Air Purification

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LJ4174

Member
Jul 26, 2008
100
South Eastern PA
Hello...


So I heat my house with a pellet stove and we've been hearing that burning wood or pellets can induce allergins into the air. This will be my 3rd heating season with it... The last 2 years my kids have been stuffy and coughing and just not right. Yesterday we paid an extra $10 each plus our co-pay to take them to the Dr. - he couldn't find anything wrong, of course he was going to throw antibiotics at them anyway. I asked about allergies and we told him about the pellet stove and he also agreed that burning pellets or wood cause put allergins or pollutants into the air. So now I want to figure out how to clean the air. I actually have 2 whole house humidifiers. 1 is a portable unit and 1 is attached to the furnace. He mentioned a humidifier as to helping...



My initial though is to get a thermostat to run my air circulator say 10 minutes every hour, such as this one:



http://www.amazon.com/Lux-Products-..._m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0CT74KQX0GJD688EDY0J



This will also run my humidifier on my furnace as well, as well as use the filter to hopefully filter the air and pollutants.



I'm also thinking of getting a filter for my Essik humidifier, but also thinking of room purifiers, such as this one:



http://www.amazon.com/Whirlpool®-W...-AP51030K/dp/B00440EKRG/ref=pd_ecc_rvi_cart_1



However, I don't think that one is going to do what I'd like it to...



Any thoughts on any of this would be greatly appreciated...



Thanks...
 
The main thing pellets will be putting in the air is a little dust when the hopper is filled. Any allergens from the smoke should be outdoors only, not in the house. Do you have pets? A dog will bring in more dust than the stove will create.
 
Nope, no pets...

My buddy actually is a stove technician... He said the same thing. I just open the bag of pellets and dump them into my stove. Not sure if that dust causes any issues or just from them sitting in the hopper... Normally I wouldn't even consider this and maybe it isn't the stove at all and my kids just have allergies. I just don't want to deal with 4 or 5 months of them not sleeping and stuff like we did last year... It is very coincidental that it seems as soon as the stove starts burning, is when they've had issues...
 
Maybe you could try screening your pellets outside or in the garage to remove the fines before you dump it into the stove. That will help alleviate some of the dust associated with the stove.
 
tsmith said:
Maybe you could try screening your pellets outside or in the garage to remove the fines before you dump it into the stove. That will help alleviate some of the dust associated with the stove.

Thought about that, just not sure how to do it... By they way, I live over in Mohrsville...
 
How about putting an electronic air cleaner on your furnace?
 
Well I guess that just about makes us neighbors then. The easiest way to screen would be to go outside and pour them into a bucket in front of a box fan and let the fan or wind blow away the fines. I also know that Amaizablaze stoves make a box made for their stoves to screen corn, that would work too, The Agway in Kutztown sells Amaizablaze stoves. I made my own corn transport and screening system with the Corn Vac product and a 55 gallon steel drum. This uses a shop vac to move the product and cleans it at the same time.
 
When was the last time the humidifiers were serviced? I seen some that were mold factorys.
 
DBCOOPER said:
When was the last time the humidifiers were serviced? I seen some that were mold factorys.

+1

The water in a humidifier should be treated if it isn't you'll be spreading mold along with the humidity.

Mold is a major allergen.

ETA: Antibiotics without a known target is playing with fire, that is why a lot of former minor bacterial infections are no longer minor.
 
centralized heat source like a pstove will result in colder areas elsewhere & there is where condensation from cooling will occur & mold can develop moreso. raising the air humidity will make things worse ithinx
 
I been in health care over 40 yrs. What I have noticed is those allergy symptoms came in long before pellet stoves became popular. Dust from the stove is just one more considerations to add to a long list. Home are much more air tight with much less fresh air. Homes have many more composite materials in them to contribute to air pollution and their allergic responses. Think about it. You closed your windows. In an energy efficient home, that in it self will cause a concentration of pollutants. In homes where this problem is severe, I've seen good results from removing the carpets, no composite woods in the cabinets, and use of air exchangers. Any metal window frames are areas for mold, mildew etc. often the culprit of allergic reactions and asthma attacks. Basement bedrooms are areas where this often is a problem.
Air purifying help. Keeping the humidity at the right level is very beneficial to your comfort and effectiveness of your heating device. If you use a humidifier, make sure to keep that clean or it too may contribute to air pollution. (mold-mildew) When considering the purchase of an air purifying device, consider getting a unit using filters that are either cleanable or affordable. I've seen many units with filters that cost nearly as much as the unit itself. Be sure to follow the unit's cleaning schedule or you will be circulating allergens.
 
exoilburner said:
How about putting an electronic air cleaner on your furnace?

I have a filter on my return side of my heating system. What's an electronic air cleaner?

tsmith said:
Well I guess that just about makes us neighbors then. The easiest way to screen would be to go outside and pour them into a bucket in front of a box fan and let the fan or wind blow away the fines. I also know that Amaizablaze stoves make a box made for their stoves to screen corn, that would work too, The Agway in Kutztown sells Amaizablaze stoves. I made my own corn transport and screening system with the Corn Vac product and a 55 gallon steel drum. This uses a shop vac to move the product and cleans it at the same time.

Any pictures of this home made screening system? I keep my pellets in my basement and that would be a HUGE pain to bring them and go outside, but I would do it...

DBCOOPER said:
When was the last time the humidifiers were serviced? I seen some that were mold factorys.

Just cleaned the portable unit. Clean that a few times a year, need to order a new wick. The in furnace jobby is called like forest rain or something, it actually uses rubberish plastic cyclinders to put the water into the vents and it has a constant water supply. I clean that once a year, no mold just calcium build up, but since put a water softener in. Also, didn't use this at all last year...

SmokeyTheBear said:
DBCOOPER said:
When was the last time the humidifiers were serviced? I seen some that were mold factorys.

+1

The water in a humidifier should be treated if it isn't you'll be spreading mold along with the humidity.

Mold is a major allergen.

ETA: Antibiotics without a known target is playing with fire, that is why a lot of former minor bacterial infections are no longer minor.

I hear you with the Antibiotics... : I have some water treatment on its way...
 
~*~vvv~*~ said:
centralized heat source like a pstove will result in colder areas elsewhere & there is where condensation from cooling will occur & mold can develop moreso. raising the air humidity will make things worse ithinx

Yeah, my house is very open, there might be at the most a 10 degree difference in temps from downstairs to upstairs... Could that make a difference? Normally it's only about 5ish degrees...
 
save$ said:
I been in health care over 40 yrs. What I have noticed is those allergy symptoms came in long before pellet stoves became popular. Dust from the stove is just one more considerations to add to a long list. Home are much more air tight with much less fresh air. Homes have many more composite materials in them to contribute to air pollution and their allergic responses. Think about it. You closed your windows. In an energy efficient home, that in it self will cause a concentration of pollutants. In homes where this problem is severe, I've seen good results from removing the carpets, no composite woods in the cabinets, and use of air exchangers. Any metal window frames are areas for mold, mildew etc. often the culprit of allergic reactions and asthma attacks. Basement bedrooms are areas where this often is a problem.
Air purifying help. Keeping the humidity at the right level is very beneficial to your comfort and effectiveness of your heating device. If you use a humidifier, make sure to keep that clean or it too may contribute to air pollution. (mold-mildew) When considering the purchase of an air purifying device, consider getting a unit using filters that are either cleanable or affordable. I've seen many units with filters that cost nearly as much as the unit itself. Be sure to follow the unit's cleaning schedule or you will be circulating allergens.

Well, I only have carpet upstairs in the bedrooms. The humidity should be between 30% and 50% correct? Right now, it was at 44%. Air exchanger? Is that just another term for a purifier?
 
LJ4174 said:
save$ said:
I been in health care over 40 yrs. What I have noticed is those allergy symptoms came in long before pellet stoves became popular. Dust from the stove is just one more considerations to add to a long list. Home are much more air tight with much less fresh air. Homes have many more composite materials in them to contribute to air pollution and their allergic responses. Think about it. You closed your windows. In an energy efficient home, that in it self will cause a concentration of pollutants. In homes where this problem is severe, I've seen good results from removing the carpets, no composite woods in the cabinets, and use of air exchangers. Any metal window frames are areas for mold, mildew etc. often the culprit of allergic reactions and asthma attacks. Basement bedrooms are areas where this often is a problem.
Air purifying help. Keeping the humidity at the right level is very beneficial to your comfort and effectiveness of your heating device. If you use a humidifier, make sure to keep that clean or it too may contribute to air pollution. (mold-mildew) When considering the purchase of an air purifying device, consider getting a unit using filters that are either cleanable or affordable. I've seen many units with filters that cost nearly as much as the unit itself. Be sure to follow the unit's cleaning schedule or you will be circulating allergens.

Well, I only have carpet upstairs in the bedrooms. The humidity should be between 30% and 50% correct? Right now, it was at 44%. Air exchanger? Is that just another term for a purifier?

An air exchanger is a device that allows you to let in outside fresh air and not lose a lot of the heat you have already produced.

It is not an air purifier in the strictest sense.
 
LJ4174 said:
~*~vvv~*~ said:
centralized heat source like a pstove will result in colder areas elsewhere & there is where condensation from cooling will occur & mold can develop moreso. raising the air humidity will make things worse ithinx

Yeah, my house is very open, there might be at the most a 10 degree difference in temps from downstairs to upstairs... Could that make a difference? Normally it's only about 5ish degrees...
warm air holds water better thaN COLD AIR & THE Diff is condensation in coldest areas where mold might grow........ humans develop immunities also
 
LJ4174 said:
exoilburner said:
How about putting an electronic air cleaner on your furnace?

I have a filter on my return side of my heating system. What's an electronic air cleaner?

It is a powered unit that is installed on your existing furnace. It puts a static charge on the dust particles so is able to capture smaller and more dust particles. I have no experience with them but that's what they claim. They claim to have a much higher filter rate than conventional filters.
This website has some good info, prices, on some different units:
http://www.allergybuyersclub.com/compare-furnace-filters.html

The manufacturer of your furnace may have an electronic or electrostatic air cleaner that is made for your furnace.

Was thinking you could run your furnace in "summer fan mode" to filter the air when running the pellet stove and the furnace is not being used.
 
briansol said:
http://www.amazon.com/Sharper-Image-Breeze®-Purifier-SI637BLK/dp/B0000AUTU3

safe for the kids (no fans) and it works a treat.

You will want to read this before you use any Ozone producing "air cleaner" http://www.arb.ca.gov/research/indoor/ozone_gen_fact_sheet-a.pdf
Ozone is "smog", just more air pollution.
A good filtering system that is well maintained, or an air exchanger is a better way to rid an airtight home of air pollution. http://www.airexchangers.info/air_exchanger_basics.html
 
Good topic! Keep a cool mist humidifier handy and keep the level so you don't have a lot of condensation on your windows in the morning! I have a tower fan that I keep running to circulate the warm air through out the house and got rid of all the carpets.
Keep your house clean and dust every week.
 
Was thinking you could run your furnace in "summer fan mode" to filter the air when running the pellet stove and the furnace is not being used.

Yeah, that's what I have been doing here and there the last few days. That is what this thermostat is supposed to do...

http://www.amazon.com/Lux-Products-..._m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0CT74KQX0GJD688EDY0J

You can set it to run like 10 minutes every hour... My thoughts are this should help circulate the heat through out the house, but also filter the air... Just not sure if it's "enough"

A good filtering system that is well maintained, or an air exchanger is a better way to rid an airtight home of air pollution. http://www.airexchangers.info/air_exchanger_basics.html

Hmmmm... I want to check this air exhanger thing out, but here's another question that I just thought of... Would installing an outside air kit onto my stove do the same thing???
 
LJ4174 said:
Was thinking you could run your furnace in "summer fan mode" to filter the air when running the pellet stove and the furnace is not being used.

Yeah, that's what I have been doing here and there the last few days. That is what this thermostat is supposed to do...

http://www.amazon.com/Lux-Products-..._m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0CT74KQX0GJD688EDY0J

You can set it to run like 10 minutes every hour... My thoughts are this should help circulate the heat through out the house, but also filter the air... Just not sure if it's "enough"

A good filtering system that is well maintained, or an air exchanger is a better way to rid an airtight home of air pollution. http://www.airexchangers.info/air_exchanger_basics.html

Hmmmm... I want to check this air exhanger thing out, but here's another question that I just thought of... Would installing an outside air kit onto my stove do the same thing???

The OAK will help with the indoor humidity levels, but it isn't even close to being the same as an air exchanger.

An air exchanger is also known as an air to air heat exchanger, they are mandatory in some places when you have a super insulated house.

You have to be certain that its outside air intake isn't where it can suck in smoke.
 
An air exchanger is also known as an air to air heat exchanger, they are mandatory in some places when you have a super insulated house.

You have to be certain that its outside air intake isn't where it can suck in smoke.

OK, so I did a quick search on amazon for an air exchanger and found some boxes with fans on them. I assume these are installed in a basement into the heating system or with duct work?
 
LJ4174 said:
An air exchanger is also known as an air to air heat exchanger, they are mandatory in some places when you have a super insulated house.

You have to be certain that its outside air intake isn't where it can suck in smoke.

OK, so I did a quick search on amazon for an air exchanger and found some boxes with fans on them. I assume these are installed in a basement into the heating system or with duct work?

They are normally separate from the heating system.

They are more than boxes with fans in them.
 
They are normally separate from the heating system.

They are more than boxes with fans in them.

Yeah, I guess I need to research them a bit more. I'm just not certain where it would be installed, like you just cut a hole in the wall somewhere on the first or second floor and install this? Does it run constantly?
 
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