Is It Snowing Or Is That Pollen?

Depending upon where you live in the US this past week you have seen pollen exploding  from the trees, shrubs and plants. Usually the levels of pollen during the Spring range from 90 to 200 parts per million. In some places of the country, especially the southeast, the levels are approaching 4500 ppm! You can actually see the pollen in the air, on cars, outside tables, anywhere there is a flat surface. This greenish, yellowish material is wrecking havoc on both allergy sufferers and non-allergy sufferers alike.

For those who suffer annually from the spring time pollen and ragweed this year is one for the record books. Interestingly many people who have never suffered from pollen are experiencing some respiratory and sinus discomfort. This only proves that the human body can only safely filter out so much airborne particulate before the immune system is affected.

With these levels of pollen you should wear a mask when outside and when inside your home you want to make sure you close all the windows and run your air conditioning whenever possible. This will minimize the entry of the pollen and assuming you have adequate filtration on your HVAC unit you will remove a significant amount of the pollen that is in the house.

With the ever increasing levels of airborne particulates and contaminants in the outside air and coming into homes and buildings, the type and quality of the air filters or air filtration systems you use is more important than ever.

Most home owners use some type of media filter that is placed in the air handler at the entrance of the return air from the home. This removes much of the larger particles and some of the small ones. The more efficient the air filter (higher MERV ratings) the more effective the filter is at removing a larger percentage of the smaller, respirable sized particulate.

One of the best sources of information on filter efficiencies and particulate removal is the web site of Pure Air Systems. PAS has been making HEPA and Carbon based filtration systems since 1985 and has a line of polyester ring panel dual layer commercial grade filters that are very effective when used in your HVAC unit. In addition, the HEPA based units are designed to work with you heating/cooling systems and offer the highest removal efficiency of airborne particulate for residential use on the market today.

The web site has a great resource section that discusses how filters work, what pressure drop means, what MERV ratings really mean and how to apply the correct filter technology for your application. For more information on the complete product line of PAS and to educate yourself on filter technology please go to:  www.pureairsystems.com

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I’ve Got You Under My Skin

As part of the natural repair functions our bodies go through each day, one of those  necessary functions is both good and bad. Each day the body sheds over 1,000,000 skin flakes from your body. This is a natural process that allows the old, used skin cells to flake off (so to speak) and be replaced with new skin cells.

Again, this process takes place every day for everyone of us. So, for example, if you have a family of four they will generate 4 million skin flakes a day. These skin flakes range in size from less than 1 micron to 30 or 40 microns in size. Over 30% of the dust you see in the air ( dust particles in the sunlight through the window) are skin flakes…… Oh yes they are!

Okay! So what happens to these skin flakes? Well, some of them are picked up by the vacuum and those that stay airborne may be removed through the filter in located in the return air side of your heating/cooling system. The rest are eaten. Yep, eaten by dust mites.

For all the bad press the dust mites get ( and there is a reason for that)  they are natures own trash disposal system. You see, dust mites feed off of skin flakes.  We call them dust mites since the term “skin flake mites” is too long and rather disgusting. Yet, that is exactly what they do. Munch on your dead skin!

When your body is at rest whether sleeping, or sitting on the couch, your skin cells are being shed. These flakes tend to stay in place longer and thus become the better feeding grounds for dust mites. When the dust mites eat your dead skin they produce small pellets or fecal matter. They produce up to 20 of these digested skin pellets each day. It is these pellets or “dust mite feces” that affects millions of allergy sufferers.

Dust mites themselves are relatively large so they seldom become airborne. The dust mite feces or pellets are very tiny easily become airborne.  They are aspirated into the body through the lungs and for many people these pellets can cause some severe allergic reactions for a number of individuals.

No matter how often you dust, vacuum and clean your home you will have some of these dust mites in your enclosed living environment.  Since the main allergen is the dust mite feces, the removal of these tiny pellets is essential.

Since the dust mite feces is light and can be airborne it is essential that the filter or filtering device you have in your heating/cooling system be effective on removing small, less than 10 micron sized particles. In addition, you need to keep the fan in your heating/cooling system to run all the time so setting the fan switch to “fan on” on your thermostat will keep the air moving and continuously draw the airborne particulate back to the filter.

Pure Air Systems has been making HEPA and Carbon based air filtration systems since 1985. These commercial grade HEPA units are designed to attach to any forced air, ducted heating/cooling system and can remove 99.99% of all airborne particles 0.3 microns or larger. These systems are extremely effective at removing dust mite feces and other airborne allergens.

For more information on the complete product line please go to our website at: www.pureairsystems.com

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Are You Allergic To Pollen & Ragweed? Then Remove Clothes Before Entering

Of all the environmental processes that can create allergic reactions in humans, nature’s own products:  pollen and ragweed, are among the most prolific. While most people avoid close proximity to known, man-made allergy producing substances and effluents, it is impossible ( unless you never go outside) to avoid contact with these two allergens.

With the exception of living 11,000 feet above sea level, there are flowering plants, grasses, trees, and crops everywhere you go. Pollen and ragweed and other airborne particles are most prominent during the Spring and Summer months but can be an issue all year long in some parts of the US.

Once the flowers, grasses, trees and crops start to grow you can, during some times of the day, actually see the pollen floating in the air or deposited on the surface of a car parked outside. These particles ( 20 microns in size or larger) are more prominent since they can be seen with the naked eye. However, these airborne allergens can also be in the 5 to 10 micron range which would make them invisible to the naked eye.

These airborne particles are easily carried by light winds and on especially dry days they can travel for miles. In addition, these pollen and ragweed particles have a rough surface and will cling to or stick to almost any type of clothing and also your hair and skin.

If you are one of those people that suffer from allergic reactions to pollen and ragweed then you need to make sure you practice the following preventative measures.

First. If you are wearing a jacket or sweater or any type of outdoor protective clothing remove them outside before entering your home or residence. You may want to brush them off (keep you mouth closed and try not to breathe when doing this) and or shake gently. This will remove most of the particles from the clothing.

Second. DO NOT BRING THE CLOTHES INSIDE! Find a place outside in your garage or outside entry way wear you can store these clothes. Brushing or shaking the clothes will not remove all the pollen or ragweed. This can only be accomplished by washing or dry cleaning the items.

Third. If you do bring the clothes inside don’t hang them or place them next to other jackets or clothing. The pollen will easily transfer to the clean clothes.  Anytime you move, shake or hang these clothes some of the particles will fall off and either fall to the floor or become airborne again.

Fourth. Get a good air filtration system for your home or bedroom and make sure your furnace air filters are replaced often.

Pure Air Systems offers a complete line of HEPA and Carbon based air filtration systems for both whole-house filtration or single room applications. These filters are designed to remove all the airborne particles that may cause respiratory issues or allergies. In addition, PAS has a complete line of furnace filters that are specifically designed to capture the smaller particles without challenging the performance of your HVAC system.

For more information our product line please go to our website at: www.pureairsystems.com

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Winter Means Dry Air, Dry Sinuses & Static Build Up

For those of you that live in the northern parts of the US, you know that when summer turns to winter, the air gets much drier. The reason is that cold air holds much less moisture than warm air and as a result the cold winter air is much drier. This also means your are shifting your environmental control system from cooling (removal of moisture and cooling the air) to heating ( heating the air).

When you heat the air using your forced air ducted heating/cooling system you remove what little moisture is in the air. The result is a much dryer environment; dry noses and sinuses and the inevitable static build up. The drier air also play havoc with wood furniture.

This warm dry air also increases the levels of airborne particulate since there is no moisture in the air (water molecules) to attach to the dust particles and make them heavier than air. Therefore you are subjected to more dust particles in the winter than in the summer. Add to the fact that windows and doors are seldom opened in the winter, and you have an environment that gets little to no fresh air or outside moisture for months at a time.

One way to minimize this dry air problem is to add some moisture to the indoor air. This is often done by using a humidifier; either attached to the supply side of the HVAC duct system or the use of a portable humidifier. The challenge, however, is to introduce the correct amount of moisture. If you add too much moisture you will get condensation on the windows. It is difficult to maintain the correct humidity levels.

Another way to introduce moist air and maintain a cleaner indoor environment at the same time is to use the whole-house HEPA air filtration systems manufactured by Pure Air Systems. These unit are fan powered and designed to mate to any forced air, ducted heating/cooling system. Not only will these three-stage filtration systems remove harmful airborne particulates and odors and gases but they are also capable of introducing small amounts of outside filtered fresh, moist air.

The 600HS, 1200HS and 2000HS series of HEPA filtration systems have the ability to introduce 50 to 200 cfm of outside air and mix it with the return air and filter it before it is introduced into the HVAC unit. By adding a 6″ or 8″ duct from the outside (preferably from an area just below the roof line) to the selected PAS HEPA unit, you can bring in some of the more moist outside air and increase the moisture in the house naturally.

Even if the outside air temperature is below freezing you are only adding a small amount of air (usually less than 5% of the total HVAC volume) and the cold air is mixed in the HEPA unit with the return air that is also coming into the HEPA unit. The result is an addition of moisture introduced at the ambient air temperature of the home.

For more information on the complete line of Pure Air Systems HEPA based and media based filter systems please go to our website at: www.pureairsystems.com

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Water: Your Friend – Your Enemy

Water, one of the essentials of life,  is necessary for life to exist; human and all other plant and animal life. We know water as a liquid and we also know water as a vapor as in water vapor or as humidity when the temperature and dew point get close to each other. We use water for everything. It is now being considered a more important product than oil in some parts of the world.

Yet, water can also be your enemy when it finds it’s destructive “dark side” , so to speak. This happens when we have water leaks in the roof; leaking water pipes, water in the basement, too much rain, flooding, etc, etc, etc.

Aside from the structural damage that water can do to any structure, the residual affects, like the development of mold and bacteria, can be significant. When any indoor surface gets wet; be it the walls, carpeting or floors, if all the water is not removed quickly and the surfaces and materials not completely dried, as sure as night follows day, mold will follow.

When water leaks behind a wall or onto a floor surface or into carpeting the sub-surface wood flooring or wood studs behind walls can become wet. Wood will absorb the water and wood takes a long time to dry out. Especially inside the home. Wood is a great food source for mold and the accompanying moisture keeps it growing. Add to the fact that these areas are dark, and you have the perfect breeding ground for mold.

Mold tends to spore once every 15 to 30 days during  its growth cycle and when this happens it releases millions of tiny mold spores which are very light and can become airborne. If the moldy wood source is exposed the mold will eventually get into the entire home and become dispersed through the HVAC system.

To minimize the amount of mold that is airborne in your home you need to make sure your air filters in the HVAC unit are capable of removing small, less than 10 micron in size particles. The filter should be a MERV 8 or higher rated filter and fit very tightly in the air filter frame locate on the return  air side of the HVAC air handler. In addition, you will need to make sure  the water or moisture problem is resolved otherwise the mold problem not go away.

Pure Air Systems has been dealing with mold spore removal since 1985 using its HEPA based air filtration systems that can either be attached to any forced air ducted heating/cooling system or as stand-alone unit. In addition, Pure Air Systems offers a complete line of dual layer polyester ring panel, MERV 8 commercial grade filters that will fit tightly in your HVAC filter frame and effectively reduce the level of airborne mold particles in your home environment.

For more information on our complete line of HEPA and particulate removal air filters go to our www.pureairsystems.com

 

 

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Time To RE-Think Your Furnace Filter System

No matter what type of forced air heating/cooling system you use, all of them require an  air filter of some kind.  While many people believe the primary purpose of the filter is to remove airborne dirt and dust particles to keep the home or office environment cleaner, the fact is the filters  are used primarily to keep the heating/cooling system clean.

All split system HVAC units have a cooling coil for AC and sets of burners for heating located in the main air handler. It is necessary to keep the cooling coils and burners clean and free of dust and dirt or they will not operate properly and become very inefficient. In addition, the air filter is needed to keep the blower wheel ( the device that moves the air) from getting dirty and out of balance. Also the furnace fan and motor are designed to move the air through the system and compensate only for the static pressure or resistance for only these components. The filter can not add much static load to the fan.

It is for these parameters that most furnace air filters are designed and that is why the majority fall under one of two categories; “crappy” and “almost useless”. Yes, they can remove enough of the larger dust and dirt particles to keep the coil and burners clean but No, they are not dense enough to remove the smaller more harmful airborne particles. Making the filters too dense adds too much static load to the HVAC motor and significantly reduces the air flow and this means you heat or cool longer to obtain the desired room air temperature.

While there are a large number of expensive electronic, hybrid electronic or other media type filters available for use with you HVAC unit, for those of you who want to continue to use a simple, inexpensive, throw-away media filter for your furnace there is a better choice.

Pure Air Systems offers a dual-layer, polyester, ring panel filter that is commercial grade and fits tightly in the filter frame, holds a large amount of dust and dirt, collects particles as small as 3 microns and adds very little resistance or static pressure to the HVAC  blower/motor assembly.  These filters are easy to change and have an unlimited shelf life.

In addition, Pure Air Systems offers a line of filters using the same ring panel design with polyester media on one side and carbon media on the other side. These filters are great for both removing airborne particulate as well as odors and gases.

For more information on these filters and the other filter systems offered by Pure Air Systems go to our website at: www.pureairsystems.com

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