Top Quality Air Purifiers and Healthy Home Solutions that You Can Trust

One of the hidden dangers of the desert biome is causing some concern in the Salt Lake City area.

Reporting this past spring, and continuing news, shows the great Salt Lake Commissioner’s office gathering collaborating parties to deal with some of the dried-up sediment coming off of a dry lake bed into nearby communities.

In places like Salt Lake City or Ogden and Farmington, scientists are finding that residents may be exposed to harmful toxins that become airborne in stormy or windy situations.

Doctoral students and others looking at the situation talk about a “toxic crust” on the lake that can include a variety of heavy metals, including lead and cadmium, as well as poison substances like arsenic.

That’s in addition to other fine particles called PM2.5 that can become embedded in the lungs and cause various respiratory issues like lung cancer or COPD.

Residents in many parts of the southwest have known for a while about a condition called ‘valley fever’ or ‘desert fever’, where inhaling particles can be harmful to your health. This particular condition comes from a fungal contaminant, but the presence of toxic metals and carcinogens in desert dust is its own concern, too.

The danger is greatest during sand or dust storms, where a lot of this particular matter is kicked up and blown around. People worried about local exposure may end up wearing masks for their own safety.

Other examples in the region are also illustrative of how these problems happen – for instance, there’s the Owens Valley air pollution issue, where local authorities fined a utility company $21 million because of problems with dust on a 5-acre dry lake bed there. In this case, the issue had an effect on peoples’ water bills, but there’s also the health and safety of residence to be considered, and activists have been sounding the alarm bells for a while. Experts have referred to “immense sheets of powdery lung damaging particles that descended on towns downwind” and townspeople are rightly up in arms.

Stories like this show the results in terms of conflict between communities, but also the liability that parties will have to control dry lake bed sediment, or any other kinds of natural conditions that will cause dried-up dust to be picked up in the wind.

For those who are concerned about breathing these things in, it might be helpful to talk mitigation.

Of course, it’s possible to examine the lake bed itself, and its effect on communities and have an impact there.

Aside from that, though, you’re dealing with these contaminants at the point of exposure. How do you do that?

In addition to wearing masks, there is one thing that residents can do to protect themselves better from these contaminants.

Essentially, all of this particulate can get inside your home and cycle in your home air.

That leads to a strategy that can help you to clean the indoor air in your home, and remove these harmful items from the space where you live, and where most of us spend most of our time.

The first step is to get air monitor machines that can detect contaminants in the air and show you, in a sense, what you’re dealing with. Another good step can be air duct cleaning of HVAC duct work. Then you can also install air purifier machines to control the levels of pathogens or pollutants in the air.

You can put in a whole home system that will cycle all of the indoor air, or put individual portable or free-standing machines in particular indoor spaces. For homes, there’s the Amaircare 3000 HEPA model, or the Austin Healthmate, or the Ideal 60 or 80 models. 

Talk to US Air Purifiers LLC about what’s best for your personal planning. We know about all of the best new technology, including the HEPA filtration and carbon activation rated to remove the most particles from your indoor air. Get more from your purchase with a company that knows the business inside and out- and get peace of mind about what you breathe. 

The United Nations is sounding the alarm on the need for cleaner air, and negative effects of air pollution worldwide.

This month, a piece by Daniel Johnson reports on news from the UN World Meteorological Organization or WMO that paint a grim picture of what we’re facing.

“(A new set of findings) is just one of many unsettling discoveries featured  in the latest WMO Air Quality and Climate Bulletin,” Johnson writes. “It highlights, for instance, that the first eight months of 2024 have seen no let-up in periods of intense heat and persistent droughts around the world, fuelling the risk of wildfires and air pollution.”

What are some of the major impacts of this problem?

The piece describes three outcomes that we have to look out for as we deal with increasing greenhouse gas emissions, and the pollution of our air.

The Death Toll

Early on in the article, we see that WMO spokespersons are estimating that air pollution causes 4.5 million premature deaths per year!

“This is more than those death by malaria and HIV/AIDS combined;” WMO Scientific Officer Lorenzo Labrador said in a press statement, “so air pollution is the biggest environmental risk of our time. But not only is it a health risk in itself, it also exacerbates climate change.”

To put it in perspective, that’s more than the total American Covid deaths in each of the years that the pandemic was most dangerous.

Premature deaths have co-morbidities – it’s not that the impact of the pollution killed people by itself, but it did limit their longevity and quality of life.

Certain groups also have a heightened vulnerability, including:

·        The elderly

·        Pregnant women

·        Immunocompromised people

·        Those with certain respiratory conditions

So when you think about the impact of poor quality air, one of the most important metrics is the lives lost or cut short by this aspect of our environmental peril.

The Scourge of Wildfires

We know that across the country, wildfires are causing billions of dollars of property damage each year.

But you don’t really get the full effect until you talk to a family who has had to evacuate quickly, and has seen their place of residence burned to the ground because of out-of-control wildfires.

At the same time, many of us can appreciate the environmental impact of the wildfires, because we see the hazy skylines and smell the evidence of combustion in our communities, and we recognize that this is having an effect on our health.

So there are multiple kinds of destruction caused by wildfires, including the proliferation of PM 2.5, fine particulates that can have a bad effect on human health.

Crop Damage and Agricultural Impact

We also have to anticipate that crops will be affected by climate change and greater levels of air pollution.

These resources show how this type of agricultural problem will manifest in the coming years.

On the other hand, NASA has done research into how plants may get a boost from increased carbon dioxide in the air.

So although the science is tricky, we can see that the changes are going to impact agriculture in a big way, and we need to be ready.

Protecting Yourself and Your Family

Aside from activism and policy work, there’s not a whole lot that you can do to improve the outdoor air in your community.

But you can improve the air inside your home!

You can start by using an air monitor to check for contaminants, and then address your air quality with a proactive action plan that includes air purifier machines.

These modern units have HEPA filters that scrub even small particles out of your indoor air, for a cleaner, more breathable space.

Take a look at everything that’s out there, and we can help you choose the machines that are right for you. US Air Purifiers LLC(™) has the expertise and track record to help you get the most value out of what you buy. We know the brands, and the science behind them. Contact us for help making your home safer for everyone.

Veterinarians are looking at upping the standards of care for animals in several key ways, as this area of the healthcare market changes rapidly.

One aspect of this is creating better environments in veterinary clinics.

Let’s take allergies, for example – we know that people have them, and that it’s difficult to maintain a mixed human and animal environment like a clinic, partly for that reason. But some pets also suffer from allergies too, leading vets and office managers to consider various non-chemical, natural and sustainable choices for managing dander and other allergens.

Now, vets are turning to a pretty reliable strategy: using floor-standing portable air purifiers to cycle and improve the indoor air in the clinic. There’s also the alternative of whole-building systems, which scrub all of the indoor air, and tend to be less intrusive in commercial spaces. Either way, the practice leaders are ensuring the health and comfort of everyone who visits in a day or a week: the animals and the humans, too!

Chemical free, quiet and unobtrusive, the BetterAir air purifier series holds the Made Safe certification, and is registered with the EPA for control of both fungal spores and bacteria. These machines can run in the background of the clinic, with no need for extensive maintenance. An air purifier helps with odors and pet dander, and generally improves the environment in the lobby of the clinic, and everywhere else.

Clinics can also offer these types of tools to their customers, because people are going to want to run them in their homes to provide that same level of sanitation and relief some allergens and contaminants. They can cross-sell these products for an additional revenue stream – and that’s often convenient for the pet owners, too, when they need effective ways to handle allergens or dander in their own homes.

Standards of Cleanliness: Probiotic Air Purifier Design

BetterAir systems get recharged with probiotic cartridges or bottles, to put probiotics into the air to help deal with harmful microorganisms. The idea is to send these particles and substances out into the air to fight the potentially harmful bacteria that live in the closed system. In addition to strategies like filtration and activated carbon, the probiotics take the initiative – and make air cleaner and safer to breathe.

In research trials, scientists show that using these machines helped decrease itching and redness on the skin of animals who may have allergies to contaminants. In some studies, this led to a whopping 75% reduction in dog allergens. The same type of technology can, for example, decrease the presence of certain feline virus particles in the air.

So for various reasons, for profit and sanitation, veterinary practice leaders like to put these machines in place. One good choice is the BetterAir purifier - a range of models will help scrub contaminants from indoor air well. 

If you’re looking for air purifier equipment for your veterinary clinic or home, look no further. US Air Purifiers LLC™ will help you to find the systems that you need, and explain all of the new technology that’s around, whether that’s probiotics, filterless machines using high heat, ultraviolet light, or other features as well as modern HEPA filters and activated carbon options. Let us help you to get what you need to feel confident about the air inside of your home.

New research shows how we can improve indoor air quality for a commercial business. It’s exciting for business owners who want to give their employees and their clientele a better quality of life inside of a day care facility.

Research conducted by E3 Pandemic Response focused on two daycare centers in Helsinki in Sweden and found that adding air purifiers reduced some illness rates by as much as 30%. That might sound like just a number. However, for busy parents rearranging work schedules, and hustling a child into and out of urgent care offices, it’s a big deal! And it lowers the burden on the healthcare system, too.

For reference, studies find that an average child in day care experiences 10 to 13 infectious illnesses per year, lasting one to three weeks each.

Cutting out 30% would mean three or four less of these events per year, which would be great for parents and working families. It would be a public service, too,  and day care owners should think about adding that kind of value.

The study of the Swedish day care centers was a controlled experiment, a high-quality test of the efficacy of the systems in cleaning indoor air of pathogens and harmful virus particles.

It’s not done, either: a second phase of the study is in the works, according to the reporting on the project.

Some also point to the promise of cutting out 30% of sick days for employees. What would that do for a day care business in terms of the bottom line? In reality, it would add up to some significant savings. 

More Research on Indoor Air

There’s also other research suggesting that specific technologies can improve indoor air results as well.

We reported last week on one study based on probiotic air purification systems. These systems release helpful bacteria and particles into the air to balance the ecosystem, where there are pathogen contaminants.

In a key sense, the good bacteria fight the bad bacteria, and improve indoor air quality that way.

So there were specific placebo double-blind studies that showed that this probiotic system worked.

Types of Air Purifiers for Day Care Facilities

What do you want in a day care air purifier?

Well, for one thing, you want it to be quiet enough that it doesn’t interfere with day-to-day activities. Each type of machine has its own decibel rating for sound, and they’re typically louder when run on higher levels of operation. Some, though, are quieter than others, which means they’re better for day care environments.

Beyond that, combining a HEPA filter with activated carbon is also a good practice for these kinds of air purifier setups. Businesses can choose from whole-building models, or portable air purifiers placed in open areas. The Airpura V700, for example, is often a good fit for this kind of business use. 

US Air Purifiers LLC™ can help you choose the models that you need for your particular project. We have the track record of advising customers on the newest technology, which models fit which spaces, and everything else that you need to know, including detailed warranty information and much more. Don’t leave your purchases up to chance! Get connected to a company that knows this business, and get the solutions that you need.

There’s something going on in India when it comes to air pollution and potential solutions for improving air quality.

An institute called the Center for Study of Science Technology and Policy is hosting an event called the India Clean Air Summit that wraps up August 30, 2024.

This is one of the leading think tanks in India, and it’s looking at the overall goal of making air cleaner and safer to breathe.

Press releases for the event talk about how emerging economies are looking at more developed countries for tips, and how air pollution sensors are part of the equation.

Sponsors include Bloomberg Philanthropy, the Clean Air Fund, and others.

This initiative may help to balance the growing issues around air quality worldwide: data quality, though, is important, according to the experts who look at these systems. Evaluation centers have been set up in places like India and Africa to assess air quality in a better way.

Planners also talk about looking at neighborhoods and assessing ‘hotspots’ for pollution – and continuing to refine the data for places where there’s less monitoring and evaluation.

Referring to ‘fence-line monitoring’ of industrial polluters, clean air advocates talk about identifying sources of air pollution in a particular city or location, and thinking about how transportation, agriculture and other sources contribute.

As for what’s happening stateside, we don’t seem to have a lot of dedicated agency events throughout a given year: the American Lung Association helps to host certain events, mentioning two for this year: Some “Clean Air for All” Virtual Events, co-hosted with American University’s Center for Environmental Policy and Center for Environmental Filmmaking, as well as a “Looking Ahead: A Roadmap for Healthy Air & Equitable Climate Action for the Biden Administration” virtual panel event in Feb. of 2021.

One way to educate yourself about air quality is to learn about these events and what comes out of them – what people are doing to advocate for cleaner air and regulate industrial polluters, or implement best practices in other areas.

But when it comes to your home, you have other actionable tools and strategies to protect yourself and your family.

Part of the problem with air quality is when contaminants or pollutants get trapped in a building. We tend to think about contamination as primarily affecting our outdoor air, like factories belching smoke into the air from smoke stacks, or the impact of big agriculture, with chicken or hog farms stinking up an area.

But when you have contamination in your home, that’s a different kind of problem.

Also, because so many of these pollutants are microbial, invisible to the human eye, and don’t have much of an odor, we can be more impacted than we think we are day to day.

One of the best strategies is to use air monitor machines – and look at the air quality inside your home. This correlates to what these other people are doing outdoor areas to actually get the air quality data that they need to make improvements.

To monitor for items like mold spores, dust mites, VOCs, or other contaminants, you can install air sensors, and then later, get air purifier machines to cleanse the air that you breathe.

You can get whole home systems that work on continuous cycling all of the indoor air, or you can set up portable air purifier units that work on a particular space.

It’s important to assess how large that individual space is, and identify any obstacles to free airflow.

Ventilation also plays a role.

With the right machines and equipment in place, you’ll breathe easier, and your home will be safer for people with respiratory conditions, or other high risk categories, like the elderly, or pregnant women.

We can help you choose the machines you want, to benefit from this kind of improvement in your home.

It’s not as tangible as something like a kitchen renovation or new windows, but it’s every bit as important, and probably even a lot more important, as it impacts your health, and your family’s health, in the future. Let US Air Purifiers LLC™ help you to pick the machines that you need for your particular strategy.