Live data from Hacker News

Reverse engineering Xiaomi air purifier NFC stickers

flamingo-tech.nl

31–40 of 118 posts

Re: Reverse engineering Xiaomi air purifier NFC stickers

#31
post #11

I've never experienced an air purifier, what's the general consensus? Do they make a difference? Perhaps a placebo? A must have? Genuinely interested if I'm missing out - For what it's worth I do live right on a main road in the UK, so I expect there is some level of pollution in the air.

[deleted]

Re: Reverse engineering Xiaomi air purifier NFC stickers

#32
post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was so skeptical. Living in SF in 2018(?) during the wildfires, my apartment was drafty and I’d come home from work to a hazy indoor environment. I’d wake up with a sore throat and that’s what got me to take action (can’t sleep with an n95 on) I got the cheapest air purifier from Amazon and just put it on my bedside table. After one night my sore throat was gone. As simple as these machines are, they do work.

I can see how an air purifier makes sense in that 2018 scenario. I guessing that the benefits are less certain in more typical cases.

> that 2018 scenario

It’s a little hard to believe if you haven’t lived there recently, but basically the entire US west coast now has an annual fire season where you can expect at least several days of air quality in the “unhealthy” to “hazardous” range. AC (which does ~the same thing for air quality as a purifier) or a purifier is pretty much mandatory.

Re: Reverse engineering Xiaomi air purifier NFC stickers

#34
post #11

I've never experienced an air purifier, what's the general consensus? Do they make a difference? Perhaps a placebo? A must have? Genuinely interested if I'm missing out - For what it's worth I do live right on a main road in the UK, so I expect there is some level of pollution in the air.

Ancedotally they work 100%. Not only do they remove noticeable odors, they suck up tons of allergenic dust and invisible particulates that can mess with your breathing (if you have a sensitive respiratory system). Non-anecdotally, I've heard it claimed that indoor air pollution is the #1 factor in reducing the lifespans of otherwise healthy people. No idea if this is the case or what the evidence is, but I don't find…

In developing countries they have poor stoves at home which give of smoke/CO which is harmful aka indoor air pollution. A good easy way to prevents deaths/harm from these is to provide them with quality stoves. So depending on where you heard it, air pollution could mean these stoves which typical don't exist in the developed world

Re: Reverse engineering Xiaomi air purifier NFC stickers

#35
post #11

I've never experienced an air purifier, what's the general consensus? Do they make a difference? Perhaps a placebo? A must have? Genuinely interested if I'm missing out - For what it's worth I do live right on a main road in the UK, so I expect there is some level of pollution in the air.

The soot they filter out of the air is very visible when you change the filters (they turn from shining white to grey). Air pollution is one of the world’s leading risk factors for death https://ourworldindata.org/air-pollution#air-pollution-is-on... . Though that varies a lot from country to country, it is a problem you can strongly reduce with throwing a tiny bit of money on it.

Re: Reverse engineering Xiaomi air purifier NFC stickers

#36
Good stuff. The author of the post has also previously made a defeat device that can fairly simply be installed in your purifier, which simply reports the filter to always be at 100%. Useful if you're in a place where the filter will last significantly longer than what Xiaomi thinks. I bought one and it works great, I can definitely recommend it.

Re: Reverse engineering Xiaomi air purifier NFC stickers

#37
post #33

This is maybe the wrong place to post this, but with fire season approaching, a pretty decent high-volume air purifier can be made using filters, tape, and a box fan: https://www.texairfilters.com/a-variation-on-the-box-fan-wit...

I used box fan filter setup to get through a couple of CA wildfire seasons, but they're loud and take lots of room. I used 4" filters in a triangle with the fan as the base. This setup is far more effective than a single filter because it makes the fan work better with some air space behind it.

These days, I have a BlueAir 211 in each room. It's the same idea, just professionally made, it's not an eyesore, and it's quiet. Going by my AQI meter, they're also more effective.

Re: Reverse engineering Xiaomi air purifier NFC stickers

#38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can see how an air purifier makes sense in that 2018 scenario. I guessing that the benefits are less certain in more typical cases.

> that 2018 scenario It’s a little hard to believe if you haven’t lived there recently, but basically the entire US west coast now has an annual fire season where you can expect at least several days of air quality in the “unhealthy” to “hazardous” range. AC (which does ~the same thing for air quality as a purifier) or a purifier is pretty much mandatory.

When the fires were raging, I was looking at all the areas air quality from purple air monitors and some areas near folsom California were at ~700

And healthy is something like <100

Re: Reverse engineering Xiaomi air purifier NFC stickers

#40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ancedotally they work 100%. Not only do they remove noticeable odors, they suck up tons of allergenic dust and invisible particulates that can mess with your breathing (if you have a sensitive respiratory system). Non-anecdotally, I've heard it claimed that indoor air pollution is the #1 factor in reducing the lifespans of otherwise healthy people. No idea if this is the case or what the evidence is, but I don't find…

In developing countries they have poor stoves at home which give of smoke/CO which is harmful aka indoor air pollution. A good easy way to prevents deaths/harm from these is to provide them with quality stoves. So depending on where you heard it, air pollution could mean these stoves which typical don't exist in the developed world

Frying things even on induction still easily drives particulate matter pollution to levels of bad days in China/India.
Post reply on HN