This device is designed to provide a readout of the radon levels inside a building such as a home. If you don’t know what radon is, it is a radioactive gas that come up out of the ground from the decay of uranium. As you may have guessed, it is odorless and invisible. Surprisingly , it is found all over the world, but higher concentrations are found in the northeast United States.

That is where a radon detector is useful. Radon gas is radioactive and dangerous to humans and animals. There are estimates by the environmental protection agency that says maybe thousands of deaths each year are due to radon exposure. radon gas will cause cancer just like any high radiation source. It is the long term and repeated exposures that does it. In fact, it may shock you to learn that radon gas is only second to cigarettes in the cause of lung cancer, so the use of a radon detector is wise. No levels of radon are judged as safe, but below .4 picoCuries per liter of air is the limit proposed.

Outside air in our normal living environments contains about .4 picoCuries. It is because our houses are so airtight that the concentration builds up.

That is why a radon detector is a life saving device to keep your family safe from this gas. Air purifiers, such as the BlueAir 501 system, will not remove radon gas. To get rid of this gas, you need a radon mitigation professional to come to your house and install some equipment. In the long term, this is the best way to solve this problem.

If you interested in being “Green”, the BlueAir 501 is very friendly to the environment. The plastic the filter is made from is the least toxic they could use, which is better when we talk of disposing of the used filters and you won’t have to worry about the filter off-gassing some toxins. Another problem with filters in some cleaners is the mold and bacteria that builds up. The BlueAir 501 filter is waterproof and also biodegradable when they are thrown away.

To talk about the BlueAir 501, you have to mention the quietness of it while in operation.  With 4 speed settings, the lowest is so quiet, they named it HEPASilent, and at that setting you can barely hear it it running.   Even the next level setting is quiet compared to most machines of this caliber.  When you move up to the 4th setting, it is really moving some air, but still it could be called tolerable.

This system can also do a good job at distributing the air throughout the room, no dead spots that don’t get filtered. It actually looks pretty trendy and it won’t be something you feel you have to hide behind the sofa. The designers put some effort into making this model look good. Maintaining this system is simple and easy, as there are no tools needed. To change the filter, you can just open up the cover, take out the old one, and snap in the new.

You can buy an additional kit to add to the filtering capabilities for smoke. And it comes with a 10 year warranty, but I doubt you will be needing it. This is built strong. Anyone who has Asthma, respiratory conditions, or allergies will benefit from having the clean air to breathe from the BlueAir 501 air purifier.

Ozone is actually 3 molecules of Oxygen.  That sounds fairly benign when you first hear it, because we all want to breathe oxygen.  But everything in moderation, right?  You see, one of the oxygen molecules is always trying to escape the ozone.  That is one way of saying it is very reactive.  When that gets into our very sensitive lung tissues, it starts damaging the cells.  So , no. Ozone is not something we should breathe, even though it is mad up of oxygen.

Many air cleaners today produce ozone, either because it smells good, and people like that “fresh air” smell, or because it is a byproduct of an ionizing air cleaner.  It is usually the second reason.  Many air cleaner manufacturers think that they can improve the air quality of your home  by ionizing the air.  This essentially “charges” some of the particles in the air negatively, and then those particles stick to most any surface.  Some fall to the ground while others will stick to walls, ceilings, really anything that is not negatively charged.  This method does work in removing those particles from the air, but the side effect can be ozone generation.

The Blueair 501 series air purifier is much better than most at ionizing without all the ozone generation.  This is due to the very high tech approach used to manufacturer the Blueair systems.  They enclose the ionization chamber with steel which causes any generated ozone to collide with the steel and loose that extra oxygen molecule we mentioned earlier.  This actually turns ozone into oxygen.

Be sure to do your research on ozone and ionizing air purifiers before you run out and purchase one.  They are not all equal.  BlueAir air purifiers are significantly different and for all the right reasons.

So you can control or reduce your asthma symptoms with a home air purifier.  Here are some dos and don’t about selecting the right one.

Do find an air cleaner that actually filters the air.  The ones that just send negative charged ions ( called ionic) do little to filter.  An ionic subsystem to a filtering air purifier might be okay, but there has to be filtration.

Do make sure the filter is a HEPA filter.  This stands for High Efficiency Particulate filter, and it has to remove at least 99.97% of airborne particles 0.3 micrometers in diameter.

Do keep your basement dry and clean. Basements are may have mold growing that will get into the house.

Do wash rugs, shampoo carpet and clean furniture often.

Some things to avoid

It would be best not to have a woodburning stove. These just add so much particulate to the house, even a good air filter may have trouble keeping up.

Don’t use strong smelling things, like candles, perfumes, “air fresheners”, etc. These often trigger asthma attacks.

Finally don’t do things that you know increases the level of particulates in the house, such as, burning candles, dusting ( when it just moves the dust around), shaking out rugs.

A good HEPA filter with the ionic additional technology. Just be aware of those that produce Ozone. Ozone is not good for anyone, especially asthma sufferers.

First of all, they are suppose to work by generating negative ions.  These negative charged particles attract dust, pollen , pet dander, etc and cause the pollution to fall out of the air.  This in theory would make the air cleaner.  But is this actually good for you?

Consumer Reports said back in 2005 that the models they tested actually did a poor job at cleaning the air and they produced ozone which is not good for you. I know you are thinking that we need ozone, so producing would be helpful.  Actually , ozone in our atmosphere is one thing, having it in your house and breathing it, is something totally different.  No we don’t want to breathe ozone.  According to the Environmental Protection Agency’s standards for outdoor ozone concentration exposure, 80 parts per billion over eight hours is the maximum anyone should breathe.  The magazine tested quite a few of the popular models of ionizing air purifiers and they found that 2 of them put out about 300 parts per billion of ozone.  Not something you want in your house.  In people with normal lungs, 100 parts per billion can cause damage to the airways.  Some studies show that it can actually cause asthma like symptoms in otherwise healthy people.

The bottom line on ionizing air filters is that most data says they don’t work.  They don’t remove the dirt, like say a High Efficiency Particulate Air  (HEPA) can.  They do give the illusion of filtering, and may cause some of the pollution to fall to the ground, but at the expense of producing ozone.

There is no government agency empowered to oversee  ionizing air cleaners. If the item is not making a medical claim, it doesn’t come under the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) jurisdiction.  The unfortunate thing about all this is that some studies show that 80% of all people buying air purifiers are people who have someone in the home with asthma or allergies.  Ionizing air treatment systems account for about 25% of all the units purchased.

It really comes down to consumers doing there research on these units to see which one is really the best for them.  I hope this article has helped you in your research on air purifiers for your home.

First, why do want and air cleaner to begin with?  This is the most important factor when looking into buying one.  There are many types and price points, but what is most important to you?

I would suggest there are a few good reasons to have a home air purifier.  Perhaps the most important reason would be to breathe clean air.  I know that may seem obvious, but actually there are many other reasons.  Clean air is most important if you , or anyone in your household, has a medical deficiency regarding your lungs.  By this I mean asthma, COPD, or many other lung ailments.  If a person already has breathing problems; dust, dander, and mold can greatly add to the problems.  In fact the number one reason people buy a home air cleaner is to breathe easier.  Asthma symptoms can be reduced significantly by just reducing the allergens in your home.  However, this is not the only reason to buy one.

Many people purchase a home air purifier to eliminate dust.  If you have a fireplace and burn wood during the winter, you know that the dust in your house is doubled.  An air cleaner will reduce that, which reduces the time you spend cleaning the house.  This is a big benefit.

Another benefit is the smell.  I have been plagued all my life with a very good nose.  As you can imagine, it can be a curse because I typically am bothered much more by foul odors than most people.  HEPA air cleaners reduce or eliminate the particles that carry the odors.  Some air cleaners even produce ionic particles that tend to attract these odor particles and cause them to “fall” to the ground.  Others produce ozone , which is that “fresh” smell you may have experienced after a thunderstorm.  I will write another article about the pros and cons of an ozone producing air purifier.

Lastly, I did mention radon.  Radon is a radioactive gas that is prevalent in many states and can be a significant home health problem.  Many people think an air cleaner will clean this as well.  That is simply not true.  Air cleaners do not reduce Radon.

Hope this has given you some things to think about when buying a home air purifier.

• cleaner air in the working environment.
• cleaner air going into the computer, which would prolong the life of the computer components inside.
• less maintenance on the computer, no need to open it up to clean the inside.
• less sick days used for workers due to a cleaner environment to work in.

Okay, some of the cons to such a device.

• extra cost for the systems themselves, so more cost up front.
• more power use, due to the increased resistance of the fans. This is sort of technical, but by putting a HEPA filter in place the fan would have to work harder to move the same amount of air
• may actually increase the noise of the fans, due to the extra restiction of the HEPA filter.
• HEPA filters would have to be replaced periodically.

So we do have both pros and cons to implementing this idea.  There are also some pluses that may be hard to quantify.  I think the people working in the office may actually feel better knowing that the air is getting filtered all the time.  I know in my current office there is a problem with mold.  At least there is a perception that we have a mold problem.  Some people get sick and blame it on the poor air quality of the office.  If we had little air purifiers running all the time, at each persons’ desk, we may have less complaints about the air quality.

This idea should be investigated further with some serious development.  If you want to pursue it, be my guest.  If you make a million bucks on it, give me 10%.  Thanks.

This is the reason that Blueair purifiers are always found in the most popular asthma shops on the internet. You can find these in many malls around the country as well. The Blueair purifiers just look good and work good.
The Blueair 501 model is very popular and ranks well in many internet sites, such as epinions.com and Amazon.com.
Some of the most important features of this model is the strong performance it puts on when given some dirty air to clean.

Blueair-501 Air Cleaners Technical Specifications
Cleaning Capacity
(According to AHAM) Room size of 500 square feet
Clean Air Delivery Rate
(AHAM 1/00) Smoke: 380 CADR
Dust: 390 CADR
Pollen: 390 CADR
Air Flow Rate Speed 1: 88 CFM
Speed 2: 117 CFM
Speed 3: 247 CFM
Speed 4: 450 CFM
Noise Level Speed 1: 34.5 dB(A)
Speed 2: 37.1 dB(A)
Speed 3: 49.4 dB(A)
Speed 4: 70.5 dB(A)
Blueair Energy Consumption 15-95W,
depending upon speed
Warranty 10-year limited
Dimensions 20″w x 13″d x 26″h
Weight 35 lbs.

As you can see, this Blueair purifier does the job.

Blueair was founded in 1996 in Sweden and they quickly gained a reputation for high performance, for quality, and for a great looking design. After all, this has to sit out in your room where people will see it. The Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers named the 501, the best in its class for it’s amazing performance.

When you are buying an air purifier, two things come to mind. Does it work? and How loud is it? Well on both of these issues, Blue air Purifiers come out strong. In my experience, air purifiers don’t need to be set on high to get the job done. In fact, I usually leave mine on low all the time. If you set this unit on the #2 setting, you will have noise at the 37.1 dB(A) level. That is quiet! It will happily do the job at this level, 24 hours a day.

This unit does not produce Ozone. In fact, some third party tests have shown that ozone actually decreases when operating this unit. The reason is this unit uses electrostatic and HEPA filters to do the job. No need to generate ozone. ( if you aren’t aware, some “purifiers” generate ozone and the smell will make you think the air is clean. It smells like the air after a major thunderstorm. Lightning produces massive amounts of ozone.)