How to breathe in fewer microplastics in your home • Hacker News Board

Re: How to breathe in fewer microplastics in your home

#21

Post by sigmoid10 » Sat, Apr 11, 2026, 1:43 PM UTC

strogonoff wrote: post #13

sigmoid10 wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Given the fact that they are so ubiquitous and yet no causal relation between microplastics and any health issue whatsoever has been identified in any rigorous study until today [1], I'd say a lot of this reporting is fear mongering by the eco/organic industry, aimed at gullible people who know very little about science. Not as insane and unphysical as electro smog, but definitely nowhere near asbestos. The linked ar…

> BPA is a known endocrine disruptor. Although initially considered to be a weak environmental estrogen, more recent studies have demonstrated that BPA may be similar in potency to estradiol in stimulating some cellular responses. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21605673/ > In 2017 the European Chemicals Agency concluded that BPA should be listed as a substance of very high concern due to its properties as an endocri…

This is exactly the kind of fear mongering reporting I was talking about and explains the general public's warped perception described in the research review I linked above. If you look at the brains of dead people with dementia, you'll also find more aluminum, which has caused people to panic about antiperspirants. But there is zero actual causal evidence that Al exposure causes dementia, if you do the science right. The same goes btw. for amyloid plaques, which has actually hindered real Alzheimer's research. So not even scientists are safe from the correlation!=causality problem. You can make up all kinds of potential hazards by comparing similar molecules and inventing bioavailability pathways. But at the end of the day this is just speculation and you need hard data to prove these assumptions.

Re: How to breathe in fewer microplastics in your home

#22

Post by schiffern » Sat, Apr 11, 2026, 1:43 PM UTC

mcny wrote: post #15

schiffern wrote: post #3

https://archive.ph/UcCq6 Saying HEPA filters remove "99%" of microplastic is pretty misleading. Most of the mass in airborne particles is in the larger sizes of visible dust. However these particles will "fall out" before they reach the air purifier. The best advice isn't "use only HEPA" or (an odd one, from this article) "use filters with multiple stages," it's to have an air purifier where the Clean Air Delivery Ra…

> Most people dramatically under-size their air purifiers, or run them on a very low fan setting, and then they throw up their hands and just say that air purifiers don't work. I believe something is better than nothing here. One of the biggest complaints against air filters is noise so maybe a good compromise would be to run them at full speed and full noise for a certain amount of time or something when nobody is i…

A false sense of security can be worse than nothing, because it prevents you from seeking out actually effective options.

I too would like such a "shy" air purifier, but manufacturers always seem to go the other way: when occupancy is detected they increase the fan speed.

Best option IMO is just to get an air purifier with a good CADR-to-decibel ratio and then (again) size it correctly. A surprisingly good option is something called the Airfanta 3 Pro, which is basically like those wildfire filter boxes except it uses PC fans.

Re: How to breathe in fewer microplastics in your home

#23

Post by schiffern » Sat, Apr 11, 2026, 1:46 PM UTC

OutOfHere wrote: post #20

mcny wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Most people dramatically under-size their air purifiers, or run them on a very low fan setting, and then they throw up their hands and just say that air purifiers don't work. I believe something is better than nothing here. One of the biggest complaints against air filters is noise so maybe a good compromise would be to run them at full speed and full noise for a certain amount of time or something when nobody is i…

The way to get air purifiers to really work well is to install them at the air intake, i.e. in the windows, or where the central air intake is, so all incoming air passes through them. I use indoor air purifiers too, but not as a substitute for ones at the intake. Note that tires and diesel fumes are prominent neighborhood sources of harmful particulates. It is not expensive to run intake fans in the spring and fall…

That helps for pollution that comes from outside (traffic, pollen, wood smoke), but most of the microplastics are generated by moving/wearing synthetic textiles inside the home.

Positive pressure systems are great, love 'em, but there's a quantitative mismatch in this case. Above ~1 ACH your HVAC costs will go through the roof (even with heat/humidity recovery), but for effective filtration you need 6-8 ACH to catch the larger dust before your lungs do.

Re: How to breathe in fewer microplastics in your home

#24

Post by shubhamjain » Sat, Apr 11, 2026, 1:47 PM UTC

rusch wrote: post #2

I wonder when and if microplastics will get it's Asbestos moment. Obviously they are not as carcinogenic, but it seems we don't have the full picture, and microplastics are present at an insanely higher degree than asbestos where.

Probably never. I think it's been at least a decade since the fear over them became mainstream. Yeah, it's possible these things can take time to show up but considering the scale of their presence and how long we have been using them, we would have at least seen some definite relationship between them and some serious health concern. Look at the article itself, the health impact is conveniently buried in the last section, and it just repeats over and over how they can found everywhere in the body but nothing on what can possible happen.

So much of the scare revolves around the same framing, "microplastic" have been found in breast milk/blood whatever, but never seen one mentioning what it can possibly cause. Is it too hard to fathom that the answer is "nothing"?

Re: How to breathe in fewer microplastics in your home

#25

Post by hansonkd » Sat, Apr 11, 2026, 1:48 PM UTC

mcny wrote: post #15

schiffern wrote: post #3

https://archive.ph/UcCq6 Saying HEPA filters remove "99%" of microplastic is pretty misleading. Most of the mass in airborne particles is in the larger sizes of visible dust. However these particles will "fall out" before they reach the air purifier. The best advice isn't "use only HEPA" or (an odd one, from this article) "use filters with multiple stages," it's to have an air purifier where the Clean Air Delivery Ra…

> Most people dramatically under-size their air purifiers, or run them on a very low fan setting, and then they throw up their hands and just say that air purifiers don't work. I believe something is better than nothing here. One of the biggest complaints against air filters is noise so maybe a good compromise would be to run them at full speed and full noise for a certain amount of time or something when nobody is i…

bigger filter = less noise to move more air

Re: How to breathe in fewer microplastics in your home

#26

Post by oharapj » Sat, Apr 11, 2026, 1:50 PM UTC

I wonder if this means that going to the gym is a huge source of exposure then. Enclosed environment with rubber mat flooring and weights constantly banging against it..

Re: How to breathe in fewer microplastics in your home

#27

Post by _ink_ » Sat, Apr 11, 2026, 1:52 PM UTC

oharapj wrote: post #26

I wonder if this means that going to the gym is a huge source of exposure then. Enclosed environment with rubber mat flooring and weights constantly banging against it..

IIRC there was a study that concluded that boulder gyms have more rubber in the air than exits of motorways.

Re: How to breathe in fewer microplastics in your home

#28

Post by a3w » Sat, Apr 11, 2026, 1:52 PM UTC

Half the microplastics in our body is from cars. So move to a car-free city district or remote cabin (and then driving train+bike so not to contribute to the problem?).

Re: How to breathe in fewer microplastics in your home

#29

Post by OutOfHere » Sat, Apr 11, 2026, 1:53 PM UTC

schiffern wrote: post #16

dijit wrote: post #6

Realistically, the best thing you can do to reduce your microplastics intake seems to be to avoid microwaving in plastic bowls and to avoid using plastic bottles for soft drinks and water. (Though cans actually use a thin film of plastic inside too.. so, maybe just avoid packaged water?) Beyond your personal intake though there's bigger fish. Car tyres are the #1 source for microplastics entering rivers, and it's not…

>microwaving in plastic bowls More generally, never let hot food touch plastics. The high temperature is what damages the plastic surface, not anything special about microwaves. For instance the same thing happens with plastic tea bags in hot water: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S004565352...

Some people use plastic cutting-trays / knives / forks /spoons / cups / jugs, which also are some things to avoid.

I would also avoid all nonstick pans and utensils, as they're lined with PFAS which is worse than plastic, and slowly it will break off into the food. Beware the industry shills on this forum, as they will have you ignore the fact that ingesting PFAS is well known to result in higher blood levels of PFAS.

Re: How to breathe in fewer microplastics in your home

#30

Post by himata4113 » Sat, Apr 11, 2026, 1:54 PM UTC

If anyone is looking into getting an air filter I recommend winix it was tested by project farm and scored the highest. also I am the owner of two and they've been working great for 4 years now I run them using auto and never worry about them again, the automatic sleep mode is bliss.

replacements are cheap on aliexpress coming at around $30 (per year). You don't need true hepa replacements, you can skip carbon filters if you don't have odor problems or have lots of ventilation.

the filters are pitch black every time I replace them so they're definitely doing something.

I do however recommend skipping all of that and just getting a box fan with a lower-tier merv filter since at the end of the day airflow matters the most and it turns itself back on if the power goes out plus it gives you the ability to tie it into home automation.