Is there a cheap (less than $100?) way to monitor allergen levels in the air inside the house? Outside the house?

Having a problems with allergies this year. I try to use a whole house fan instead of AC but wondering if maybe I shouldn't if pollen levels are relatively high. But I don't know what those levels are, inside or outside.

For example if inside is already high, and not outside is not much higher, why not just use the fan? But if inside is low and outside is high, perhaps it's better not to use the fan, unless I'm already suffering and it may not matter.

I'm guessing there is no way to actually do this but just wondering.

If your pollen/pollutant level indoors is high (recognizing that's a relative term), using a fan is simply going to move that around in the house.

I have a couple of gadgets at work that are used to monitor air quality -- it's essentially a particle counter -- I'll get you the model numbers. One is way expensive; the other may be reasonably affordable. Back soon....

It's not exactly on topic, but I'm going to email you about indoor air purifiers.

Thanks. Looking forward to the info.

I have two Sharp indoor air purifiers. They work pretty well. However, was wondering if they are sufficient (maybe I need more - 1 in each room for example). And also curious about how long it takes to clean a room.

But mostly wondering about nominal levels indoors and perhaps relative to outdoors. And so I can determine if it makes sense to use the whole house fan or not (to cool the house).

The night air can be more than 20 degrees cooler than inside so the whole house fan is great for cooling down the house quickly, and saves on AC.

A little off topic, but after pollen season, you might want to do your yearly change of your car's cabin filter.

I too am curious about something that can measure airborne contaminants.

Damn it - I was just at the dealer buying parts yesterday. I forgot about the cabin filter - probably desperately in need of change.

Next weekend....

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
Damn it - I was just at the dealer buying parts yesterday. I forgot about the cabin filter - probably desperately in need of change.

Next weekend....

Amazon can be your friend...

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:


I have two Sharp indoor air purifiers. They work pretty well. However, was wondering if they are sufficient (maybe I need more - 1 in each room for example). And also curious about how long it takes to clean a room.

But mostly wondering about nominal levels indoors and perhaps relative to outdoors. And so I can determine if it makes sense to use the whole house fan or not (to cool the house).

When I was looking at hepa filter units, they had a description of the size room they are effective. So I ballparked the cubic feet of the rooms. Ended buying one for each room / area we frequent.

I use several indicators. When I go outside, I can see the pollen in the air. I also go by my nose or my eyes. When my nose is stuffy or my eyes are starting to itch, I do my Neti pot routine, eye wash, eye lib scrub wipes, and allergy eye drops.

quote:

Originally posted by 6guns:
I too am curious about something that can measure airborne contaminants.

I just emailed Konata -- I'll get the specs on the gadget at work, and post them here. I've only used it in the context of smoke particles -- I need to see if it's suitable for pollen too.

[Full disclosure: I work for an air purifier manufacturer.]

Thanks!! I'll read up on the stuff you mentioned. I really appreciate the info!

By using the whole house fan you’re pulling in air and particulates from outside. You mention a 20 degree difference at night, you could be subjecting your house to dew point and have condensation forming on some materials. Additionally, if you’re not running your AC, you could have humidity issues inside which could lead to potential mold concerns.

A laser particle counter will only count, it won’t identify exactly “what” is in the air.

Our homes aren’t sealed from the outside, even if one was able to get the air clean inside it is only a matter of time before outside contaminants find their way back in.

A solid HEPA filter/air scrubber will help your situation, but again the outside conditions will continue to infiltrate. For mold remediation projects we typically will exchange the air 4 times per hour. For a 2,000SF house with 8’ ceilings we’d need just over 1,000CFM. However, just run one in a house to assist in cleaning the air I wouldn’t suggest needing that much.

We use two of these Shark units. Very quiet. These have 6 fans pulling in air from the back.



Control panel:

I've got a Dyson Combo Fan/Air Purifier that tells me the air quality on it's little display or on the Dyson App. There's also aftermarket filters for it now so you aren't buring $80 for the Dyson ones anymore.

Don’t know if it’s precise enough or helpful for your purposes, but the Accuweather app on my phone provides hourly readings for various types of pollutants in micrograms per cubic meter. Don’t know where they do local sampling and it’s obviously not right next to my house so smoke from the neighbors’ bbq or leaf burning won’t be included, but it might provide some information (and it’s free). Just fyi.

I think we have one of those Shark units in the lab. I’ve gotta go have a look at that.

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
Is there a cheap (less than $100?) way to monitor allergen levels in the air inside the house? Outside the house?

Having a problems with allergies this year. I try to use a whole house fan instead of AC but wondering if maybe I shouldn't if pollen levels are relatively high. But I don't know what those levels are, inside or outside.

For example if inside is already high, and not outside is not much higher, why not just use the fan? But if inside is low and outside is high, perhaps it's better not to use the fan, unless I'm already suffering and it may not matter.

I'm guessing there is no way to actually do this but just wondering.

My mom recently got this at a garage sale brand new for $1. I set it up and have used it for a few weeks but I really personally don’t have a need for it. You download an app, and it shows you the details and keeps a history. It also tells you the outdoor allergies. I really have no use for it and would be willing to karma it to you.

Thank you very much for the generous offer. Very kind!!!

I sent you an email.

quote:

Originally posted by vthoky:
I have a couple of gadgets at work that are used to monitor air quality -- it's essentially a particle counter -- I'll get you the model numbers. One is way expensive; the other may be reasonably affordable. Back soon....

Good morning. The device I was thinking of on Saturday is a Dylos DC1100 air quality monitor, listing at $261.
Again, it's a particle counter, rather than an analyzer -- it'll tell you "how dirty your air is" rather than "what dirt is in your air."

The other device comes from Graywolf Sensing (DirectSense), and is *way* expensive. It's calibrated to particular pollutants at the time of order, so it's very situation-specific. Very advanced, but not at all what you're looking for.


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ETA: Here's a blog article on Clean Air Delivery Rate (CADR), and another comparing price/performance for a number of brands and models, for those interested.

Thanks!! Will look them up.