From what I’ve read it takes years and years of exposure to give you cancer from radon. So at least we have that going for us. Been in our current house for less than a year. Before that was an RV for a couple years. We’ve actually moved around a bit in the recent past.
Air purifier suggestions
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Poindexter
Minister of Fire
A couple thoughts.
I started with some of the aesthetically pleasing air filter units that had good wife approval factor. When it was time to replace the filter elements in the fancy units the replacement filter element price had very low wallet approval factor.
HEPA is for sick people. On the MERV scale HEPA level filtration starts at MERV 14. The MERV scale was developed by ASHRAE, an HVAC industry group. If you have good MERV 13 filtration in your home and are still having issues, then look at HEPA. If you are an organ transplant recipient, sure, maybe start with HEPA level whole house filtration.
As above, the various symptoms associated with radon so far in this thread are concerning for lung cancer already having developed in the victim. However, there is another possible explanation. The RV had a ceiling vent fan, so good air turnovers. The house has no HVAC system (like mine), so relatively poor air turnovers. Besides the animals, how much carpeting do you have?
If you go reading up on carpeting, you will likely find they give off nasty chemicals for a year or two, and by then they are saturated with dust and pollen. If you want a dirt floor, put in wall to wall carpet. If you want clean air in your home, take out all the wall to wall, and buy the display version of various throw rugs that has been offgassing into the flooring showroom on a hanger system, but not picking up dirt. Wash the throw rugs on the driveway every spring with soap and a garden hose...
With all those animals - and probably some carpeting - the sustainable way to git 'er done is (as previously mentioned) is to duct tape a 20x20 furnace filter on the intake side of a 20 inch box fan and let it rip. I am also active on a woodworking forum, this is a probably safe step for most home owners in most situations. There are lots and lots of woodworkers who have been doing this in the garage to keep dust down in the house for decades and decades. You may purchase an infrared thermometer if you like to keep track of your fan motor's temperature while it is sucking through a filter. If you find more than 1 degree Fahrenheit temperature change between ambient air and motor temperature in this scenario I would very much like to hear about it.
I find the Lasko fan (home store team blue) is noticeably quieter than the black sexy similar item at home store team orange. For MERV 13 filtration you are looking for team orange "level ten" filters. On the 3M filtration scale, both the 1900 and 2200 Filtrete fall inside MERV 13 parameters. I buy the 3M 2200s by the dozen from that big online place, size 20x20x1.
With a geriatric long haired cat and a hard working woodstove I go through about 3 filters per year on one 20" Lasko.
My existing thread about indoor air quality is here: https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/homemade-air-filters-good-indoor-air-quality-cheap.188986/
I started with some of the aesthetically pleasing air filter units that had good wife approval factor. When it was time to replace the filter elements in the fancy units the replacement filter element price had very low wallet approval factor.
HEPA is for sick people. On the MERV scale HEPA level filtration starts at MERV 14. The MERV scale was developed by ASHRAE, an HVAC industry group. If you have good MERV 13 filtration in your home and are still having issues, then look at HEPA. If you are an organ transplant recipient, sure, maybe start with HEPA level whole house filtration.
As above, the various symptoms associated with radon so far in this thread are concerning for lung cancer already having developed in the victim. However, there is another possible explanation. The RV had a ceiling vent fan, so good air turnovers. The house has no HVAC system (like mine), so relatively poor air turnovers. Besides the animals, how much carpeting do you have?
If you go reading up on carpeting, you will likely find they give off nasty chemicals for a year or two, and by then they are saturated with dust and pollen. If you want a dirt floor, put in wall to wall carpet. If you want clean air in your home, take out all the wall to wall, and buy the display version of various throw rugs that has been offgassing into the flooring showroom on a hanger system, but not picking up dirt. Wash the throw rugs on the driveway every spring with soap and a garden hose...
With all those animals - and probably some carpeting - the sustainable way to git 'er done is (as previously mentioned) is to duct tape a 20x20 furnace filter on the intake side of a 20 inch box fan and let it rip. I am also active on a woodworking forum, this is a probably safe step for most home owners in most situations. There are lots and lots of woodworkers who have been doing this in the garage to keep dust down in the house for decades and decades. You may purchase an infrared thermometer if you like to keep track of your fan motor's temperature while it is sucking through a filter. If you find more than 1 degree Fahrenheit temperature change between ambient air and motor temperature in this scenario I would very much like to hear about it.
I find the Lasko fan (home store team blue) is noticeably quieter than the black sexy similar item at home store team orange. For MERV 13 filtration you are looking for team orange "level ten" filters. On the 3M filtration scale, both the 1900 and 2200 Filtrete fall inside MERV 13 parameters. I buy the 3M 2200s by the dozen from that big online place, size 20x20x1.
With a geriatric long haired cat and a hard working woodstove I go through about 3 filters per year on one 20" Lasko.
My existing thread about indoor air quality is here: https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/homemade-air-filters-good-indoor-air-quality-cheap.188986/
We ordered one of the Blueair purifiers. Yeah I’m not looking forward to changing the filters in it. I’m sure they aren’t cheap.
The last place we lived in with an Hvac system, we changed out the filter monthly. And it needed I’d for sure. That was a 16x20 filter in an 1100 sq ft house. I remember reading about the Merv numbers back then.
We had some indoor air quality concerns and switched to a better filter. It made a difference.
I know the single purifier I bought won’t be enough. So I’m tempted to just get another box fan and use a filter with it like you say. The ole “ask for forgiveness instead of permission” type thing. It doesn’t work every time, but it’s worked in the past
I can always use another box fan, so it won’t be a waste regardless. I just so happen to be going past a Lowe’s later today.
I’m thinking I’ll pickup a radon monitor online. To watch the long term levels in the house. If it does have a high radon level, we’ve only been exposed to it for about 6 months. If you combine all the time when the house has been closed up.
The last place we lived in with an Hvac system, we changed out the filter monthly. And it needed I’d for sure. That was a 16x20 filter in an 1100 sq ft house. I remember reading about the Merv numbers back then.
We had some indoor air quality concerns and switched to a better filter. It made a difference.
I know the single purifier I bought won’t be enough. So I’m tempted to just get another box fan and use a filter with it like you say. The ole “ask for forgiveness instead of permission” type thing. It doesn’t work every time, but it’s worked in the past
I can always use another box fan, so it won’t be a waste regardless. I just so happen to be going past a Lowe’s later today.
I’m thinking I’ll pickup a radon monitor online. To watch the long term levels in the house. If it does have a high radon level, we’ve only been exposed to it for about 6 months. If you combine all the time when the house has been closed up.
I think I found the source of my air quality issues. There is some yellow mold growing in the crawl space.
Basically the crawl space is a not very well ventilated area. And when I use the woodstove or dryer I can feel air being drawn into the house from there in a few spots.
Guess I need to get rid of the mold, and then either ventilate the crawl space better, or totally insulate it. I do have plumbing down there, so probably adding insulation is the way to go. I need to put plastic over the ground as well.
I did get the Blueair air purifier. It’s pretty nice. And I’m also running a box fan with an air filter for now also. Until I can fix my problem under the house.
Also I’ve added two more temporary vents so I can get more airflow under there for now. And have a fan setup to pull air out of the crawl space to vent outside.
Basically the crawl space is a not very well ventilated area. And when I use the woodstove or dryer I can feel air being drawn into the house from there in a few spots.
Guess I need to get rid of the mold, and then either ventilate the crawl space better, or totally insulate it. I do have plumbing down there, so probably adding insulation is the way to go. I need to put plastic over the ground as well.
I did get the Blueair air purifier. It’s pretty nice. And I’m also running a box fan with an air filter for now also. Until I can fix my problem under the house.
Also I’ve added two more temporary vents so I can get more airflow under there for now. And have a fan setup to pull air out of the crawl space to vent outside.
nice unit looking at you pic the size is what holds be back from getting one.. Frigging thing is huge
Colorlessgreen
New Member
Since you mentioned box fans and furnace filter, check out a corsi-rosenthal box. https://cleanaircrew.org/box-fan-filters/
I make them with two 10x20” filters cut in half and taped together and a 10” box fan, and then I use a blueair 211 pre-filter over top for aesthetics. I came up with this method because I have a blueair 411 (and like it and wanted more) but thought there had to be a cheaper and similarly effective solution. Ymmv on how “attractive” you think that is- but as about a 10” cube I put them in a corner and they seem innocuous enough to me.
I make them with two 10x20” filters cut in half and taped together and a 10” box fan, and then I use a blueair 211 pre-filter over top for aesthetics. I came up with this method because I have a blueair 411 (and like it and wanted more) but thought there had to be a cheaper and similarly effective solution. Ymmv on how “attractive” you think that is- but as about a 10” cube I put them in a corner and they seem innocuous enough to me.
Hi All. Has anyone tried the Mila air purifiers? I gave them a try and they are not able to clean the air in my house. We burn the wood stove insert 24x7, about 5-6 cords a season. I recently read an article about how wood stoves pollute the air inside your house and how it is bad for your health. We have a 1 year old and I want to make sure the air is clean for him.
I purchased 2 Milas to see what my air quality is and to clean it. They showed me the air is bad with PM1 levels 100, PM2.5 averaging 150 and PM10 averaging 180. After a week of running the two Milas on full speed non stop, they have not made a dent.
So i am returning them and searching for an air purifier that actually works. They are also incredibly loud and you cannot hold a conversation with them running. One is in kitchen and one in living room (open concept).
I read this thread and also there's only a couple other threads on hearth about Purifier options. I can't find much on Google about which is best for combating wood stove air. It looks like the Allen 75i with Fresh filter works for someone above so I will give them a try and report back how they compared to the Milas to potentially help someone else in the future.
I purchased 2 Milas to see what my air quality is and to clean it. They showed me the air is bad with PM1 levels 100, PM2.5 averaging 150 and PM10 averaging 180. After a week of running the two Milas on full speed non stop, they have not made a dent.
So i am returning them and searching for an air purifier that actually works. They are also incredibly loud and you cannot hold a conversation with them running. One is in kitchen and one in living room (open concept).
I read this thread and also there's only a couple other threads on hearth about Purifier options. I can't find much on Google about which is best for combating wood stove air. It looks like the Allen 75i with Fresh filter works for someone above so I will give them a try and report back how they compared to the Milas to potentially help someone else in the future.
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I have not seen any studies that indoor air filtration will significantly impact home radon levels. Radon is a gas, HEPA filters are not designed to remove gases. Radon comes from three places, from the ground being pulled up from soil by the house sucking it in from the basement, from the source of household water (usually deep drilled wells) and to lesser amount from granite aggregate used in large concrete structures. The usual approach to ground based is subsurface slab ventilation where holes the basement edges, cracks and sumps are sealed, then new holes are drilled and vented to the outdoors with fans. Water based radon is usually air stripped with blower arrangement or in some cases multiple activated carbon filters.
Water based radon is arguably the most hazardous as it comes out of solution from the water best when its hot. When someone takes a shower, they are getting a higher dose right into their lungs versus household radon from the ground. Radon is heavy and tends to collect at the lowest elevation like a basement. It can bind to particulates so a filter can indirectly help by capturing the particulates.
Industrial operations on occasion use deep bed activated carbon filters to remove contaminants and radon would probably be removed but not very practical. I had a couple of them at my mill. One of them used to protect a 20 by 30 room had a 18" deep charcoal bed while the other one protected a house sized area with a 4' deep charcoal bed.
Water based radon is arguably the most hazardous as it comes out of solution from the water best when its hot. When someone takes a shower, they are getting a higher dose right into their lungs versus household radon from the ground. Radon is heavy and tends to collect at the lowest elevation like a basement. It can bind to particulates so a filter can indirectly help by capturing the particulates.
Industrial operations on occasion use deep bed activated carbon filters to remove contaminants and radon would probably be removed but not very practical. I had a couple of them at my mill. One of them used to protect a 20 by 30 room had a 18" deep charcoal bed while the other one protected a house sized area with a 4' deep charcoal bed.
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