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Build a do-it-yourself home air purifier for about $25

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Re: Build a do-it-yourself home air purifier for about $25

#241

Post by endymi0n »

morganvachon wrote: post #237
gocartStatue wrote: post #230

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've heard that vinegar is better for mould, as it leaves the surface rather more "acidy" than aseptic, as chloride does.

In my experience a one-two punch with chloride to kill the mold quickly, followed by a dousing with distilled white vinegar, results in a good short and long term solution for surface mold.

Safety advice: If you decide to try this at home, please keep in mind that mixing chloride based cleaning agents with an acid will release chlorine, which is toxic enough to have been used as a WW1 weapon.

Re: Build a do-it-yourself home air purifier for about $25

#243

Post by joncrocks »

peferron wrote: post #130

Important tip: if you set up an air purifier in your home, make sure to plug all drafts around your house: windows, doors, etc. Even a DIY purifier with small airflow can make your indoor air excellent if given enough time to do so and no leaks to fight against. If you want to get some fresh air in your home, do not leave a window half-open all day long—instead, open all your windows at once to cycle the air as fast…

Of course you may also want to be careful doing this, as unless there is a certain amount of airflow/ventilation you may start having other issues, such as a build up of CO2.

Re: Build a do-it-yourself home air purifier for about $25

#244

Post by nvarsj »

jlangenauer wrote: post #206
Scoundreller wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I was subletting so had no grounds for complaint How does that work? You may not be eligible for regular tenant protections, but you're still eligible for recourse through regular courts, no?

This is in the UK. Laws protecting tenants there are, to put it politely, pretty thin.

I'll put it un-politely: they stink!

My first rental in London had bad mould problems. The landlord refused to fix them. We ended up with dehumidifiers throughout the house to keep it under control. When we left after a year, he complained at us for keeping dehumidifiers around when potential tenants came to visit - it raised too many questions! This was a 2200+/mo rental that he had bought for about 100k 15 years ago. What a crook.

Re: Build a do-it-yourself home air purifier for about $25

#245

Post by nvarsj »

kijin wrote: post #159
benbojangles wrote: post #85

I built my own air purifier in 2016, living in London, I was living in a basement and was having breathing problems due to mould. My landlady was gaslighting me at the time, so I built the air purifier. It worked for a while but mould spores cling to the paper filter and eventually grow into the filter material. I think Dyson uses glass fiber filter to stop this problem. My filter helped a lot, but eventually I had s…

A wet paper filter is the perfect place for mold to stick to and send spores all over the place. If you have a mold problem where you live and can't move out of the place, you need an air filter and a dehumidifier. Unfortunately, it's hard to jerry-rig a dehumidifier on the cheap. If you were in London in the winter, it might have been more practical to turn up the heat to keep the room as dry as possible.

And open your windows a tad. It's the best way to keep indoor humidity under control during winter. Being in a basement room though, I'm not sure this would have helped.

Re: Build a do-it-yourself home air purifier for about $25

#246

Post by zaarn »

chupasaurus wrote: post #224
toxik wrote: post #188

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Northern Europe gets really cold, so while RH may be high, it’s not moist at all. People get dry skin in the winter.

Northern Scandinavia and west of Urals (I live here) have moist winters (70+% RH most of the time). Skin would dry anyway because water evaporation rate is proportional to a pressure (hence temperature) difference and convection makes a constant supply of fresh unsaturated air.

Relative Humidity is relative to temperature.

Cold air can simply hold less water overall, at 20C it can easily hold double as much water as it can at 0C.

There being a pressure difference is nonsense, you can get the same air pressure in the winter as in summer (though it tends to go on the Low side more often). What you probably mean is the vapor pressure, ie the natural pressure the liquid wants to be at in a closed container, though while it is largely depdenent on temperature, it does so in a linear/positive way, so at lower temperature, water will evaporate less (otherwise ice would more easily sublimate).

Once you go below zero a water content of a few grams can easily hit 100% RH which would barely manage 5% or less at 30C.

Re: Build a do-it-yourself home air purifier for about $25

#247

Post by zaarn »

Tharkun wrote: post #204
adrianN wrote: post #201

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Heating your home to like 25 degrees and opening the windows every six hours is actually required in some tenancy agreements.

What? That's an insanely uncomfortable indoor temperature. Anything over 20 and I'm uncomfortable.

It's a matter of getting used to it, really. Once you've been at a temperature for a while, it gets easier.

Re: Build a do-it-yourself home air purifier for about $25

#248

Post by sbradford26 »

matt-attack wrote: post #152
LeoPanthera wrote: post #57

Huh! I independently "invented" this myself a couple of days ago when the Camp Fire blanketed the bay area in smoke. I got a 20x20 filter and some duct tape from Home Depot and a box fan from Target. (After discovering that Home Depot only sells fans in the summer.) I don't think I was the only one, though. HD was doing a brisk trade in 20x20 filters, and I think I bought the last box fan at any Target in the entire…

Don't you want the filter on the incoming side? Air handling systems always put the filter on the inlet as far as I'm aware.

The main reason why furnaces and cars have it on the incoming side is because the dust and particulate can damage the engine/blower. So you want to filter it out before it reaches there. In a system like this, the box fan will not be damaged by the particulate so you can instead push the air through the filter instead of pull it.

Re: Build a do-it-yourself home air purifier for about $25

#249

Post by nathan_f77 »

kilroy123 wrote: post #219
nathan_f77 wrote: post #216

That's a really good idea. I was planning to buy one for a few hundred dollars, but I should just do this instead. The burning season is really bad in Chiang Mai (lots of smoke in the air for about 2-3 months), so it's good to stay indoors and have an air filter.

Off topic, but hey so I just moved to Chiang Mai. Do you think it's worth even sticking around here during that time? I was thinking about just heading to Bali instead. Not sure how bad it really gets.

It's really awful, especially if you're sensitive. Some people aren't bothered by it too much, but it really affects me, so I try to get away. We have some pets, but it hasn't been too hard to find a house-sitter. (Although I always feel a bit guilty, and try to be honest about the smoke.)

These articles are concerning:

* https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/aug/27/air-poll...

* https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/air-pollution-a-l...

I think we'll move to a new city or country in the next 12 months. I don't think it's wise to go through burning seasons once a year for a few decades. (It's actually the only reason we want to move, otherwise Chiang Mai is an amazing place to live.)

Bali would be a good option, or even the south of Thailand if you have some more time on your visa. Koh Lanta is great.

Re: Build a do-it-yourself home air purifier for about $25

#250

Post by leoc »

jlangenauer wrote: post #206
Scoundreller wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I was subletting so had no grounds for complaint How does that work? You may not be eligible for regular tenant protections, but you're still eligible for recourse through regular courts, no?

This is in the UK. Laws protecting tenants there are, to put it politely, pretty thin.

There was recently a vote in Parliament to require landlords to keep their rented properties fit for human habitation. It failed: https://fullfact.org/economy/did-mps-vote-against-homes-havi...
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