Choosing the right air filter - Why most air filters on the market are DANGEROUS

JamesGatz

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Why many air filters are Dangerous

I wanted to create this thread because of the topic of air filters - they seem to really help in my room and household with reducing serotonin - However in another thread @Mr.Bollox brought up ionizing and UV air filters so I think it's good to have a discussion

air-purifiers-lowres-00835-2x1-1-1024x512.jpg


I think it goes without saying that UV air filters or filters that use UV technology is dangerous if im wrong someone correct me but i think ive seen topics on this forum about it

Ionizing air filters seemed dangerous to me even before I started researching it- my old workplace had them installed and I noticed I would immediately get headaches and it would feel hard to breathe walking into a room with it on - which led me to search deeper inside of this

Ionizing air filters seem to emit ozone when creating the ions they emit in the air and ozone seems to be universally hazardous to the respitory system - turning on the ionizing air filter even for a minute has me experiencing toxic effects

I used to work at a school that had them in every room and saw 2 different kids have seizures (with no medical history of seizures) in the first month of school in which the school had them on - I'm not implying it had to be the air purifiers but it seems a bit suspicious when taking the effects into account


What effects does Ozone have on us ?


"People who buy ozone generators may not be aware that ozone can harm the cells in the lungs and respiratory airways. Exposure to ozone irritates and inflames the lining of the respiratory system. This causes symptoms including coughing, chest tightness, shortness of breath, and impaired breathing"


from the EPA themselves:

"Ozone, a lung irritant, is produced indirectly by ion generators and some other electronic air cleaners and directly by ozone generators. While indirect ozone production is of concern, there is even greater concern with the direct, and purposeful introduction of a lung irritant into indoor air. There is no difference, despite some marketers' claims, between ozone in smog outdoors and ozone produced by these devices. Under certain use conditions ion generators and other ozone generating air cleaners (see www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/ozone-generators-are-sold-air-cleaners) can produce levels of this lung irritant significantly above levels thought harmful to human health"


Here is what is Interesting :


Even with experimentation with air filters and I turned the ionizing option off - I still experienced the hazardous the effects of ozone toxicity - only to a smaller extent - this had never happened to me when I use a HEPA filter that has no existing ionizing option existent so I do believe:

That air filters with ionizer options (regardless of whether you turn the option off or keep it on) still seem to realease ozone into the air
- my experimentation proves this to me but I would experiment with your own air filters - HEPA filters with no built-in ionizer option seems to not give me the ozone toxicity effects I experience with ionizing air filters

I think that HEPA filters with no existant ionizing options on the device and no uv options on the device as well is the safest to use for indoor use but maybe there should be a discussion
 
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JamesGatz

JamesGatz

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View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kH5APw_SLUU&ab_channel=MichiganMedicine



I like this video - awesome cheap way to create your own HEPA filter which I want to do because honestly I don't trust how these types of filters are built they always want to make it better so they might add in other stuff to the hepa filters that are irritating - going to try this out for sure - pretty cheap option
 

xeliex

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Dedicated ozonators are pretty fantastic at clearing any smell, mold, insects, etc.. from small spaces. We used to use them up until few years ago in dialysis for sanitizing tanks and filters. I always found the smell to be repulsive and tickles the lungs...


Haidut posted something not too long ago about hepa devices increasing endotoxin or something of that sort - it probably is on haidut.me still.


I personally still use air purifiers and ionizers (with very low ozone if any). I might experiment with turning them off for a while and see how I feel. about 6 years ago since I started using HEPA air filters and ionizers, the dust in the house was greatly reduced and I rarely if ever get respiratory allergy like symptoms. These used to be bad before but it could be coincidental.
 
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JamesGatz

JamesGatz

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Haidut posted something not too long ago about hepa devices increasing endotoxin or something of that sort - it probably is on haidut.me still.
Interesting - I am going to look into this - I am wondering how this could be so ? To me HEPA seems to be really a fan with a filter to trap particles.

Yea the ozone part kills me personally - I tested it with different filters - as soon as I turn one on even if the ionizer option is off - my nose gets stuffed up and it gets hard to breathe - ironically, I do feel the air getting cleaner with the ionizer but feel what it's doing to the air literally kills me - it seems this subject goes much deeper than i thought - i will try to find it on haidut's website

@haidut if you have time I would be very interested in hearing your thoughts on the subject
 
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JamesGatz

JamesGatz

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Take a look - something about rupturing the bacteria and releasing endotoxin

You are right ... Hmmm ... so then it seems like all air purifiers would be dangerous then - it seems like they all have a con to it..... this is concerning - I am not sure what to think anymore

I find it easier to breathe with my HEPA filter on so I might do as well what you are saying - get a feel for it and continue using if it feels good ... this is an interesting subject
 

xeliex

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I am in the same boat as you. I have felt a benefit from using them and as you said, sense the cleaner air...

I think changing the filters regularly is important and handling the used filters with care is important. I would think that endotoxin will be caught up by that same hepa filter that ruptures the bacteria (hope so).

I do use a variety of air cleaners though dispersed at home and my workplace.

I use Best Ionic UV Air Purifier | IonicAir™ UV Purifier | Air Oasis® but will be trying to turn them off for a while and see if I feel different in any way.
 

xeliex

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I wonder if concentrated endotoxin per se is worse than potential allergens / microorganisms present in indoor air....
 

xeliex

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This seems to show that central air lowers allergens and endotoxin... Not sure what to think - will continue researching a bit.
 

Tim Lundeen

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We used a leading HEPA filter unit because of CA fires -- gave my wife migraines. We do use the filter in the house central heat, that seems to be OK, with an electrostatic filter not changed very often and paper frame. The filter units use a polystyrene frame, and some plastic fibers for filtering... So have to be careful, for sure.
 
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JamesGatz

JamesGatz

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We used a leading HEPA filter unit because of CA fires -- gave my wife migraines. We do use the filter in the house central heat, that seems to be OK, with an electrostatic filter not changed very often and paper frame. The filter units use a polystyrene frame, and some plastic fibers for filtering... So have to be careful, for sure.
Yes I get the migraines as well when i used the HEPA filters with the ionizer options - i had related it to ozone - it's interesting that yours did was well as a unit ... it's a really confusing subject - I ordered hepa filters with no other options to my house for this week - i will test it out again - if it gives me headaches again then i have no idea what it is because theres a really old hepa filter my dad bought in my house that gives me no issues but its also pretty weak - i dont know how to decipher this
 
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JamesGatz

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Anyway just tested my new HEPA filter only in my house today - interesting feelings - good metabolic effects, good energy, sometimes i get a little out of breath not sure why - not as bad as ionizer options to me but i wonder why i feel out of breath sometimes i wonder if it affects the oxygen in the air or something
 

xeliex

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Endotoxin will take time to build up on the filter - you shouldn't be so quick to judge the effect of a HEPA filter. Ozone's acute sensory effects is something else. I turned of all the air purifiers in my home yesterday and slept a lot better and deeper. I will continue to monitor how I feel without them.

Plants. I do have a lot of plants in my house and some believe that they are the best air purifiers one can get.
 
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JamesGatz

JamesGatz

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Plants. I do have a lot of plants in my house and some believe that they are the best air purifiers one can get.
Really ? I had no idea about this - I had sometimes thought the opposite because of pollen - that's interesting im going to look into what specific plants might be good for this
 
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JamesGatz

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Ah man all I have got to say is WOW - this is overall my experience with the HEPA filter:

Pros:
Very good at cleaning the air - getting rid of unpleasant smells
I feel a great lowering of serotonin effect and a lot more motivated

Cons:
I get muscle aches ? My biceps and lower leg muscle starts aching a bit and goes away when i turn it off ? very odd
my DHT also seems to get lowered from the filter - I have no idea how this would happen but its a noticeable drop and it comes back right after

Im going to look into the plants stuff because this stuff is very interesting a true mystery to me
 

Michael Mohn

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I have an allergy against dust mites and I bought a cheap hepa airfilter with ionizer for a room with an old carpet that made me problems. The air filter gave me instant relief after a few hours. Ionizer made me nothing, positive or negative.
 

MtnGuy

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We have filters from E.L. Foust. Made for people with multiple chemical sensitivity. Almost all metal, carbon media is stored in metal screen. Has a hepa filter option. Might be what people here are looking for.

 

rayban

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I have a Levoit air purifier but according to @haidut they release endotoxins in the air:


So yeah, wtf are you supposed to do to clean the air then.
 

rayban

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