Air purifier suggestions

[ReckoningForce]

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.

Many air purifiers come with both a HEPA filter and an activated carbon filter. Activated carbon filters remove gases

 

[ReckoningForce]

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.

There is no safe amount of exposure to radon from what I understand

 

[ReckoningForce]

Anyone heard of Eoleaf? I've been looking for an air purifier that will remove all types of indoor air pollution (particles and gases) and theirs seems to kind of be an all-inclusive solution as far as air purifiers go

 

[ReckoningForce]

Happy to have stumbled upon this thread. Similar situation here. I live in a two story house that's about 1400 sq ft. Lots of pets too! I've been researching indoor air quality for a few months now, especially because we have an asthmatic child in the home whose symptoms are worsening. I've read that an air purifier can work wonders for asthma symptoms in removing dust and other asthma triggers.

A friend of mine bought a Dyson air purifier a few years ago that needed filter changes every few months ($$$), so kind of turned me off from buying one of theirs. Once I started doing my own research, I've found that you have to approach an air purifier purchase with a critical eye. I thought I'd share my takeaways here just in case it may be helpful for anyone else looking for an air purifier.

Basically, when it comes to air purifier efficiency, I came across the importance of CADR value and choosing a device that allows the air to be replaced several times per hour (from what I understand, this value, also called ACH, should be 3 to 5 times per hour). Some brands will include this information in their technical specs, others won't, so sometimes you have to ask. Basically, you don't want an air purifier to take 30 minutes to remove a sneeze from the room.

Another one of my takeaways is that it is relaly important to verify that the device is certified by a third party (particularly by HEPA). Lots of air purifiers will include the HEPA acronym without even being certified (I found several brands that created their own technology, like I found with Blueair's HEPASilent, but they aren't even certified so we can't know for sure how much they filter). Again, contact the manufacturer and ask for their certificates before purchasing. Whether in terms of effectiveness or safety (some air purifiers generate ozone generation, for example). There is lots of garbage for sale out there and few regulations.

I've found the website https://eoleaf.com/pages/learning-centre to be really helpful. It's the website of an air purifier brand that of course has their own sales pitch in each article but they are very comprehensive and with scientific studies referenced in each article, which I liked. I don't know the brand personally, but their articles and products seem worth looking into. I haven't bought a device yet but am looking into their largest model. For now, I wanted to share my experience on this thread (even though it's already a few years old). I hope it helps.

 

[zrock]

Using levot and im happy with them, you can't fart in the house with one of them detecting it and increasing the speed. I only change filters once a year and vacuum them out every few months..

 

[ReckoningForce]

Using levot and im happy with them, you can't fart in the house with one of them detecting it and increasing the speed. I only change filters once a year and vacuum them out every few months..

Levoit was sued by Dyson in 2023 for falsely making HEPA claims without meeting HEPA standards. They've since removed all mentions of true HEPA or any kind of HEPA certification from their website. No certification = no third party testing of efficacy. Personally, that'd make me pretty wary of using their products. Found an article on Eoleaf's website about it

Levoit vs. Eoleaf air purifiers

Our opinion on Levoit non-HEPA air purifiers: are they worth the price and how do they compare to Eoleaf air purifiers? Read our analysis here.

eoleaf.com

 

[zrock]

Yet they still sit in the top 10 on just about every review site.. They have not removed every mention of HEPA from their site. To me that sounds more like Dyson was just loosing market share and this was their way of getting it back. Real world testing over the last 5 plus years at least they work extremely well and as i have replaced the others in the house as the filters became to expensive or hard to find. None of the other systems i had would pick up when the wood stove or even cooking on the stove and increase the speed. When i'm looking i always read the different review sites and have always picked what was across multiple sites.. According to specs the filters in these units still filter down to the same as a hepa filter..

 

[Dataman]

I just tape a 20 x 20" Hvac filter to the back of my box fans that I use to circulate the air from the wood stove to the colder part of the house. 3 or 4 dollars, change every 2 months or so.

It helps a little. This year we replaced Heat Pump with one that works down to -20f. Have HALO Led on it and Washable Metal 4" Filter. Really have noticed dust reduction now. Midea Evox G3 System. Out with Old Trane XR13i (From 2001) to New. Seems like stellar unit, half or less of the noise outside. Tons better dust collection. https://neverbuyanotherfilter.com/

 

[begreen]

It helps a little. This year we replaced Heat Pump with one that works down to -20f. Have HALO Led on it and Washable Metal 4" Filter. Really have noticed dust reduction now. Midea Evox G3 System. Out with Old Trane XR13i (From 2001) to New. Seems like stellar unit, half or less of the noise outside. Tons better dust collection. https://neverbuyanotherfilter.com/

I've been looking at an Evox G3 system for our house. We have the American Std. 2-stage equiv of the Trane XR16 from 2006. It's clear that the unit will put out more heat below freezing than the AS, but I wonder how much it will save in our normal 40-50º weather, if anything.

 

[Dataman]

Radon is an inert gas which do not react with any other elements including activated carbon, and it is too small to be caught up in the air filters of the purifier. The only way to get rid of radon is through mitigation.

 

[Dataman]

I've been looking at an Evox G3 system for our house. We have the American Std. 2-stage equiv of the Trane XR16 from 2006. It's clear that the unit will put out more heat below freezing than the AS, but I wonder how much it will save in our normal 40-50º weather, if anything.

Not enough Data yet to make determination. But it seems to save about 1/4 of our previous Electrical Use over old unit so far. Will take a year to get REAL Data.. 40kw yesterday and 50kw today (Cooler).

 

[begreen]

Our system has a 2 stage compressor and dc variable fan. For most of the shoulder season the system is working at low speed and fairly low power draw, but the specs for the Evox are pretty impressive, especially for cold winter operation. My main concerns are warranty, parts, and service over time.

I haven't found any dealers listed yet but there should be some in the Seattle/Tacoma area. How did you locate a dealer out in Newport?

 

[Dataman]

Called Around. Found one in Spokane. NORCO. So far it's great. Winter will be real test. 509 534 4075 norcoha.com They are out of Spokane. Not much up here in Newport WA.

 

[bogieb]

Radon is an inert gas which do not react with any other elements including activated carbon, and it is too small to be caught up in the air filters of the purifier. The only way to get rid of radon is through mitigation.

Just because in any of the talk about radon, no one seemed to discuss testing (I know this is a trhead on air purifiers, but those move air around, radon will get moved around too if you have it).

Last winter I got a free short-term radon testing kit (air) thru New Hampshire DHH. Living in a 1960 home, with a damp basement and a pellet stove that would mix the radon into air rising up the stairway, I figured that would be a nice check to do. When I was doing a bunch of work down there, I spent a significant amount of time down there - but these days it is just short stints.

My results were at 1.2 pCi/L, which is very low. I happen to live in a portion of the state that doesn't have a high incidence of radon, but most of the state has a fairly high risk for homes that are older than 10-20 years (because it wasn't a thing to be aware of).

The test I got was from Alpha Energy Labs and tests aren't overly expensive (they are cheaper if they have an agreement with your state - go to the "Buy" pull down and see if your state is there). If your state isn't there, pick the bottom choice (don't see state) - even then the tests are like $16.00, so reasonably priced.

 

[begreen]

Called Around. Found one in Spokane. NORCO. So far it's great. Winter will be real test. 509 534 4075 norcoha.com They are out of Spokane. Not much up here in Newport WA.

Found a dealer in Tacoma. Will speak with them on Tuesday.