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Fresh Air Matters

28.09.21

Alongside Alex Pratt OBE, Founder of Serious Air, Abode2 reflects on why the air that we breathe really is critical to our health and wellbeing

Over 200 years ago Florence Nightingale illustrated her firm grasp on the human condition when she wrote; ‘It is the unqualified result of all my experience with the sick that, second only to their need of fresh air, is their need of light; that, after a close room, what hurts them most is a dark room.

It seems therefore that we have always understood just how critically important fresh air is to our health and well-being, and yet still, over the centuries we have continued to relentlessly pump toxic pollutants into the atmosphere. So much so, that the World Health Organisation now places air pollution as the biggest single risk to human life on the planet, responsible for close to 4 million indoor deaths a year.

Add to this, that the coronavirus pandemic has taught us that air indoors, at home, in shops and in restaurants, is a major medium for transmitting danger amongst and between us when we breath, sneeze or sing, and the reason many of us are still wearing masks becomes clear.

The human race has moved indoors. Estimates suggest as much as 90% of human life is now lived inside, a situation made more extreme by the pandemic lockdowns around the globe.

Silent contaminant killers like exhaust and heating gases, dust, smoke, pet dander, allergens, bacteria and of course viruses float in the air. Good ventilation can help, but a serious air purifier can make a serious difference to the fresh air quality you and your family can enjoy and will help to keep you safe indoors.

Air purifiers come in all shapes and sizes, and they often use fundamentally different technologies, so it can be difficult to work out what to buy. Most, if not all use a mechanical HEPA filter (high-efficiency particulate air) to trap dust, pollen, mould and bacteria, plus airborne particles 0.3 microns or larger. Other than the quality of the HEPA therefore, it’s how well they each deal with the smaller more dangerous contaminants which sets them apart.

Nobody wants a machine chugging away in the corner of their kitchen which looks like a radiator that belongs in a 1920s hospital ward, so the aesthetic design will be a key factor for many buyers in what I predict will become the next ‘must-have’ technology in the home. But before you rush off to buy your favourite looking plastic casing, it’s important to first separate the cleansing truth from any wishful thinking and check that your elegant box will actually keep you safe.

Few air purifiers will, for example capture and destroy the NOx and SOx fumes created by exhaust and heating fumes and responsible for so much human misery. I would check for this capability first.

Next, regardless of the underlying technology, keep a close eye on how large a space a machine will handle. Look for the CADR (clean air delivery rate), which measures how much clean air the machine will provide per minute. The foul air also needs to be moved around the room with a degree of force to avoid dead spots or cleaning and recleaning the same pocket of air over and over. This is especially necessary in high traffic areas like a doctor’s surgery or gyms.

It’s really important to understand if the air purifier just collects the nasty stuff or also destroys it. Collection only creates a biohazard likely to generate secondary pollution on handling at filter disposal.

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