I've noticed my asthma is worse when I'm at home. Home is a very old house. With pets.
I'm considering buying an air purifier, and having looked on line, I'm more bewildered than before I started.
I think there was a post re these a few months ago, so apologise for reiterating, but has anyone any experience of these? Was it positive? If so, which filters are the best? Are the most effective quiet? I've seen ads for some that don't use a HEPA filter, but UV for zapping microorganisms, but I can't see how that will remove dust, pet dander etc.
Are they worth the money? A good one looks upward of £250 or so, then there is the running cost of new filters etc.
Many Thanks in advance
Jen
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CallysMum
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I’ve got a Philips air purifier in the lounge and I swear by it. I have 2 large dogs who swish the dust around. When I change the filter I am amazed by what is in it! Not cheap but I notice a difference in the air quality if it is not running. I also have a smaller one in the bedroom. Price depends on the size of the rooms they will be located.
Well, taken a deep breath (as far as I am able :-)) and bought a Philips. I will update as to the effectiveness once I've had it a few weeks. So fingers crossed, and thanks to Homely2 and Muns for their advice.
After info on here and people saying they really help I bought a mid range one , can't say it's made any difference to me so not gonna fork out a fortune. Probably doesn't work as well as it should as I have an open plan bungalow so not enough man for the job. Hope you find one that works well for you.
Hope it works for you. Let us know how you get on with it. Currently my older dog is on the sofa with her head on the arm of the sofa getting the air from the machine lol. It’s a favourite place for both of them to sit.
I have a plan to put it in the bedroom in the early evening and night, and then move it to the living room in the day. We have had to have the office floor replaced last year due to rot, and the new floor is beam and block and insulated to modern standards, and I have noticed when I am sewing in there....... my breathing is easier. A daunting task to replace the suspended floors in the rest of the house however, cheaper to move LOL. Yes, I will evaluate it after 2-3 weeks, that should be long enough, and report back.
If you find it helpful, it might be worth checking out Ebay or Gumtree for another one so you don't have to keep moving them (they are quite heavy!) I have one that is a straight dehumidifier (it's the damp that is worse for me) and one that is a dehumidifier/purifier, and my OH found them both on Gumtree. We had to drive a couple of hours to pick each one up, but we just asked the seller to hold on to it until we had a day off and then picked it up as part of a day out. We paid about £50 each for the two, and they have been life changing for me, especially the more powerful one, which we keep in the bedroom. We run it last thing at night and first thing in the morning and it makes a huge difference.
Yeah, it can be a conundrum working out from websites what's the best. I got one perhaps a year ago. I don't use it often, but then I got it for indoor air pollution, not just dust. Dust affects me less than indoor air pollutants can do. for pollutants the advice from experts is to open windows if you can, but that would be harder for dust. I won't give you the name of mine as it hasn't fully lived up to my expectations, though when I have turned it on I have generally rather liked the air flow that comes out of it. I spent I think somewhere between £100 and £200. Personally I wouldn't go for Dyson as I think they hype up their products on the whole, and sell them for loads more than other makes. But that's me.
I have a Dyson hot/ cold filtered fan and fantastic. I have severe allergic asthma. Air pollution is a major trigger of mine. It’s cut down on me being blue lighted in so many times even work has invested in one for me in the office.
I bought a HEPA filter from Amazon last year more in hope than anything else. It was a low cost one to have beside my bed. The difference in my asthma was almost immediate so a bought a slightly bigger one for the living room then a large Dyson HEPA filter. They work very well for my allergy based asthma.
I have a Winnox. It was about the price you mention. I find it very useful. I didn’t turn it on when energy prices went up but after a few weeks I put it back on and definitely felt better. Running costs are negligible. I also have a Silent Night in my bedroom.
Filters are not required all that often. I vacuum mine every few weeks.
Did you get tested for allergy to your pets, dust, dust mite and mold? These are the most common triggers at home. If you have a strong uncontained source at home that's not managed, I do not think the filter is a big help, unless you literally sleep with your head next to its air outlet.
You can usually control the particles in one particular room where you spend most of the time -- usually the bedroom by getting a HEPA filter. Mine is an IQAir and I also make them myself. In my experience, it still requires removing most of the furniture and carpets from the bedroom and bagging the pattress and pillows; not letting the pets in there.
I test my filters with a particle counters (amazon has them for cheap now): there are some out there (austin air) that do not do what they claim.
If you want the results fast, can you pay for a private clinic test? Should be about £150 for the visit and £100 for the test. I went to Spire in Leicester.
Re: filter specs -- look at the air flow; 100 m3 per hr is just about enough for a small bedroom, in my experience. That will consume about 100W if left on at all times -- like a desktop computer. That's 2.4 kW-hr per day (to estimate the electricity bill). In my experience, I need to leave the filter on 24-7 to maintain good air quality in the bedroom. E.g. if the bedroom is 15 m^2 and 2m ceiling, that's 30 m^3, or 3 air exchanges per hr.
If you do not like the noise, you can put the filter outside the bedroom and blow the air into the bedroom (e.g. a hole in the door). This is what I do b.c. my wife cannot stand the humming noise. Keep the door closed and sealed with gaskets.
Yes....still nothing. I plan to spend several days seeing if I can get the receptionists in my GP's to pick up the phone, to see if they've come through to them. Also have a air quality meter arriving tomorrow or Tuesday, which will be interesting.
CallysMum hi I have severe asthma and am often in hospital. I monitor the air at home as pollution and pollen are my major triggers. Amazon sell a smart air monitor that monitors the quality of the air. It includes pollutants, humidity, co2, temp, voc, it is very useful as I can see what needs improving in the air. While its 60 odd pounds I paid £19.99 on an amazon sale day. I then have an air filter I bought a £35 one as the monitor shows the effect it is having, I have a humidifier which was under £20 and my asthma is a bit better. Remember that whatever you buy price wise you need to check the cost of filters as most require changing at a max of 8wks. One air filter I looked at was recommended on here and cost £80 but the filters were £24 or 3 for £70 and lasted 6 weeks each. Hope this helps link to smart air monitor. Big hugs Lara amazon.co.uk/amazon-smart-a...
Thanks for that, the filters have to be factored in, but if I can stop forever coughing it will be worth it. I have a fantasy of being able to reduce the drugs.........
I swear by my Dyson. Yes it is expensive but it is very effective and very reactive. The first I got was a Dyson hot and cold. You can flick through and get readings of articles, voc, pollens etc. and it also shows temperature and humidity. The thing I love is the auto feature. I just put it on auto and it turns itself up and down as necessary.
I liked it so much I saved up and lashed out on a second - just cool, but again the tower type which as the same features as the first. So I has one in the bedroom and one in the sitting room. Both of those have night mode and even without it are very quiet runners when they are not detecting anything.
They also tell you when you need new filters and despite daily use I have not had to change them yet.
The remote did stop working on the newer one but I did the chat function on the Dyson site (I bought direct) and they sent another immediately, no quibbles, no postage costs.
Now, my daughter bought me a worktop one for the kitchen, bless her, but it is does not have any of the functions that the floor standing ones have. It might very well clean the air but you have no way of knowing unless you can smell something. So for me, this was a waste of money and from what I understand is not much cheaper than the floor standing ones.
I do find air filters help me, think everyone covered it with good answers.
Just to add: asthma was worse at home, and it turned out we had terrible indoor air quality. (I have allergic asthma to pollens and was having winter attacks).
I got an air quality monitor and found voc, pm2.5 and pm10 spikes right at the time of day I was having attacks. Turns out our furnace was spewing dirty air into the house (and a bunch of other issues… hot water heater flue leaking gas, attic poorly ventilated and dirty old insulation, holes in venting pipes… etc). We turned of the furnace and hot water heater and I’ve been loads better (probably was leaking CO too I just never got a reading for it from the sensor)
Might be something to think about if it’s a new to you home, or if you have older furnace or appliances etc and noticed sudden worsening of symptoms. check for moldy spots too.
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