so that you loose no heat on the transfer. If you have any questions let me know and I can hook you up with something. I do work in the pricing department. :cool:
 
What is an ERV?

The big problem in this house seems to be dust. It gets on everything faster than anywhere else I've lived. Since this is a temporary location for us, I want the solution to be portable and not involve any contractor work. I looked at some units from BlueAire but good god, they're pricey. Still, if they work, I'm willing to pay it.

Wilkey
 
I've been looking at getting the trane Cleaneffects unit for my furnace. If you have a 4 inch filter now this fits right in. You could remove it before selling the house. I'm not sure how good a unit it is I'm still gathering info myself.
 
Think hepa. The electrostatic sell on the fact that there is no filter, only plates to clean. What the don't tell you is that it is a thin tungsten wire that produces the charge, producing copious amouts of ozone in the process. The ozone eats the tungsten. None I've see are user replacable, so the lifespan is limited.
 
NullSmurf said:
Think hepa. The electrostatic sell on the fact that there is no filter, only plates to clean. What the don't tell you is that it is a thin tungsten wire that produces the charge, producing copious amouts of ozone in the process. The ozone eats the tungsten. None I've see are user replacable, so the lifespan is limited.
Click to expand...


What he said.

Also - look at the CADR rating. Go with a HEPA.

Also also...check the windows and doors. I live on a fairly busy street/corner....when I DON'T have the HEPA on in the living room, dust gathers within a few days. It's noticably different when the filter is ON...a lot less dust!!!

There have only been a couple time when I've smoked IN the house. On those occasion the HEPA was used (Whispure)...the next day smell was not strong and after a full day it was gone.
 
NullSmurf said:
Think hepa. The electrostatic sell on the fact that there is no filter, only plates to clean. What the don't tell you is that it is a thin tungsten wire that produces the charge, producing copious amouts of ozone in the process. The ozone eats the tungsten. None I've see are user replacable, so the lifespan is limited.
Click to expand...

You dont want ozone.

The Second wind UV bulb will make it a lot healthier in your house. If you can cut a hole in the ductwork and screw a screw and plug it in then you can do it.

What you want is a higher MERV rating on your filters. If you put a 4" filter in it will help with dust. With how you guys build wineadors and such, you can cut a piece of ductwork.

Here is the Secondwind site. http://www.secondwindairpurifier.com/

Trion is what I would do for a 4" filter. It is the cheapest way to go. Basically the units are just a box that the filter slides into.

An ERV is an Energy Recoveroy ventilator. The name has to do with how it brings in fresh air from outside but does not allow any of the latent and sensible heat to exit. It has a HEPA filter in it also. This is the most expensive way to go, but with outside air coming in it would improve the environment of the house.

If you want I can get you some info on stuff. Just let me know. I would go the whole house over portable units.
 
Bill - it's a temp site for Wilkey.

Also some older homes may have an issue with a pleated/allergy filter or a larger filter.

I'll look at the Trion as I know my unit could handle these changes. Great info!
 
I looked at the filter box on my furnace and there's no way it will take a 4" filter. That's out.

I found this site that looks pretty unbiased. There are a couple of good options there. The IQAire looks awsome...but pricey. Still, how much is my family's health worth.

Wilkey
 
With out actually seeing how your furnace is set up It is kind of hard for me to tell you what you can do. Adding a 4" filter box is easy work, so is the UV bulb. I can look tomorrow on what the cost would be. If you plan on moving in a month or to I wouldnt bother with it but if you plan on staying more then a year I would.

I can tell you with the Bulb I know a customer who used to get migranes all the time now he doesnt. He said that he can cook fish and the smell is gone in no time. It is serously easier then you think to install these, but I can understand it being a temp site.

Always use a pleated. I wouldnt bother with the so called allergy filters.

Just so you guys know that if you ever need something furnace/HVAC related, let me know. I can hook you guys up.
 
Thanks a bunch Bill. Do you have any info you can send me on this bulb thing?

Wilkey
 
Hi Wilkey,
I have gone the filter on the furnace route, but I did start my quest at the
Asthma and Allergy foundation of America Web site. Had good solid advice. I don't remember if they gave any product info.

Oh! You might look into any sales tax saving, by prescriotion from a doctor...some are considered medical devices.
 
MadMonk said:
Hi Wilkey,
I have gone the filter on the furnace route, but I did start my quest at the
Asthma and Allergy foundation of America Web site. Had good solid advice. I don't remember if they gave any product info.

Oh! You might look into any sales tax saving, by prescriotion from a doctor...some are considered medical devices.
Click to expand...

The second wind bulb can be used as a medical device. If you can get a prescription from your doc on it then it can be paid for. How all the works I have no idea though.
 
I have one of these too Wilkey.Used it for 2 yrs. now and still works fine.
This is where I get my filters. Seems reasonable and a little cheaper. If you find a cheaper source LMK.
Mine covers 2 rooms just under 500 ft. Clears all the good home roasting odors and
the aroma lamp I used to cover up the cigar smells. :angry:
 
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