Indoor hazard?

[micox]

Hi. I have oil fired central heating. I also have a Noklead PM2.4 counter. Wondering why I had a streaming nose this morning I switched on the counter and was alarmed that it immediately scored over 100 which is the hazardous level. Straight away I ventilated the room and the counter went straight down to 18.

Having some knowledge, I examined the radiator - a type having solid metal panels front and back with a vent on top and heat exchange fins inside. I realised that, quite likely, the radiator had gathered dust inside with probably some electrolysis and was pushing out that dust into the room. I switched it off, relying on a portable heater.

If this is right, there must be innumerable radiators of this type posing a risk to COPD sufferers.

[Damon1864 Volunteer]

Hi micox hope you are alright and got it sorted. Hope you have a good night and stay safe . Take care 😊 Bernadette and Jack 🐕 xxxxxx

[sassy59]

So pleased you discovered the problem micox. You’re right there probably are more radiators like that around. Hope you’re ok. Xxx

[peege]

And a risk to asthmatics, babies and children too

[Jaybird19]

I have often wondered about my heating system of ducted air which has vents in the floor leading i dont know where, and as the house is 60 years old what ever is coming out of these vents . I can clean the first 4 in of one but in the other living room it leads straight down out of sight . Does anybody know anything about this type of heating . Common in the US I believe .

[micox in reply to Jaybird19]

Hi. I used to be, long years back, a warm air heating installer (mainly in Guernsey). It depends on the unit you have. The best ones were Honeywell but there were a lot of cheap and nasty units sold in the UK. Whichever, the heating unit should have a filter incorporated in the unit itself. These varied from simple 'fibreglass' filters to high end electronic ones. Any problems of PM2.4 particles will be from the ducting itself, not the warm air outlets. Please bear in mind I last worked in this field in the late 60s so this info is now old. Get the system tested.

[MoyB]

Thanks for your post. I had to Google Noklead PM2.4 counter as I didn't know what it was. Thanks to you, I do now. I didn't know such a thing existed. Now that I do, I may consider getting something of the sort as there are often times when I feel concerned about the air quality in and around our bungalow.

Glad you were able to sort out your problem.

xx Moy