Indoor Air Quality

[HikeMama]

I need help deciding how to clean the dust and other pollutants out of the air in my house.

We are not living in it yet, as we are completely renovating it. No doubt a whole lot of nasty things have been released into the air, from lead paint dust, to fiberglass? insulation, and it's old, so maybe even asbestos dust, from gutting the entire thing.

We are having the ducts cleaned before we move in and are planning on doing so as often as the air duct cleaners recommend, especially because my husband has dust allergies.

However, we want to get an indoor air cleaner/purifier, HEPA filter, something!! in the house and let it clean the air for a week or two after all the work is done before we move in, and then be able to keep it running all the time thereafter to keep our air as clean as possible.

I have been looking all over and I can't make heads or tails of this stuff. Is it better to have one on your furnace? What kind? Is it good to get an ionic one or do you want a hepa filter? What brand? Who is full of malarky and who really cleans my air?? How much is this going to cost me?!

Someone point me to a good one or a good book on the topic- PLEASE!

[SleeplessMommy]

We have an electrostatic air filter on our furnace... we have a hard time figuring out if it is working or not. :-( I would probably go with a HEPA on the furnace (a big filter block about 4" wide) and change it frequently.

You may want to consider HRV/ERV (heat recovery ventilation)
http://www.toolbase.org/Technology-I...ry-ventilators
This will allow you to have a continuous supply of clean, fresh air from outside, but brought up to the temperature of the inside of the house. You keep all windows closed during muggy parts of the summer (keeping mold spores outside!) and still have fresh air.

To control dust, are you also making the house carpet-free?

And please make sure the kitchen exhaust fan is vented to the outside, and used during cooking.

Originally Posted by HikeMama

I need help deciding how to clean the dust and other pollutants out of the air in my house.

We are not living in it yet, as we are completely renovating it. No doubt a whole lot of nasty things have been released into the air, from lead paint dust, to fiberglass? insulation, and it's old, so maybe even asbestos dust, from gutting the entire thing.

We are having the ducts cleaned before we move in and are planning on doing so as often as the air duct cleaners recommend, especially because my husband has dust allergies.

However, we want to get an indoor air cleaner/purifier, HEPA filter, something!! in the house and let it clean the air for a week or two after all the work is done before we move in, and then be able to keep it running all the time thereafter to keep our air as clean as possible.

I have been looking all over and I can't make heads or tails of this stuff. Is it better to have one on your furnace? What kind? Is it good to get an ionic one or do you want a hepa filter? What brand? Who is full of malarky and who really cleans my air?? How much is this going to cost me?!

Someone point me to a good one or a good book on the topic- PLEASE!

[Mosaic]

Are you most interested in removing particulate matter (dust, etc.) or pollutants? There are several plants that can remove VOCs, formaldehyde, etc. from your house, so they're a cheap and beautiful solution for that angle, at least.

[HikeMama]

We are making the house carpet-free. The house will be well-vented in both the kitchen, laundry, and bath.

I am interested in mostly particulate matter but also pollutants, so I'd welcome plant suggestions. We won't have a lot of windows, so a nice hanging plant above the kitchen island or in the bathroom could really brighten things up and bring the outside in a little.

I think I'll be getting a HEPA filter for the furnace and also look into the other suggestion.

More suggestions welcome!

[talia rose]

We love our Austin Air Purifiers. Mid priced, work excellent, minimal mateniaince, and can be moved from room to room as needed. We especially like to run it at night in our bedrooms as we sleep.