Hepa Air Purifiers

hepa filters time to replace?

I have an air purifier and it has a hepa filter. How do you know when it’s time to replace hte hepa filter?

They say the hepa filter on this unit should last 5 years. But the hepa filter looks dirty to me (it’s only been about 1.5 years so far). Can a hepa filter look dirty but not need replacing?

Had a check up with my 18 mo old son's ear, nose, throat specialist, should I get a second opinion?

Took my son for his 6 month tube check-up today and to ask about his ongoing allergy problems, i.e. runny nose as long as I can recall, swollen tonsils and adenoids, throat looking spongy. He prescribed Singulair 4mg granules once daily as a decongestant and R-Tanna Pediatric Suspension 1 mL 2x daily as an antihistamine (he was on Zyrtec, but it did nothing). These two meds are to be taken for 4 weeks and, if no improvement, I need to bring him back in and we start a course of long-term antibiotic treatment. My son has had problems with antibiotic induced thrush in the past so I am unsure about that. Anyway, if the antibiotic does not work he wants to take out his tonsils and adenoids. Does this course of treatment sound okay or should I get a second opinion. As young as he is I am very hesitant to have surgery performed on him of this magnitude. I know I let him get tubes, but that was after 7 ear infections in 5 months-I couldn’t stand to see him suffer anymore with the pain the infections caused him. ANY advice please. FYI-no pets, no smokers, hepa filter for vacuum and air conditioning system, clean environment, we use a humidifier and my mother-in-law is bringing us a purifier, only food allergy is cow’s milk protein. He is such a good child despite how bad he must feel, he is my world, I just want to do my best for him. Thank you for your time.

What would you do if your neighbor exhausted pellet stove into a pipe that blew smoke at your house?

Forcing you to shut all windows on that side of the house unless you wanted to inhale the smoke in your home and peeling paint from your house from the tanic acid of the smoke that made you have to touchup paint every year?

This stove is not exhausted to a chimney. Rather it is exhausted into a 6" pipe out the back side of their cement cellar, fumes pushed towards my house.

I run an air purifier and if I have it on and it sucks in that smoke from outside to push out clean air in my house, it cakes up and eventually puts out the smoky air….looks like ash on top. I just threw out the home made filter and I have to clean the fan in side too and the vent. The ash is so fine it makes it through a hepa filter and makes even finer particles move into the air that made it by that micron filter and makes us sick in this house if I don’t clean it thoroughly and change the filter. I try not to leave windows on that side of the house open when they are running that stove.

best airpurifier for under 200?

im looking for an air purifier for 200 or under that has multiple technologies, such as UV, HEPA, carbon filter etc. i suffer from allergies and need something to get rid of bacteria in the air as i also get sick often. I would also need something for cat hair.

Which of the following are valid tax write-offs when itemizing?

Which would be valid medical expenses, and what documentation would be needed?:
-Advanced air filtration system (particulates, chemicals, hepa and activated carbon filtration) for allergies & chemical sensitivities
-Vacuum with hepa filter (a far shot, but worth asking)
-Home water filtration systems, shower dechlorinator and tap purifier.

Best way to get rid of second hand cigarette smoke?

Other than move.

I live above smokers. Their place is a small 1 bedroom apartment and there are 4 adults living there, all smokers. The smell comes up here, and its quite bad. My mother was a smoker, and when I lived with her that apartment didnt even smell as bad as my apartment does.

Im not trying to put smokers down, whatever you do with your life is your business, all Im asking is for help. I have tried so many things:

Candles: Glade, village, Fabreze odor remover
Sprays: Glade, Fabreze, Airwic, so on
Vinegar in bowls.
Charcoal on my floor
Baking soda in my carpet
Hung up wet towels to "absorb" the smell.
There have just been so many things I have tried.. Im out of ideas.

My window is wide open, and its about 30 degrees out. My room gets cold, but the smell doesnt go away. I live very close to a building, so I never get a breeze in my room or anything unfortunately. The window has been open for over a week, including night. Doesnt make much difference with the smell.

I’ve tried putting a box fan in the window backwards to pull the smoke out and it doesn’t. It just makes my room colder for some reason.

I’ve looked around for places it could come in… we have baseboard oil heat.. I don’t think its coming from there? There are no vents, or wholes in the floors that I can see..

I tried talking to them… politely. They were apologetic, and said they didnt know it was coming up… we had relief for about 24 hours and that was that.

We bought an air purifier, one of the honeywell hepa kinds. All it did was blow the smell around. My aunt let me borrow her big one, big enough for a 17×17 room.. I tried it in my bedroom (9×9) and it did the same, it blew the smell around.

Are there other things I can try? I really like my apartment, and my landlord… I dont want to move when my lease is up. Is there anything I can try? And, this place is not a non smoking apartment, so asking the landlord for help wont do me any good.

Help- moved and have bad allergies!!?

My hubby and I just moved into a condo. We did Everything imaginable to make it allergy free… we think (suspect) the prior owner smoked here- but arent sure. So, we repainted, recarpeted, renovated (brand new kitchen), new pergo hardwood floors (cleaner), you get the point. Even replaced the actual air duct work!

We installed IQ Air filter system-works well- but have to run it on Circulate all the time to keep allergies at bay, Hepa filter in bedroom (which is an old filter that wasnt used much) which we run while sleeping, have two air purifiers plugged in (that heat/clean air).

Im still suffering! I wake up in the night with all kinds of allergies, pain in sinus, etc. Its terrible!! I dont want to take drugs, b/c I was fine before I moved in here.

I have itchy ears, eyes, pain in sinus, yucky stuff in throat, etc. I know we have chlorine in water here and every time i do the dishes, i have burning in my eyes from the vapors, so we put a filter in shower.

What am i missing??!!

My 4.5 year old son has dry eczema. He's a very itchy little guy and has many allergies.?

He’s very itchy & he often gets short tempered from it. He’s allergic to dust mites,pollen,mold,rice,corn, soy, & egg. I bought a Hepa filter vacuum,encased his bedding to keep dust mites away, run air purifiers,change the furnace filter frequently,use fragrance free detergents,run clothes through a second rinse cycle,use no dryer sheets,keep baths tepid & brief, lotion with Eucerin immediately afterward, & have him wear only cotton clothes. I can honestly say NONE of this has made a difference. He starts Kindergarten in the Fall & I worry about him. How can he concentrate if he’s itchy? Keeping my child drugged on Benadryl indefinitely isn’t an option to me. I currently started him on probitotics with his allergists approval & give him 2 tsp. ground Flaxseed in his cereal every morning. I’m now trying Emu oil on him. I spend all my free time searching for answers. Has anyone found relief from dry eczema? Perhaps a Homeopathic Dr. is my next step. Thank you in advance for any help!

Does anyone know of an air purifier with a washable HEPA filter and UV sanitation?

Hi, all. I am looking for an air purifier for home use that satisfies the following:

- uses a HEPA-quality filter that is washable and re-usable
- uses a full-spectrum UV bulb for sanitation that is non-proprietary (easy to replace) or guaranteed for the life of the unit
- priced under 0

For an example, a unit like the following satisfies all of the above except the filter isn’t re-usable:

http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?SKU=122118

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer. I’m not sure where else to look!

Questions about mold allergy?

If it were a mold allergy because of a presence of mold in the home, can they symptoms come and go, or would it be a constand thing?
Would a mold allergy get worse when it’s wet outside? (For example, after a rain or when the snow melts?)
I have my "allergies" acting up again today, as well as my husband and daughter’s sinuses have been draining all day. It has been pretty cold and we’ve had snow on the ground for about a month, but today the temp outside got up to the 40′s and the snow is melting. coincidence?
Is there such thing as indoor and outdoor mold allergies? (Perhaps because home has a couple of drafty windows…?)

and again, will an air purifier with ionizer and hepa filter work to eliminate symptoms?
Thank you!