/r/AirQuality

Photograph via snooOG

Support for people in search of answers about air quality. News about air quality and environment.

Air quality is posed to be the greatest environmental issue of the century and one of the greatest threat for the health of the planet. The biggest issue being that we all share the same air and anything happening on the planet impacts more or less the whole globe.

This sub helps gathering news about air quality and environment as well as providing an open forum for discussions.

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/r/AirQuality

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1

What's the best Air Purifier in 2024?

Been thinking my apartment's air could be a lot cleaner, what with all the dust and the city smog. Looking for an air purifier that's good for 2024, something simple to use but effective at clearing out the junk so I can breathe easier. Don't need anything too fancy, just want to make sure I'm getting clean air at home. Any solid recommendations?

Options I am considering:

  • Coway AP-1512HH Mighty
  • Blueair Blue Pure 211+
  • Levoit Core 300
  • Dyson Pure Cool TP04
7 Comments
2024/03/26
10:51 UTC

2

Possibility to filter P2.5 on the window air vents?

I am renting a place with air vents on the windows. Air quality is pretty bad in this region and I was wondering is there anything I can do to filter out P2.5 from the air that is coming through these vents? Maybe some filtering I can place on top of the vents?

0 Comments
2024/03/25
22:17 UTC

3

Is it safe to live above a garage?

Hi!

I want to get a no-bs opinion from you guys, as I don't know how to objectively perceive my situation. I am a highly anxious person, and I worked with the 9/11 survivor and responder community for a year, talking with victims everyday who were sick or dying due to being exposed to the air toxins resulting from 9/11. Rewarding but mentally exhausting work. To say my frame of mind was altered by this job is an understatement, as I am horrendously afraid of being exposed to poor air quality/toxins and am definitely overdue for therapy. (Cannot afford at the moment but it's the first thing I am investing in once I have more cash flow.)

In the meantime, my living arrangements have been a huge stressor for me, and I don't know whether it's realistic worry or being impacted by my mental state.

A few years ago I lucked out when I moved back to my HCOL home state, being offered a cheap studio to rent from a family friend that happens to be above their garage. I've read some things about apartments being above garages and that the main concern is usually noise and ventilation. Noise is not a concern for me, but I think ventilation is.

I'm 90% sure the air vents lead directly down to the garage, rather than outside. The garage itself is full of things a typical garage would have.. some lawn equipment, container of gasoline, pool chemicals (they have a pool), paint, paint thinners, plumbing supplies (the family friend is a plumber), lawn upkeep supplies, etc.

On more than one occasion, I've lost sleep due to smelling gasoline, chlorine, and spilled paint thinner that I was told was non-toxic after I complained to the owners of the home. It also doesn't help that the AC they provided to me, I am 75% sure is full of mold and mildew. When I mentioned it to the owners, they said it was just dirt and to wipe it out clean. They helped me clean and disinfect some of the parts, and I wiped down the inner propeller, but the internal styrofoam part looks like it still has mold, and I really feel like it needs a deeper cleaning. Even when it's not summer, the unit is taken out of the window and kept inside my apartment, so it's always nearby. The day after we cleaned it, I also noticed what looked like spots of mold start to appear in my bathroom sink, which made me think that mold spores were released into the air after cleaning the AC. During the winter is when I feel the worst though honestly, as I'm worried that the heating vents are dusty and full of debris from the garage. I also have two cats, so sometimes I worry that I also don't clean enough which adds to my feelings of apprehension about the air.

It's going on 3 years, and at first I loved this place. It's perfect. It's such a deal. I created a home. And now it feels like a prison. Sometimes it feels self inflicted and stemming from anxiety but other times my concerns feel valid and I need to get out of here ASAP. What has caused these concerns to become exacerbated recently, is that I was hospitalized for a bacterial infection, pneumonia and pleural effusion back in December. Since then, my lungs are incredibly compromised. And though I've gotten over the illness, I still have discomfort in my left lung, it took weeks to feel better, my body didn't respond to antibiotics right away, and even now I wonder if the poor air in my apartment contributed to the illness and is preventing me from fully recovering. I am so depressed, so anxious, look like I've aged 10 years in a few months, and really don't know who to turn to. Whenever I've mentioned my concerns in passing to the family friends and my family, they are downplayed. I want to get out but I cannot afford to. I want to be grateful to even have housing but I can't get past the anxieties.

As you could probably tell from this post, I am laden with fear. Is this fear valid? Am I safe? I have a coway airmega 200 that I run on full blast all the time, have been opening windows more now that it's not as cold, but still really can't get past this wall of deciphering what's real concern and what's fear.

Thank you in advance.

3 Comments
2024/03/24
19:01 UTC

0 Comments
2024/03/24
02:07 UTC

0

Fibreglass and possible asbestos

In my bathroom there is a vent that protrudes from the wall, being freshly 18 when I moved in I didnt know much and assumed the exposed brickwork underneath was tacky and slightly unsettling, but never knew about the fact this building was constructed in the 50's and that means it likely contains asbestos. The vent is much newer, so likely has fibreglass insulation.

This all came to my attention years after moving in, I'm now 21, due to noticing my hands were covered in a seemingly microscopic glitter that was cutting into my skin and leaving painful and invisible(except under a strong flashlight) shards in my skin that I cannot remove. I've suffered severe brainfog since I moved in that has left me frankly useless. I've had terrible acne since moving in and the symptoms go on. Its on my clothes, likely in my hair and everywhere lol.

I honestly feel like its all over for me because of a lazy workman and/or inspector who checked the place out before I moved in. After finding out about the fibreglass I worried it could be asbestos instead, but asbestos is not shiny (whew!). Except brickwork in the 50's was filled with asbestos and the bricks that are exposed are crumbling. I'm going to speak to my landlord about an air quality test to be sure, but even just sitting here now my chest is oh so congested and I have 0 energy to do anything. Pray for me🙏😭

4 Comments
2024/03/24
01:16 UTC

3

Mouldy country, mouldy life

I have had to move seven times due to getting sick from mould, then finding mould. Two of the apartments I moved to were new builds—in the past, these have been great for me, a relief from my symptoms. But here, too, I flared up terribly with a different version of the same pain—rather than asthma and rashes and chronic fatigue, I had migraines and joint pain and brain fog. I was reacting to the VOCS. Having mould illness puts you in a twilight zone of needing buildings that have not developed mould issues, but avoiding new builds with VOCs and formaldehyde. My system is wrecked from the last 2 years—I’m now 31, and believe I can still recover and live a good life (I’m currently still facing the migraines and joint pain and brain fog in a new build apartment, which I would take over mould as a villain). But some days feel hopeless too, like, as a renter, the right accommodation isn’t out there. I am now looking again, because my current flat isn’t tenable, and I just wanted to express sympathy for anyone else out there on this endless, unfair, at times intolerable search for somewhere to live. It’ll get better.

2 Comments
2024/03/23
10:32 UTC

1

Health concerns living near small stone cutting facility

We are looking for a house and are strongly favoring a really cute fixer upper. One of our biggest concerns is it’s proximity to a small stone countertop business. It’s an old neighborhood central to the city and the house is the 4th house on a small residential street adjacent to a main street that has several business. The closest business on the corner is a small custom countertop business, it’s a storefront with a yard where they have big slabs of granite and other stones lined up and in the back (closest to the front of the house, maybe 20-30 yards from the front door) they cut the stone slabs. We’ve been out there a few times checking out the house and the property and they definitely seem to be cutting often, it looks like dry cutting but I’m not super familiar with the methods of this type of work. They are just standing above the stones on a table and cutting with power tools, creating dust clouds that are visible for maybe 8 feet all around the work area. We walked over to talk to someone and the owner was out there, he was very nice, he said they use wet cutting and that all the stones are natural, that they haven’t had any problems with creating dust for the neighboring houses. He was very nice and seemed to be doing his best to helpful but I was worried that maybe he isn’t fully aware of the health risks associated with stone cutting. I know awareness of the dangers of silicosis is still growing (not one worker was wearing any type of mask). I’m just wondering if anyone knows anything about how far silica dust travels, if anyone has any experience living or working near a facility like this. We tried calling several places to have the air tested but nobody we talked to will do residential testing and if they do, they only test inside the home. I wonder if there are regulations over this type of work especially in residential areas and if anyone has any experience navigating the systems to ensure the business is doing what if anything is required to ensure they are not polluting the air.

1 Comment
2024/03/23
05:24 UTC

2 Comments
2024/03/22
15:53 UTC

1

Are air scrubbers safe to use?

Looking at one for VOC removal.

0 Comments
2024/03/22
10:26 UTC

0

Help! New HVAC equipment has drastically raised VOCs

Yesterday we got new HVAC equipment: a new furnace, AC, ERV, HEPA and humidifier.

VOCs have drastically increased! We're staying somewhere else for the night, and have left windows open upstairs a bit where our AirThings machine is. The VOCs - even with the window open in cold Canada - is 300 ppb. Before the replacement, it was averaging 45-60 ppb with the windows closed when no one was home.

Radon has gone down to almost nothing.

Humidity is only at 18% downstairs and 25% upstairs because the upstairs windows are open.

I'm worried VOCs will get much worse once we close up the windows and the humidity goes up. Will this get better? What's going on? I have a newborn that I'm concerned about. Is there anything I can do? ☹️

2 Comments
2024/03/22
08:14 UTC

1

Suggestions for portable air quality monitors?

I currently own the Atmotube Pro and am uncertain on how accurate it is and the readings are somewhat vague in that it does not give specific PM2.5 readings.

4 Comments
2024/03/21
23:15 UTC

3

Do you guys recommend humidifiers?

Thinking about purchasing a steam warm air humidifier.

But reading about mold growth, and several peoples health getting worse because of the mold make me worried.

I just know that i am going to forget to regularely clean the humidifier.

22 Comments
2024/03/21
16:44 UTC

5

New Air Quality News Magazine

0 Comments
2024/03/21
09:47 UTC

4

VOC / formaldehyde / aldehyde measuring devices

Hi all,

Has anyone experimented with VOC or formaldehyde meters?
I'd like to get a sense of what the levels are like in my room, and in different parts of the house.
There are a number on Amazon but TBH I have heard they can be flakey / scams and not sure if its even worth trying one or not.
Some of them LOOK pretty legit - others are just screaming fake.

Anyone have any experience?
I don't have a bucket of cash to spend.

1 Comment
2024/03/21
04:08 UTC

1

A Personalised New Indoor Air Quality Management System

We are working on a start-up idea and have built a landing page for Minimum Viable Product (MVP). Our product is an air quality monitoring device for urban Indian households especially in polluted cities like Delhi. Here is a link to the landing page:

https://e1331180.wixsite.com/aeroiq

We request you to open the link and look through our product. If you find our product interesting, you may leave your e-mail (any e-mail ID). If you have any feedback or questions, we will be very happy to take those into consideration. Kindly write the message at the bottom of our landing page.

0 Comments
2024/03/21
02:32 UTC

3

They put in a UV light but didn’t clean the existing mold out of the HVAC or ducts?

So I feel like an idiot. Was told by my HVAC tech that I had a lot of mold in my HVAC (I’m a first time homeowner and didn’t realize HVACs needed to be serviced every so often, so went my first 2 years in this condo without getting it serviced). Only dawned on me when I started having eye issues that occurred only in my condo. The tech told me about the mold and then said they’d take care of it and install a UV light. So I paid $2700 and two and a half weeks later they installed a UV light, but told me only after the fact that didn’t include cleaning the existing mold on the HVAC.

It is extremely dusty ever since the HVAC techs were here today to install the UV light, I’m going to vacuum and dust as much as possible. But what are the odds the HVAC techs just disturbed a bunch of mold spores out to float into my living space? And do I now need to pay a ton of money on top of the $2700 to clean the ducts/HVAC? I’m feeling stupid for not doing more research ahead of time

5 Comments
2024/03/21
00:24 UTC

3

Sewer gas in workplace

Hey everyone, How harmful is it to breathe in sewer gas? Obviously it’s nasty and not ideal, yet I’m wondering about potential long term health impacts/ is it a carcinogen/ level of danger etc. I work in an office that is older and certainly has sewer gas leaks and issues. The natural gas company has come out and checked for a leak so I am certain it is not that. However, despite an unpleasant smell, the facility manager does not consider this issue high priority and therefore nothing is being done to remedy it. I’m worried that this could be a potential health concern, as my online research is giving me conflicting results? Does anyone have info or experience with potential long term health impacts of sewer gas inhalation? TIA

8 Comments
2024/03/20
14:59 UTC

2

Are polarized media air cleaner worth it (over normal furnace filters?)

IAQ 1000 (Polarized Media Air Cleaner) was on a furnace quote that I got.

I'm curious on what this sub thinks about the following for IAQ 1000 vs. a 4" media filter with MERV 8 (or even just 1" media filter with MERV 8):

  1. Filter: Which filters out pollen and dust better?
  2. Maintenance: Which requires more maintenance (and what is it?)
  3. Anything else I should know about

I'm sure the IAQ 1000 likely costs more than the 4" filter to install... (and the filters themselves are likely more expensive)

Link: https://www.pristineaircleaner.com/indoor-air-solutions/iaq-1000

0 Comments
2024/03/20
02:46 UTC

1

Grounded Coffee log VS wood log. Pollution metrics.

Hi,

Can someone please provide me with some data about burning coffee log vs burning wood log? I read a lot about but its very contradictory. I just would like to figure out which one is more environmentally friendly.

Thanks in advance!

3 Comments
2024/03/19
15:49 UTC

5

Managing VOCs without carbon

Hi all,

I have an illness that is putting a lot of pressure on my detox systems (aldehydes specifically) - and although I always was ok in my room before; now it is contributing to negative symptoms of intoxication.

For reasons I won't go into here; I can't simply move - for the time being I am stuck here.

On some days my aldehyde load for other reasons is high enough that I am having symptoms regardless of where I am, even if I wear a mask etc.

However on other days, I am clearly just coping with the load from other sources; and can be crystal clear of symptoms outside the room - but on those days being in my room pushes me over the line into toxic symptoms - and if I leave the room or mask up, I clear up.

Of course the most obvious thing to do is get an air purifier which removes VOCs.
Unfortunately the very same illness that is making me sensitive to aldehydes also makes me intolerant to carbon filters.

I've tried coconut carbon, bamboo carbon, pine carbon. They all cause me intolerable symptoms.

So... once carbon filtering is out; I am struggling to find other ways I can make this situation more tolerable for myself until I can find a way out beyond just masking which is frankly intolerable over an extended period in hot weather.

Any suggestions anyone has would be greatly appreciated.

I have no idea where the VOCs are coming from; however this is an outdoor cabin separate from the main house and the inner walls are crushed bamboo board - and it wouldn't surprise me if they are the source.

19 Comments
2024/03/19
10:24 UTC

0

Neighbor's backyard exterior wall (my interior living room) was treated with wood preservative

There is about a span of 5 feet of interior wall in my living room that happens to be the exterior wall for my neighbors backyard patio. She had workers replace wood paneling for wood rot/termite damage and believed they used a CreoCoat wood preservative before (which I believe is a modern creosote alternative) before installing new wood panels. This was well over year ago but I occasionally detect some subtle hints (presumably leaking from an outlet and switch) when I need to close my blinds in that location. Is this a cause for concern because the wood was treated with a product meant for external use only on my neighbor's end but happens to serve as an interior wall on my side. If the product has long been cured on the wood and just detect an occasional odor is that an issue? I understand particulate from sanding treated wood would be more safety concern but is the odor an issue of persistent off-gassing that should be addressed? Could/should I look into installing some kind of ventilation hole on the exterior wall to help redirect VOCs?

Suspected product used: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Wolman-0-88-Gal-CreoCoat-Black-Water-Based-Exterior-Wood-Preservative-4-Pack-14436A/204746312

4 Comments
2024/03/18
18:42 UTC

2

COWAY 240 for $120 - crazy

Someone found this amazing deal on woot. Not refurbished and brand new. 290 CADR dust. Picked 2 up. Link below if interested.

https://home.woot.com/offers/coway-airmega-240-true-hepa-air-purifier?ref=mwj_h_f_hm_9

0 Comments
2024/03/17
17:55 UTC

4

Low cost, preferably open source, particulate monitor

I've been living in this particular rented space for about a year.My main hobby is networking, gaming etc. I run an old server rack for fun...

Anyway my computers start running their fans at full speed constantly, every 3-5 months because they're plugged with dust.This systemic cleaning has been an annual, or less issue at every other place I've lived.

I'd like to add two particulate level sensors to my network for interior and exterior levels.
These can be USB, Serial, Ethernet, WiFi, or bluetooth. Regardless my main goal for the entire network is to not rely on external servers, so if possible I'm looking for a finished product which fills these requirements, otherwise I'll look into configuring a circuit around the appropriate bare sensor components.

3 Comments
2024/03/17
02:32 UTC

1

Help stop another garbage incinerator

0 Comments
2024/03/17
01:32 UTC

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