When officials shut down schools in Lahore, Pakistan, it made world news earlier this month. A rise in air pollution led to work from home orders and the closure of various primary schools, with travel limitations and masking also in play. Reportedly, the government also banned certain kinds of personal transportation, and put a halt on construction projects.

Environmentalists indicated that the air pollution gets worse in the area during cooler months, because pollution is trapped closer to the ground. Some are also blaming air moving from neighboring India as contributing to the effect.

It’s a chilling idea that the air itself would require teachers, students and others to stay home during a school day. Surely this doesn’t happen in America?

Air Pollution and American School District Procedures

Although we don’t hear about schools closing because of air pollution specifically, school districts in America do have procedures in place to deal with higher levels of smog or contaminants.

For example, this page shows what happens in this Washington district when air pollution gets bad. Administrators write:

“There are times throughout the school year, especially in the fall and winter months, when air pollution levels are higher than typical. Because air quality levels can vary from one area of the county to another, and because principals know their students and their schools, each principal must assess conditions around the school to decide whether to keep some or all of their students indoors when air quality is poor.”

How do they test for these contaminants?

Some of these districts actually use the Airnow.gov site that we reported on a few weeks ago as a national resource for understanding the quality of outdoor air.

There’s also the ‘fire and smoke map’ keeping tabs on various types of combustion and their effect on the environment, and the visual components of this are helpful to school administrators who try to maintain a better approach to health and safety for everybody who works or studies in the school.

Sources of Pollution

We know that factory pollution contributes to the problem. We know that more cars on the road means more greenhouse gasses emitted into the atmosphere.

We also know that wood combustion makes a difference, and that large wildfires also have an impact. The world learned more lessons in this kind of hazard mitigation during the season last year, when Canadian wildfire smoke popped up in many areas of the U.S. in a way that that’s unusual, or at least used to be unusual.

Many of these processes release fine particle matter called PM2.5 that can have a harmful effect on human health.

The small particles can get embedded deep in the lungs, or in the bloodstream.

Scientists are looking at how to deal with this pervasive and universal problem.

Preserving Quality for Your Indoor Air

You can take larger steps to improve the air in your community, but you can also protect yourself and your family inside of your home.

This starts with using an air monitor to see what the pollutant levels are in your indoor air. They may be from outside, but you can also have specific indoor air problems related to dust mites, pet dander, or harmful chemicals from consumer products. A good air monitor will look at many of these pollutants and report what you’re dealing with inside your home. You can also use air monitors on the go, in hotels, or anywhere you happen to be. An Atmo air monitor is a great way to do a quick check. 

Then you can use air purifier appliances to scrub the air of dangerous particles. You can put in place whole-home systems or individual floor-standing units in strategic places around the building. A modern unit with a standard HEPA is 99.97% effective for .3 microns. A model with a SuperHEPA system is 99.99% effective for contaminants down to .1 microns. Take a look at the Austin Air Healthmate Plus, Ideal 80, Airpura V700, or Allerair Pro 5 HD Vocarb models. 

Businesses are using these appliances to protect customers, as well as visitors and workers. For example, NIH resources show how these systems can be effective against much more than 50% of existing viral particles inside of a building. 

Ask US Air Purifiers LLC about getting the right models for your needs, and how to get peace of mind about your purchases as you improve the health and safety of your home or workplace.

Has it really been a year?

Last October, we saw unprecedented wildfire burning in Canada, and the resulting smoke rolling through many American communities where people are not used to this kind of air pollution.

In fact, this report from the National Association of Counties (NACO) went out almost exactly a year ago and talks about a decrease in our air quality across-the-board.

“The United States is currently confronting an increase in hazardous air quality. What used to be considered a common phenomenon on the country’s West Coast, the recent wildfires in Canada served as a reminder that hazy skies and poor air quality can impact anyone,” authors wrote. “Hundreds of fires have been burning in eastern Canada for weeks. As reported by The New York Times, the fires burned thousands of acres and produced heavy smoke, impacting millions of people in the U.S. across the Northeast through the Mid-Atlantic, down to the Carolinas and into the Midwest.”

The authors mentioned more wildfires, as well as factory pollution and traffic related pollution, and the threat of PM2.5, a type of fine particulate matter that can get embedded in the lungs or enter the bloodstream.

That’s in addition to a range of other harmful contaminants they cited, writing:

“Air quality, denoting the clearness or purity of the air we breathe, is measured by the concentration of pollutants, including particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, and ozone. These concentrations have escalated across the U.S., posing potential health risks to millions of residents.”

So this list, while it’s a year old, is still relevant today – here are 10 things the NACO says you can do to get better protection from health hazards related to air pollution.

Some Good Safety Measures

Some of these tips are around the use of available tools and resources – for example, the NACO suggests people wear a mask, ideally an N95 or strong mask, but notes that any kind of mask will do, to decrease the inhalation of fine particles. Experts also suggest people should keep their medication on hand if they suffer from respiratory conditions.

Going Where You’re Safe

As far as the environment, experts urge people to stay indoors on bad air days, or limit physical activity outside, since you tend to breathe in more when you’re working out or doing strenuous activity.

The NACO also recommends sealing your home and putting in a good ventilation system with a filter. Look at models like these Amaircare purifier systems for good filtration and protection in your home. 

Other tips revolve around controlling pollution at the source, such as limited use of vehicles, and not burning wood or trash.

Then there’s the exhortation to follow the Airnow.gov website that we reported on several weeks ago.

Another Big Solution

 The last of these tips is to use available air purifier machines in your home. The NACO even mentions the HEPA filter that’s so effective in scrubbing out contaminants from your indoor air.

That’s where we come in. Let US Air Purifiers LLC help you select the best air purifier appliances for your home. We have a track record of advising customers and providing warranty information and more, to help people get the most out of their purchases. Turn to a company that knows this industry well and has good relationships with various manufacturers like Airpura, BetterAir and Austin, just to name a few.

You can read more on our blog about current news around air purifiers, and what companies are doing to help people keep their homes safe…and get your own solutions to breathe easier at home. 

We’ve gotten a lot of questions from customers and others about how to use modern air purifier machines. In this roundup, let’s go over some of the big ones that people wonder about when they’re shopping.

Do air purifiers help with dust?

The simple answer is that, yes, they do help with dust, if it is airborne.

That means that while some of the heavier dust will fall to the floor before it can be cycled by the purifier, some of the ultrafine particles that are most dangerous to human health will be trapped and removed by the HEPA filter, as long as they reach the inside of the unit. This includes items like dust mites, pet dander, pollen, etc. 

Do air purifiers make your home dry?

Air purifier models actually have very little effect on either the temperature or the humidity inside at home. They’re simply taking the indoor air and running it through filtration and other processes that decrease harmful contaminants in the air.

What is the difference between an air purifier and a humidifier?

The humidifier actually introduces moisture into the air, to help with overly dry air, such as the product of forced air heating systems.

The air purifier, on the other hand, simply takes the indoor air and cycles it to remove certain kinds of contaminants. Units like the Molekule Pro, AirPura 714, or the BetterAir 2080 are good at this kind of filtration, and popular for home or commercial use. 

Will air purifiers help with Covid and flu?

There are particular air purifier machines that can help a great deal with virus particles. We sold a lot of these during the Covid pandemic, and they’re still useful for filtering out different viral loads such as those related to flu conditions.

Check out a range of models that would help.

Will air purifiers reduce mold spores?

Air purifiers are generally very effective on mold.  Any unit with a HEPA filter, UV or probiotics can handle mold. All-carbon models may not be as effective against this contaminant. 

What kind of air purifier should I have in my apartment?

For an apartment space, you basically want to scale it for your square footage, using a metric called ACH (air changes per hour). Note: Oversizing is good when it comes to air purifiers because a user may be running a machine on a lower setting than what’s indicated for a certain ACH. 

Will air purifiers help with allergies?

Because they filter out so much of the contamination in indoor air, air purifiers can help quite a bit with allergies. They can help to reduce pet dander, dust mites, pollen, and other allergens, as well as harmful chemicals and VOCs. A 2020 study found that participants with allergic rhinitis experienced a significant reduction in medication usage after using air purifiers for six weeks. For allergic rhinitis sufferers, studies show that air purifiers can lead to a 30-60% improvement in symptom severity (e.g., sneezing, congestion).

Where is the best place to put a purifier in a room?

Optimal layout depends on many factors. In general, you want to have an air purifier close to the source of contaminants. It can also help to have some elevation to have the appliance 3 to 5 feet off the ground in order to maximize how it grabs airflow.

Take a look at our FAQs for more on how to source air purifiers and how to use them to your advantage. 

We hope that these answers have been helpful in assisting you with shopping for what you want for your home. US Air Purifiers LLC can help you to select the models that are best for your indoor air, and with giving you peace of mind about the livability and breathability of the air in your indoor space.

A nonprofit academic publisher is contending that the federal U.S. government’s work on clean air monitoring could use some improvement.

Some new watchers are watching the watchers when it comes to air quality, and coming up with some disturbing results.

The federal EPA is monitoring national air quality, with a system stretching from coast to coast. But now researchers at ACS Publications are evaluating the EPA’s network, and saying that there are gaps in national air pollution monitoring coverage.

The ACS is the arm of the American Chemical Society that publishes various journals and publications aimed at different aspects of science.

Citing a lack of adequate protection from the monitors, observers from the ACS set up their own model to show where the EPA’s system may not be adequately measuring something called PM2.5. The ACS suggests the EPA doesn’t provide coverage of important “hotspots” and doesn’t monitor some high-pollution areas, including metro areas with millions of people. Even a low number of additional monitors, they say, would add a lot of accuracy.

Researchers find this sort of data aggregation important in high risk state like Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, as well as California, the nation’s largest state economy, and some Midwestern areas.

What Is PM2.5?

As we’ve reported often on the blog, PM2.5 is a type of fine particles that can have specialized health risks for humans.

These small airborne particles come with items like factory pollution, traffic emissions, and wildfire smoke.

They can get embedded deep in the lungs or in the bloodstream, and cause various health problems. High-risk groups include infants, children, pregnant women, and those with respiratory conditions.

Allergy and asthma sufferers may also have certain problems related to excessive levels of PM2.5 in the air. Use an air monitor from a company like Atmo or Uhoo to see the readings for your home’s indoor air. 

Citing Disparities

Another finding by the ACS researchers is that some lower-income communities suffer from unreported high levels of air pollution.

This tracks with other studies that we’ve covered in the past few months that look at socioeconomic status as a component of air quality nationwide, and globally.

Solutions for Poor Air Quality

Of course, one solution is to act at national and global levels to advocate for cleaner air and water.

Another solution is to improve the infrastructure in a community, to make it cleaner and safer for everyone who lives there.

However, at the residential household level, there’s something homeowners can do to improve the air that they breathe every day.

We spend lots of time in our homes, and many of these pollutants and contaminants can get embedded in our indoor air.

Modern homes are fairly sealed, too, which means that the quality of the air inside makes a bigger difference. For reference, Molekule has found that air quality inside of a building can be two to five times worse than what’s outside. 

By using air monitors and air purifier appliances, you can improve the air inside your home.

Modern HEPA filtration and activated carbon are two tools that will scrub many harmful contaminants from the air. This includes things like PM2.5, as well as dust mites and pet dander, and various odors. Some of these machines will work against mold and substances like formaldehyde off-gassing from furniture or consumer products, or a range of VOCs or volatile organic compounds that have been known to have health effects.

But what do you want for your home?

There’s a range of new technologies to choose from in different models from a variety of manufacturers. US Air Purifiers LLC can help with warranty information and choosing how much air cleaning power you want for a particular room or space. We have a track record of assisting our customers with effective advice and assistance in getting peace of mind for their quality of life in their homes.

Are your cleaning products releasing harmful chemicals?

You might not think about it, but some of the most common household cleaners have some harsh chemicals in them that can cause irritation and impact your quality of life in your home. And even when you use these, you might not be thinking about the resulting feelings of itching, red eyes, etc. or how you breathe in stuff that, really, you’d rather not.

Let’s talk about some of these items, the usual suspects when it comes to cleaning chemicals, and how you can avoid them with more natural products.

Synthetic Surfactants and Solvents

To scientists, solvents in consumer products are usually something to be avoided. That’s because scientists understand how these chemicals work, and why you might not want them in the things that you use every day.

But if you’re not a scientist and not a doctor, you might just think these are great. They smell kind of funny, but they work well.

What you don’t realize is that many of these can potentially have harmful effects, or at least unwanted effects, on your body. Some of these toxic chemicals can lead to respiratory issues, skin irritation, and the disruption of the body’s endocrine systems, or hormones. 

So look for these items on your labels.

Phosphates

Many household cleaning products also have phosphates, derivatives of phosphorous, that can build up in local waterways after you use them, and are generally not great for the environment.

Here’s a bit on this from the U.S. EPA:

“Too much phosphorus can stimulate excess growth of algae, which leads to low dissolved oxygen levels, potential for harmful algal toxins, blockage of sunlight needed by organisms and plants in the water and degraded habitat conditions for benthic macroinvertebrates and other aquatic life.”

Natural products don’t use phosphates, but instead use simpler biological components to create a green cleaner. That’s great for all of those same uses around the house.

For example, let’s take dishwashing liquid. You just pop something in the dishwasher and you get a clean rack of plates, glasses, and flatware.

But hidden in those handy packets are things that break down poorly in the environment.

This is another thing to look out for when you’re shopping.

 Chlorine

Chlorine is a natural element, but it can be sort of harsh. It can have an effect on your respiratory system, especially if you’re sensitive.

This, again, is something that can wind up in detergents and cleaners, and be released into your indoor air as you run your appliances.

Artificial Fragrances

Again, some of these things smell really good, but they may have harsh chemicals involved.

Anytime you have something artificial like this, you should ask what’s in it, and what you’re breathing. This resource from Cleveland Clinic shows how certain chemicals found in some of these products can mess with a person’s endocrine system, which shows why these should be avoided. 

That leads us to one of the best solutions to improve your indoor air quality.

Air purifiers help to handle odors, because they’re scrubbing out contaminants and pollutants from indoor air.

So when you employ these machines to your benefit, you’re getting a better and more livable result.

Take a look at all of the modern technology that goes into air monitors that help you figure out levels of contaminants, and air purifiers that you can use to get the right results for your indoor space.

For example, BetterAir sells a range of Enviro Biotic systems that use a proprietary probiotic mist along with a triple HEPA filter, to trap all kinds of unsavory stuff that lurks in your indoor air. That includes mold, dust mites and allergens, as well as pathogens and viral particles, too. Take a look at the BetterAir lineup and what models like the 2080 and others can do for you. 

When you want to get the best air purifier system for your needs, US Air Purifiers LLC can help: we have the track record of advising customers on what to buy to get the best result for their homes and businesses. Be confident in your purchases and let us help with warranty information, explanations of cutting edge, technology, and much more! You’ll enjoy protecting your health, and the health of your family.