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

uofmhealth.org

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

#281

Post by gdubs »

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…

I had an energy audit done recently and they said that 50% of the air in most homes comes up from the crawl space (due to the Stack Effect).

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

#282

Post by kijin »

nvarsj wrote: post #245
kijin wrote: post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

As someone else mentioned downthread, you need to maintain a rather high temperature (around 25C/77F) in order to reduce the relative humidity enough.

This might or might not have been feasible given OP's budget, heating arrangements, and general preference. I for one would not want to live in such a hot room for a whole season even if I could afford to. I keep my room cooler than that even in the summer!

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

#283

Post by jklein11 »

appleflaxen wrote: post #273
dd36 wrote: post #268

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Those are pretty easy to prove in this case. All you’d need to do is find, remove and test the bad dry wall. There’s no way someone installing it could reasonably claim ignorance of its condition.

how do you prove the timing? that it happened at the time of construction and not after?

You get one of the people who did the installation to admit to it. I'm sure you could find someone who has a conscience or doesn't think they are personally at fault who would be willing to own up to it.

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

#284

Post by chaostheory »

chaostheory wrote: post #226
abalone wrote: post #82

Can we talk about Molekule? Their team and some SF tech community folks have been plugging it all over Twitter during this tragic wildfire crisis. But it seems like snake oil to me. It’s $800. Certainly for smoke particles it can’t possibly offer any more protection than a standard HEPA filter. But even for its claimed ability to nuke VOCs, the claim seems ridiculous. While particles can deterioriate under prolonged…

I had one. It has multiple issues: 1. CADR is really low to the point where the unit is near useless due to #2 2. In addition to a low CADR, it has the highest noise. It looks and sounds like a jet engine when you have this thing on high, which is needed due to the low CADR. This is the loudest air purifier that I’ve ever owned 3. If you get a defective main filter, the unit will emit an unpleasant metallic smell. I…

Forgot

5. The unit works using some LED light. A. it is bright B. It is not replaceable. Meaning after 2-4 years of operation, the unit becomes a throwaway. This is not a good thing for a unit that costs over $700

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

#285

Post by Raphmedia »

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.

What is the humidity level in your house? 25ºC should be comfortable for an healthy individuals if the hair is not heavy with humidity.

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

#286

Post by woogiewonka »

Elien237 wrote: post #269

I’ve been reading and following these comments now and I’m both impressed and horrified at the same time. As a mechanical engineer, product developer and developing air purifiers specifically for 5,5 years in combination of filter expert till just 6 months ago. I now work in another industry. You can ask me anything and I’ll do my best and be as unbiassed to brands as possible if you want me to. There are a few thing…

If not HEPA, then which filter types do you recommend?

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

#287

Post by EADGBE »

clumsysmurf wrote: post #162
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…

I was talking to a buddy that does construction work in a pretty wealthy area (Scottsdale, AZ). They are just finishing up a large luxury apartment. Apparently, the contractor let the drywall get soaked while sitting on palettes during monsoon season, and since the roofing wasn't done there were inches of standing water that resulted in black mold. They just drywalled right over it. In the US. In 2018. In a luxury co…

Drywalling without a roof is just bad contracting.

Entering a rainy season without a roof being sheathed is also bad contracting.

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

#288

Post by EADGBE »

luckman212 wrote: post #274
clumsysmurf wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was talking to a buddy that does construction work in a pretty wealthy area (Scottsdale, AZ). They are just finishing up a large luxury apartment. Apparently, the contractor let the drywall get soaked while sitting on palettes during monsoon season, and since the roofing wasn't done there were inches of standing water that resulted in black mold. They just drywalled right over it. In the US. In 2018. In a luxury co…

What do you mean "they drywalled right over it"? They installed the damaged drywall and then _another_ layer of drywall on top of it? Sorry if this is a stupid question.

The only thing I can think of is possibly a firewall?

I know they're in the desert, but drywall really should happen after the building envelope is sealed.

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

#290

Post by distances »

jklein11 wrote: post #283
appleflaxen wrote: post #273

Earlier quoted context omitted.

how do you prove the timing? that it happened at the time of construction and not after?

You get one of the people who did the installation to admit to it. I'm sure you could find someone who has a conscience or doesn't think they are personally at fault who would be willing to own up to it.

With the chaining of subcontractors, I doubt you'd even find the company that did the work, let alone an employee.
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