Air Purifiers

[mieleforever]

Good day all,

We have two children and both seem to be suffering from ailments such as sinusitus, chronic chest infections and bronchitis. Our son is the worst hit, he is currently on nine different medications from cortisone to anti-biotics.

So now I have decided maybe we should get an air purifier to see if that will have any effect on his respiratory illness.

Is there any advice from you guys out there, either for his pullmonary ailments to advice on buying good quality air purifiers.

Ps we live in a rather heavily wooded area of South AFrica (GArden Route) and pollen and the likes are thus a given.

I value any opinions.

Regards

 

[iheartmaytag]

I have two Filter Queen Defender air cleaners.  One upstairs, one down. 

For my needs it does a good job.  Just a basic fan pulling air through a filter. 

 

You might try this site:  Air-Purifier-Power.com for further information.  I found the information interesting.   The webmaster for that site has Multiple Environmental Allergies, and is well versed. 

 

 

Home - Air Purifier Power

Consumer Alert: Please Read This Before Purchasing an Air Cleaner

www.air-purifier-power.com

 

[dustin92]

I have a couple filter type purifiers that work OK, and I have an Oreck purifier that works awesome. It doesn't take any replacement filters, just remove and wash the pre filter and collector plate. It really collects a lot of dust and cat fur! Mine is the tabletop model, and it's an older one. It is very noisy on the higher settings, but does the job just fine on low, which is not silent but pretty unobtrusive.

 

[mieleforever]

Thank you very much, I will investigate this matter further and keep you posted.

Regards

 

[tolivac]

I have two 'Lux Guardian Angel purifiers and one 'Lux Beyond unit-works well-the HVAC filters stay clean!Just vacuum the dust off the filters in the units-they carry on!

 

[foraloysius]

Air purifiers are just an attempt to make a bad situation just a bit better. They may work, or they may not. You say you live in an area with pollen, but are your children allergic to pollen? If so, you also should look into fine screens for the windows that keep pollen out of the house. You don't have a central air system, right?

A lot of breathing issues get a bit better at the seaside. Have you tried holidays at the coast? If that makes things better you even should consider moving.

 

[spacedogb]

I am a chronic allergy sufferer, I currently have a sinus infection as I write this. I have an IQ Air purifier for the living room and kitchen. Its a great unit but filters are very expensive. I also run a Ecoquest ozone purifier in kitchen/living room which helps with smells and cat hair. In my bedroom I have a Alen Air purifier. Great unit uses washable prefilter and a hepa filter (S70-$100) which they offer in 3 different levels depending on your needs.

 

[beekeyknee]

Have you tried a neti pot? They really work. Some people have irrational fears of them because they think it's going to feel like you snorted pool water. It doesn't feel that way at all. Some warm water with a little salt in it is comforting and will clear your head. Use air cleaners and evaporative humidifiers if the air in your home is dry.

 

[tolivac]

I have two Areus Guardian Angel purifiers and one Areus "Beyond" air purifiers.Like these-don't have any allergies-but like them anyway.Also in the 6 months I have been using these machines-the HVAC filters stay like NEW!Just vacuum the dust off the outsides of the purifier filters and they are fine.They also have the UV lamps in them.These are expensive but work REALLY well.

 

[foraloysius]

I second the idea of a neti pot. A good way to get rid of the allergens.

 

[mieleforever]

Not to be ungratefull for your advise

But try getting a two year old to use a netti pot would be the equivalent of me trying to climb mount Everest, it is a strugle just to get him to brush his teeth in the morning.

But many thanks again for the advise.

Regards

 

[foraloysius]

Ah yes, sorry, forgot about the age. The Neti pot will be something for a later age.

This week I saw a few small children with a surgical mask, perhaps you could let your children get used to wearing one when playing outside?

The Dutch asthma foundation gave some advice this week.

- Put some greasy cream on the face, around the nose and in the eyebrows, the pollen will stick to it and less will get into the airways.

- Wash their hair in the evening or directly when they have come inside.

- Don't dry laundry outside in the pollen season.

- Plan outside activities early in the morning when possible.

- Ventilate the house early in the morning, there are less pollen in the air then. Ofcourse using fine screens that keep the pollen out are a great help.

Good luck making your children's life as comfortable as possible!

 

[mieleforever]

Thanks a million Louise!! We have had an uphill battle with our little one since day one, but things are slowly starting to improve.

We have noted that things like smoke, and dust does agrevate his ashtma, but we are learning to control it.

Thank again for your advise.

Regards

 

[foraloysius]

Yes, smoke is a big no no. But it's not too difficult to keep away from smoke. Also wood burners and fire places can be a disaster with asthma.

As for dust and dustmites, never vacuum when the child is around or shortly before it enters the house. Better leave it sometimes, dust that is lying around is causing less allergy than dust that has been moved around by a vacuum. Not all of it will end up in the vacuum, even when you have a vacuum with HEPA-filter.

You possibly know all the other things like no carpets, wet cleaning the floors, covers for the mattress etc?

BTW, the name is Louis, not Louise. ;-)

 

[askolover]

neti pots....

A word of warning for people using them...

They should only be used with sterile water or water that has been boiled for a while.  I am a nurse in a neurosurgical ICU.  We have had more than one patient who used a neti pot and then ended up with some weird infection that tunneled up from their nasal passages and into their brain.  And these people live right here in the good old state of Tennessee and were using water from their own faucets! 

Now back to the original program...