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Permeable materials in homes act as sponges for harmful chemicals: study

news.uci.edu

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Re: Permeable materials in homes act as sponges for harmful chemicals: study

#21

Post by mrktf »

b112 wrote: post #16
cameronh90 wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The challenge with opening the window isn't even the cost - which is substantial - from about £250/month to £400/month if I have my windows open even a little bit. The bigger challenge is with my windows open, my heating just can't even keep up! It'll be maxed out and only 18c. I do the German-style luften twice a day, but if our interiors are just absorbing the compounds and releasing it when the windows are shut, t…

Get a heat recovery exchanger. https://natural-resources.canada.ca/stories/spotlight-energy...

It is called recuperator. If it is possible to retrofit i suggest to use mounted in attic (it will be silent). Otherwise, if you want higher quality not and these `breathing` types the box will have similar size like air conditioner (search: mitsubishi vl-100eu5-e)

Re: Permeable materials in homes act as sponges for harmful chemicals: study

#22

Post by agwa »

homebrewer wrote: post #15
privatelypublic wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Those monitors are useless. Unless they're VERY expensive they only show a change over a short period of time

My cheap Chinese PM2.5 sensors (PMS7003) installed both outside and inside provide accurate readings all year round. They track official government data very closely (monitored by expensive and certified equipment that goes through calibration every year). My problem with this advice is not that it's difficult to measure pollution levels (it really isn't), but that there's no "fresh air" outside for many of us. In ma…

We should clarify what type of sensors we're talking about. It seems to be easier to find accurate inexpensive sensors for particulate matter (PM) and CO2 than it is for VOCs.

Re: Permeable materials in homes act as sponges for harmful chemicals: study

#23

Post by Traubenfuchs »

cameronh90 wrote: post #11
crazygringo wrote: post #3

The more we study it, the more we learn how harmful the air inside our homes is. That's why fresh air is key. Crack a window or two open. Buy an air monitor that monitors CO2 (good proxy for overall freshness), VOCs (sometimes these build up much faster than CO2), and PM2.5. If CO2 or VOCs are high, open windows more. If PM2.5 is high and coming from outdoors, turn on an air filter. Yes, this means your heating and c…

The challenge with opening the window isn't even the cost - which is substantial - from about £250/month to £400/month if I have my windows open even a little bit. The bigger challenge is with my windows open, my heating just can't even keep up! It'll be maxed out and only 18c. I do the German-style luften twice a day, but if our interiors are just absorbing the compounds and releasing it when the windows are shut, t…

> German-style luften twice a day

Das ist nicht genug und klingt ehrlich gesagt grauslich.

Not German approved.

Re: Permeable materials in homes act as sponges for harmful chemicals: study

#25

Post by Hnrobert42 »

coder543 wrote: post #13
crazygringo wrote: post #3

The more we study it, the more we learn how harmful the air inside our homes is. That's why fresh air is key. Crack a window or two open. Buy an air monitor that monitors CO2 (good proxy for overall freshness), VOCs (sometimes these build up much faster than CO2), and PM2.5. If CO2 or VOCs are high, open windows more. If PM2.5 is high and coming from outdoors, turn on an air filter. Yes, this means your heating and c…

Outside air isn’t a panacea. There is often plenty of pollution right outside your window unless you live on an idyllic beachfront property. The humidity level outside is also rarely what you want in your home, whether it is too high or too low. Much better than cracking a window is the use of ERVs (energy recovery ventilators) and air filters on the incoming air. An ERV is a fairly simple device that exchanges air w…

I live in an apartment in Washington DC. Opening a window reduces CO2 and VOCs. An ERV is great if you can afford it, but cracking the window is still quite reasonable.

Re: Permeable materials in homes act as sponges for harmful chemicals: study

#27

Post by hylaride »

2rsf wrote: post #2

The article doesn't seem to have immediate actionable recommendation, and is mainly a brick in a wall that can lead (or not) to better design decisions. One unclear point for example is what happens with the deposited toxins, how hard is it to clean them? are they transferred by touch?

Well, it's a classic research paper. They're essentially only supposed to report findings.

If you live in a house with central HVAC, a decent, regularly replaced filter will help a lot (make sure to only use full blown HEPPA filters if your furnace supports it otherwise you'll have all sorts of airflow issues). Otherwise you can buy air purifiers. The study measured smoke (cigarette and wildfire) as well as insecticides, so minimizing exposure to both is probably the easiest first step (not smoking inside is easy, but wildfire depends on how porous your house is).

Re: Permeable materials in homes act as sponges for harmful chemicals: study

#28

Post by coder543 »

Hnrobert42 wrote: post #25
coder543 wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Outside air isn’t a panacea. There is often plenty of pollution right outside your window unless you live on an idyllic beachfront property. The humidity level outside is also rarely what you want in your home, whether it is too high or too low. Much better than cracking a window is the use of ERVs (energy recovery ventilators) and air filters on the incoming air. An ERV is a fairly simple device that exchanges air w…

I live in an apartment in Washington DC. Opening a window reduces CO2 and VOCs. An ERV is great if you can afford it, but cracking the window is still quite reasonable.

CO2 and VOCs, but what about PM2.5 and PM10? What about pollen? What about humidity control?

Cracking a window is also costly, since it directly raises your heating and cooling bills. It's just an "invisible" cost that's easy for some people to ignore since it's hard to directly measure. An ERV pays for itself over time, so it's more a question of whether you can afford to just crack a window?

Living in an apartment makes this difficult because your landlord may not let you improve this situation, but just ignoring the cost of opening a window doesn't make the cost go away.

Re: Permeable materials in homes act as sponges for harmful chemicals: study

#30

Post by azornathogron »

coder543 wrote: post #13
crazygringo wrote: post #3

The more we study it, the more we learn how harmful the air inside our homes is. That's why fresh air is key. Crack a window or two open. Buy an air monitor that monitors CO2 (good proxy for overall freshness), VOCs (sometimes these build up much faster than CO2), and PM2.5. If CO2 or VOCs are high, open windows more. If PM2.5 is high and coming from outdoors, turn on an air filter. Yes, this means your heating and c…

Outside air isn’t a panacea. There is often plenty of pollution right outside your window unless you live on an idyllic beachfront property. The humidity level outside is also rarely what you want in your home, whether it is too high or too low. Much better than cracking a window is the use of ERVs (energy recovery ventilators) and air filters on the incoming air. An ERV is a fairly simple device that exchanges air w…

> Any modern home build likely has an ERV as part of the design

Sounds very country dependent. I really doubt it's true here in the UK. But then, UK housing is just garbage all around unless you build something custom and put a lot of money and attention into it.

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