Are Air Purifiers the Solution to Improving Indoor Air Quality?
Possibly due to the increased pollutants in the air we breathe, greater numbers of people are suffering from environmental sensitivities. Second hand smoke, dust, pollens, and molds cause millions of people to seek allergy relief products. Although we can't always control our outdoor or work environments, we can take steps to control the air quality of our homes. Furnace filters and vacuum cleaners can help indoor air pollution, but many people turn to air purifiers to make the air in their homes easier to breathe.
Types of Air Purifiers
There are many different types of air purifiers, each designed to address a specific type of problem:
Dust Removal: Unless you keep your home spic and span and run your heating and air conditioning system 24 hours a day, seven days a week, you most likely have a build up of dust. Many people are allergic to dust, and turn to HEPA machines to filter out dust. HEPA machines usually only take care of the dust in the room where they're located, so they're not a good solution to keeping your whole house dust-free. Instead, it's best to keep your HVAC running 24/7 and invest in good furnace filters. There are several types of furnace filters, such as washable electrostatic furnace filters, that will filter out over 90 percent of dust particles over one micron in size.
Mold Removal: If you have a problem with surface mold, it's best to consult with a professional contractor. But many people seek allergy relief products due to allergic reactions to airborne mold. Air purifiers that remove airborne mold usually raise ozone levels (like the Airfree and Air Oasis lines of products), and in the process kill odors, chemical particulates and bacteria.
Second Hand Smoke Removal: Smoke not only negatively impacts health and air quality, but it also seeps into fabrics and hard surfaces. Liquid air purifiers (such as the Air Oasis Xtreme) are the best and most effective way to remove second hand smoke.
Virus Protection: Many people buy HEPA machines that are purported to kill viruses using UV lamps. Unfortunately, small UV lamps just don't work; you need a lamp that will create at least 24,000 microwatts of UVGI.
Total Solution?
Are there any air purifiers that are complete and total allergy relief products? Unfortunately, no. To comprehensively address indoor air quality issues, you need to implement a number of approaches. First, because carpeting collects dust and releases gas, your home should have hardwood floors. Second, you should run your HVAC system 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and use a washable electrostatic furnace filter. An ozone generator air purifier near the return air duct will help tremendously. Third, you should have an induct air sanitizer to cleanse viruses, molds, and bacteria. Fourth, you should vacuum and clean your floors with a Hyla vacuum water filtration, wet cleaning, and air purification system. Fifth, you should use air purifiers in your home's bedrooms (such as Airfree or Austin Air purifiers). Sixth, you should spray surfaces with TiO2 PCO liquid, which will address gasses, viruses, and molds.
Even considering today's air quality, respiratory illnesses aren't inevitable. By improving your home air quality through cleaning and air purifiers, you are certain to breathe easier.
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Types of Air Purifiers
There are many different types of air purifiers, each designed to address a specific type of problem:
Dust Removal: Unless you keep your home spic and span and run your heating and air conditioning system 24 hours a day, seven days a week, you most likely have a build up of dust. Many people are allergic to dust, and turn to HEPA machines to filter out dust. HEPA machines usually only take care of the dust in the room where they're located, so they're not a good solution to keeping your whole house dust-free. Instead, it's best to keep your HVAC running 24/7 and invest in good furnace filters. There are several types of furnace filters, such as washable electrostatic furnace filters, that will filter out over 90 percent of dust particles over one micron in size.
Mold Removal: If you have a problem with surface mold, it's best to consult with a professional contractor. But many people seek allergy relief products due to allergic reactions to airborne mold. Air purifiers that remove airborne mold usually raise ozone levels (like the Airfree and Air Oasis lines of products), and in the process kill odors, chemical particulates and bacteria.
Second Hand Smoke Removal: Smoke not only negatively impacts health and air quality, but it also seeps into fabrics and hard surfaces. Liquid air purifiers (such as the Air Oasis Xtreme) are the best and most effective way to remove second hand smoke.
Virus Protection: Many people buy HEPA machines that are purported to kill viruses using UV lamps. Unfortunately, small UV lamps just don't work; you need a lamp that will create at least 24,000 microwatts of UVGI.
Total Solution?
Are there any air purifiers that are complete and total allergy relief products? Unfortunately, no. To comprehensively address indoor air quality issues, you need to implement a number of approaches. First, because carpeting collects dust and releases gas, your home should have hardwood floors. Second, you should run your HVAC system 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and use a washable electrostatic furnace filter. An ozone generator air purifier near the return air duct will help tremendously. Third, you should have an induct air sanitizer to cleanse viruses, molds, and bacteria. Fourth, you should vacuum and clean your floors with a Hyla vacuum water filtration, wet cleaning, and air purification system. Fifth, you should use air purifiers in your home's bedrooms (such as Airfree or Austin Air purifiers). Sixth, you should spray surfaces with TiO2 PCO liquid, which will address gasses, viruses, and molds.
Even considering today's air quality, respiratory illnesses aren't inevitable. By improving your home air quality through cleaning and air purifiers, you are certain to breathe easier.
Air Duct Cleaning Cleveland OH
Putting Home Energy Savings on to Your System
Using home energy everyday is easy. But, receiving high electric bills at the end of the month may be a little hard for you. Since most homeowners like you, want to know how to get those electric bill in a manageable and acceptable digits, there are several systems designed to particularly answer this. Systems that are guaranteed to make your electric bills low.
Here are those:
Insulating – The best way to keep your body warm is by wearing not only just thick clothing, but also clothes that will trap the body heat inside. The same principle goes with keeping your house warn during winter. Keeping good and tight batt insulation around wall enclosures is the best thing to do this. But it is not always the easiest. Any gaps at any point around the wall enclosure will definitely degrade the quality of the insulation installed. Gaps mentioned here are electrical boxes, pipes, and wires; places where batt insulation can be tricky to install even for professionals. As an alternative, you may want to use materials such as cellulose insulation for maximum area coverage. The cellulose insulation eliminates gap and voids, making your walls 100% insulated.
But this is not all.
After insulating your home, you might think you have done enough. It is true that insulating your home well will keep cold air from entering your home and degrading the performance of your heating system. But, your house is not 100% assured that it would e 100% insulated. The next thing is one important thing you should understand…
Airsealing – Leaks around the house are accounted for as much as 40% of your heating and cooling consumption. This means that no matter how good your insulation is, if your house have leaks, you still cannot assure total savings.
Airsealing your home is the next important thing you should remember and do in order to maximize the use of your heating system. Leaks from the front doors must be sealed by weather stripping. Doors leading to garage and attic, and doors to individual rooms should also be sealed. Sealants must be applied on windows, joints and sills. Walls with leaks can degrade the quality of air as well as the performance of your heating system. Leaks from floors will make your heating system work harder as well. All of these should be sealed in order to make your home leak-free that would equate to savings.
Extra savings – Now that you have ensured that your home is well insulated and air-sealed, it is time for you to solve minor problems that add big cost on your home energy.
Cleaning your air filter will give you 2 good effects:
1. Clean air filter reduces the heating system’s demand to work extra.
2. Clean air filter will provide clean recycled air around the house.
Making sure that the ducts are leak free will give you as much as 30% on energy savings from your heating system.
Turn on your appliances only if you will use them. Never leave them on while you were away. Lights should be turned off if not used. Lower down your thermostat if you are away or sleeping.
Set your washing machine to cold. Washing machine consumes as much as 90% more power on heating the water than using tap water.
Using small electric burner when cooking will give you better savings than using large burner. It will also keep your heating system less stressful in maintaining the temperature of the house.
Lower down the thermostat of your refrigerator.
Using your fireplace to warm the house up is much cheaper than using the heating system.
Maintaining – Keeping your home well maintained will give you a lot of savings. Invest on energy saving devices that will keep your home warn at the same time, enables your heating system to work as efficient as possible. Regular check on the leaks of the duct and periodical cleaning of the air filter will certainly make your heating system work efficiently.
With all these, you may now have electric bill that is both manageable and acceptable.
Try all these and see the difference they can do to your monthly electric bill.
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Here are those:
Insulating – The best way to keep your body warm is by wearing not only just thick clothing, but also clothes that will trap the body heat inside. The same principle goes with keeping your house warn during winter. Keeping good and tight batt insulation around wall enclosures is the best thing to do this. But it is not always the easiest. Any gaps at any point around the wall enclosure will definitely degrade the quality of the insulation installed. Gaps mentioned here are electrical boxes, pipes, and wires; places where batt insulation can be tricky to install even for professionals. As an alternative, you may want to use materials such as cellulose insulation for maximum area coverage. The cellulose insulation eliminates gap and voids, making your walls 100% insulated.
But this is not all.
After insulating your home, you might think you have done enough. It is true that insulating your home well will keep cold air from entering your home and degrading the performance of your heating system. But, your house is not 100% assured that it would e 100% insulated. The next thing is one important thing you should understand…
Airsealing – Leaks around the house are accounted for as much as 40% of your heating and cooling consumption. This means that no matter how good your insulation is, if your house have leaks, you still cannot assure total savings.
Airsealing your home is the next important thing you should remember and do in order to maximize the use of your heating system. Leaks from the front doors must be sealed by weather stripping. Doors leading to garage and attic, and doors to individual rooms should also be sealed. Sealants must be applied on windows, joints and sills. Walls with leaks can degrade the quality of air as well as the performance of your heating system. Leaks from floors will make your heating system work harder as well. All of these should be sealed in order to make your home leak-free that would equate to savings.
Extra savings – Now that you have ensured that your home is well insulated and air-sealed, it is time for you to solve minor problems that add big cost on your home energy.
Cleaning your air filter will give you 2 good effects:
1. Clean air filter reduces the heating system’s demand to work extra.
2. Clean air filter will provide clean recycled air around the house.
Making sure that the ducts are leak free will give you as much as 30% on energy savings from your heating system.
Turn on your appliances only if you will use them. Never leave them on while you were away. Lights should be turned off if not used. Lower down your thermostat if you are away or sleeping.
Set your washing machine to cold. Washing machine consumes as much as 90% more power on heating the water than using tap water.
Using small electric burner when cooking will give you better savings than using large burner. It will also keep your heating system less stressful in maintaining the temperature of the house.
Lower down the thermostat of your refrigerator.
Using your fireplace to warm the house up is much cheaper than using the heating system.
Maintaining – Keeping your home well maintained will give you a lot of savings. Invest on energy saving devices that will keep your home warn at the same time, enables your heating system to work as efficient as possible. Regular check on the leaks of the duct and periodical cleaning of the air filter will certainly make your heating system work efficiently.
With all these, you may now have electric bill that is both manageable and acceptable.
Try all these and see the difference they can do to your monthly electric bill.
Dryer Vent Cleaning Company In Cleveland OH
How to Prevent Clothes Dryer Fires
Few people realize the importance of dryer safety. According to the U.S. Consumer Product
Safety Commission, there are an estimated annual 15,500 fires, 10
deaths and 10 injuries caused by dryer fire. Several hundred people a
year are also subjected to carbon monoxide poisoning from improper dryer
safety measures. The financial costs come to nearly $100,000,000 per
year. In some cases faulty appliances are to blame, but many fires can
be prevented with proper dryer safety precautions.
Why Dryer Fires Occur
Lint accumulation and reduced airflow feed on each other to provide conditions ripe for a fire. Lint is a highly combustible material, which, interestingly enough, is one of the ingredients in a recipe for home-made fire starters. A number of dryer vent problems contribute to this.
A growing problem
Traditionally, most clothes dryers were in the basement. However, nowadays many newer homes tend to have dryers located away from an outside wall in bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchens and hall closets. These new locations mean dryers tend to be vented longer distances and vents are generally installed with sharp turns and bends to accommodate the structure of the home. As a result, dryer vents are harder to reach, and also create more places for lint to gather. The ideal solution is to have short, straight, dryer duct venting. However, a dryer vent booster, while not the ideal approach, can improve your dryer venting in cases where your venting is longer and/or has more bends than it should. In addition to creating a fire hazard, if the venting is too long and/or has two many bends, it will cause your dryer to take much longer than necessary to dry loads.
Inside the Dryer
Lint is the biggest culprit here. As you know from cleaning out your lint filter, dryers produce very large quantities of lint. Most people assume their lint traps catch all the lint, and that all they need to do is clean them out after each load. However, a significant amount of this lint is not caught by the lint trap and builds up inside the dryer-even on the heating element! If you are skeptical, try this experiment: pull out the lint trap and look underneath it- you may find large mounds of lint staring at you. Lint can build up on the heating element and in other places inside the dryer, causing it to overheat and possibly catch fire. As a rule, a fire starts from a spark in the machine. However, improper clothes dryer venting practices outside the dryer can play a key role in this process.
Outside the Dryer
There are many improper dryer vent practices which restrict airflow and lead to lint buildup, the two main preventable causes of dryer fires.
Some of the most common and important dryer vent mistakes are:
1. Dryer vents are too long and/or have too many bends, but don't use a dryer duct booster, resulting in lint buildup. When it comes to dryer vents, shorter and straighter is better.
2. Use of flammable, flimsy plastic or foil duct extenders. Only metal vents should be used, which is what most manufacturers specify. Metal vents also resist crushing better than plastic and foil, which allows the air and lint to be carried out of the system. Reduced airflow from build-up or crushing can cause overheating and wear out the clothes and appliance faster. In fact, many state and local municipalities have placed requirements on new and remodeling projects to include all metal dryer venting.
3. Inadequate clearance space between dryer and wall. Many people create problems by putting their dryer right against the wall, crushing the venting material in the process. The cumulative effect of reduced airflow and the resulting lint build-up prevent the dryer from drying at the normal rate. This causes the high temperature limit safety switch to cycle on and off to control the heater. Most high temperature limit safety switches were not designed to continuously cycle on and off, so they fail over a period of time.
4. Failure to clean the dryer duct.
Your Dryer May be Failing If:
The clothes are taking an inordinately long period of time to dry, come out hotter than usual or if the vent hood flapper doesn't open. Maintenance is needed in these cases.
Only You Can Prevent Clothes Dryer Fires
Proper Installation & Choice of Building Materials
1. Make sure the dryer duct is made of solid metallic material. Both vinyl and foil are combustible and spiral-wound surfaces tend to catch lint more readily.
2. The dryer duct should vent to the exterior and in no case should it vent to the attic or crawlspace. Avoid the use of inside heat recovery diverter valves or termination boxes, which do not comply with current standards.
3. Avoid kinking or crushing the dryer duct to make up for installation in tight quarters -this further restricts airflow. If you really want to save the extra space, the Dryerbox is a new invention that allows the dryer to be safely installed against the wall.
4. Minimize the length of the exhaust duct (maximum recommended lengths depend on a number of factors, such as number of bends, and vary by model-check with your manufacturer for their specifications). If this is not possible, you can install a dryer duct booster.
5. If at all possible, use 4-inch diameter vent pipe and exterior exhaust hoods that have openings of sixteen square inches or more, which offer the least resistance to air flow.
6. Don't use screws to put your vent pipe together - the screw shafts inside the piping collect lint and cause additional friction.
Keep the Dryer Duct in Good Condition
Disconnect, clean and inspect the dryer duct run on a regular basis, or hire a professional company to clean the dryer duct. This will reduce the fire hazard, increase the dryer's efficiency and increase its lifespan. In addition, you are less likely to experience water damage.
Keep Your Dryer as Lint-Free as Possible
By keeping your dryer clean, not only will you significantly reduce the fire hazard, you will also save money as your dryer will run more efficiently and last longer.
To keep your dryer clean:
1. Use a lint brush or vacuum attachment to remove accumulated lint from under the lint trap and other accessible places on a periodic basis.
2. Every 1-3 years, depending upon usage, have the dryer taken apart and thoroughly cleaned out by a qualified service technician.
3. Clean the lint trap after each load.
Alternative Solutions
1. Use a condensing dryer. Unlike conventional clothes dryers, condensing dryers do require external clothes dryer venting. This significantly reduces the risk of a dryer fire.
2. Use a spin dryer, which uses an extremely fast spin speed to extract water from the clothes. They extract significantly more water from the clothes than a washing machine spin cycle does. Spin dryers can be used alone or in conjunction with a conventional clothes dryer.
Before You Go....
1. Never let your clothes dryer run while you are out of the house or even worse, when you are asleep.
2. Thoroughly read manufacturers' instructions regarding the safe use of their dryers.
3. If all else fails, you can always use an old-fashioned clothesline. There have never been any reported clothesline fires!
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Why Dryer Fires Occur
Lint accumulation and reduced airflow feed on each other to provide conditions ripe for a fire. Lint is a highly combustible material, which, interestingly enough, is one of the ingredients in a recipe for home-made fire starters. A number of dryer vent problems contribute to this.
A growing problem
Traditionally, most clothes dryers were in the basement. However, nowadays many newer homes tend to have dryers located away from an outside wall in bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchens and hall closets. These new locations mean dryers tend to be vented longer distances and vents are generally installed with sharp turns and bends to accommodate the structure of the home. As a result, dryer vents are harder to reach, and also create more places for lint to gather. The ideal solution is to have short, straight, dryer duct venting. However, a dryer vent booster, while not the ideal approach, can improve your dryer venting in cases where your venting is longer and/or has more bends than it should. In addition to creating a fire hazard, if the venting is too long and/or has two many bends, it will cause your dryer to take much longer than necessary to dry loads.
Inside the Dryer
Lint is the biggest culprit here. As you know from cleaning out your lint filter, dryers produce very large quantities of lint. Most people assume their lint traps catch all the lint, and that all they need to do is clean them out after each load. However, a significant amount of this lint is not caught by the lint trap and builds up inside the dryer-even on the heating element! If you are skeptical, try this experiment: pull out the lint trap and look underneath it- you may find large mounds of lint staring at you. Lint can build up on the heating element and in other places inside the dryer, causing it to overheat and possibly catch fire. As a rule, a fire starts from a spark in the machine. However, improper clothes dryer venting practices outside the dryer can play a key role in this process.
Outside the Dryer
There are many improper dryer vent practices which restrict airflow and lead to lint buildup, the two main preventable causes of dryer fires.
Some of the most common and important dryer vent mistakes are:
1. Dryer vents are too long and/or have too many bends, but don't use a dryer duct booster, resulting in lint buildup. When it comes to dryer vents, shorter and straighter is better.
2. Use of flammable, flimsy plastic or foil duct extenders. Only metal vents should be used, which is what most manufacturers specify. Metal vents also resist crushing better than plastic and foil, which allows the air and lint to be carried out of the system. Reduced airflow from build-up or crushing can cause overheating and wear out the clothes and appliance faster. In fact, many state and local municipalities have placed requirements on new and remodeling projects to include all metal dryer venting.
3. Inadequate clearance space between dryer and wall. Many people create problems by putting their dryer right against the wall, crushing the venting material in the process. The cumulative effect of reduced airflow and the resulting lint build-up prevent the dryer from drying at the normal rate. This causes the high temperature limit safety switch to cycle on and off to control the heater. Most high temperature limit safety switches were not designed to continuously cycle on and off, so they fail over a period of time.
4. Failure to clean the dryer duct.
Your Dryer May be Failing If:
The clothes are taking an inordinately long period of time to dry, come out hotter than usual or if the vent hood flapper doesn't open. Maintenance is needed in these cases.
Only You Can Prevent Clothes Dryer Fires
Proper Installation & Choice of Building Materials
1. Make sure the dryer duct is made of solid metallic material. Both vinyl and foil are combustible and spiral-wound surfaces tend to catch lint more readily.
2. The dryer duct should vent to the exterior and in no case should it vent to the attic or crawlspace. Avoid the use of inside heat recovery diverter valves or termination boxes, which do not comply with current standards.
3. Avoid kinking or crushing the dryer duct to make up for installation in tight quarters -this further restricts airflow. If you really want to save the extra space, the Dryerbox is a new invention that allows the dryer to be safely installed against the wall.
4. Minimize the length of the exhaust duct (maximum recommended lengths depend on a number of factors, such as number of bends, and vary by model-check with your manufacturer for their specifications). If this is not possible, you can install a dryer duct booster.
5. If at all possible, use 4-inch diameter vent pipe and exterior exhaust hoods that have openings of sixteen square inches or more, which offer the least resistance to air flow.
6. Don't use screws to put your vent pipe together - the screw shafts inside the piping collect lint and cause additional friction.
Keep the Dryer Duct in Good Condition
Disconnect, clean and inspect the dryer duct run on a regular basis, or hire a professional company to clean the dryer duct. This will reduce the fire hazard, increase the dryer's efficiency and increase its lifespan. In addition, you are less likely to experience water damage.
Keep Your Dryer as Lint-Free as Possible
By keeping your dryer clean, not only will you significantly reduce the fire hazard, you will also save money as your dryer will run more efficiently and last longer.
To keep your dryer clean:
1. Use a lint brush or vacuum attachment to remove accumulated lint from under the lint trap and other accessible places on a periodic basis.
2. Every 1-3 years, depending upon usage, have the dryer taken apart and thoroughly cleaned out by a qualified service technician.
3. Clean the lint trap after each load.
Alternative Solutions
1. Use a condensing dryer. Unlike conventional clothes dryers, condensing dryers do require external clothes dryer venting. This significantly reduces the risk of a dryer fire.
2. Use a spin dryer, which uses an extremely fast spin speed to extract water from the clothes. They extract significantly more water from the clothes than a washing machine spin cycle does. Spin dryers can be used alone or in conjunction with a conventional clothes dryer.
Before You Go....
1. Never let your clothes dryer run while you are out of the house or even worse, when you are asleep.
2. Thoroughly read manufacturers' instructions regarding the safe use of their dryers.
3. If all else fails, you can always use an old-fashioned clothesline. There have never been any reported clothesline fires!
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