Is your Air Purifier really doing it's job ?

[4MyEgo]

For those of you who don't like long posts, time to jump ship.

 

About a couple of years back after extensive research, I purchased an air purifier, it is the IQAir HealthPro 250, not cheap at 60,000 baht, but worth every baht spent. By the way this is not an advertisement, just my opinion on some products that I purchased and am very happy with, a recommendation if you like.

 

I had only really used it during the burning season (once) and recently got sick, i.e. for about a week after the cold snap, and was a little worried that this cold, as I will call it, could get worse as I was spitting out green chunks of phlegm, sorry, and I recall a few years back I had a really bad chest infection which started out the same way, and after seeing a doctor, then a chest specialist straight after the doctor at AEK Hospital, the specialist stated that not only did I have a bad chest infection I also had some allergy due to my wind-pipe being about 15% blocked, probably from some pollen. 

 

The above said, I noticed of late that the air quality is start to go downhill again, e.g. farmers around our area burning their rice and sugar cane fields, although not as much as last year, as it's still early as we head into the burning season.

 

So I am wanting to prepare for the onslaught and prepare myself and the kids as best that I can for that living hell. I looked into and found out what the air quality around our area was doing, through an app called the IQAir AirVisual app which I downloaded for free onto my iPhone and can monitor the air around our area, and all over Thailand by entering the place of choice, that said it only gives me readings for the outside air, and I want also want to know what's happening indoors as that is where most of my time is spent.

 

I researched air quality monitors/devices and while IQAir had one for outdoor and indoors at a cost of about 8,500 baht, it was a little pricey for what I needed it for, i.e. (indoors) and as I had the outdoor app downloaded for free, I found an indoor detector for 80%-85% cheaper or 1,400 baht delivered.

 

This little device known as SNDWAY PM2.5 DETECTOR has a PM2.5 reading for what I am mainly looking for, i.e. it detects particulate matter less than 2.5 microns (PM2.5), as these tiny particles penetrate deep into the lungs, affecting both the respiratory and vascular systems. Both extent and duration of the exposure influence health outcomes, so the nasty stuff that can make your life shorter if exposed to it for prolonged periods of time, it also has a humidity reading and a temperature reading.

 

I had the windows open in my bedroom today when I received this new device, pretty much a clear day around midday when I turned it on, the reading on SNDWAY PM2.5 was 39ug/m3 which is a considered a "good" reading when averaged out over 24 hours, that said I knew from research that "good" over 24 hours is just that over 24 hours, so I decided to close up the windows and doors and turn on the IQAir HealthPro 250 to see if there would be any change to the PM2.5 reading as IQAir say that their Hepa filter collects the finest particular matter down to 0.03 microns.

 

Well, within 30 minutes of having it turned onto number 4 which covers 240m3 or the size of our 48m2 bedroom, the reading went down to 9ug/m3 which is "great" averaged out over 24 hours.

 

Took it to my kids bedroom where they were and the reading was 40ug/m3, pretty much what our bedroom was when I turned it on, anyways, back to my bedroom and it was hovering at around 11 when I turned the IQAir HealthPro 250 off, 30 minutes later and the reading on the SNDWAY PM2.5 DETECTOR is 15ug/m3 and then down to 11ug/m3 after an hour so we are still in great waters and the air purifier is off.

 

Conclusion: As long as my post is, it just goes to show, if you want less particular matter and cleaner air in your own home, you have to pay for it through the nose, excuse the pun.

 

For anyone with allergies or breathing issues from polluted air, I would strongly recommend the two above products and the free app to download, at least if you have a cheaper air purifier that you feel works and want to put it to the test, then purchase the SNDWAY PM2.5 DETECTOR for 1,400 baht, because that will definitely tell you if your getting what you paid for.

 

Here's to breathing cleaner air ????  

 

 

[sfokevin]

I have Xaiomi S2 in the lounge...  this morning I turned it on it read 58... an hour later it read 6... Paid about 4,000 baht for it... 

[NancyL]

We have three Xiaomi Mi Air Purifier units -- the total cost for them was much less than 60,000 baht and they are placed strategically in our condo.  Each has a built-in PM2.5 meter and they do indicate that the units make a difference.  We used to have an old clunker of a vacuum cleaner and the PM2.5 meters would go thru the roof whenever we vacuumed.  Also, for some types of cooking if I neglected to use the exhaust hood.  New vacuum cleaner has a HEPA filter and it makes a big difference.

[villagefarang]

We are using HITACHI EP-M70E Humidifying Air Purifier and feel it makes a difference. 

[CharlieH]

1 hour ago, sfokevin said:

I have Xaiomi S2 in the lounge...  this morning I turned it on it read 58... an hour later it read 6... Paid about 4,000 baht for it... 

 

I have this too, currently on offer at a little over 3000 baht, I paid nearly 4k at the time but its really good and will get another for the bedroom.

 

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/xiaomi-mi-air-purifier-2s-1-i291010301-s835570040.html?spm=a2o4m.searchlist.list.8.2c4b1080b2guss&search=1

[4MyEgo]

I may have forgotten to mention the other main reasons that I went for the IQAir Health Pro 250 is that the filters don't need replacing that often, i.e. based on running the system 3 to 10 hours a day refer to below:

 

• PreMax™ Coarse Particle Filter: 18 months
• HyperHEPA Particle Filter: ~4 years
• V5-Cell™ Gas & Odor Filter: ~2 years

That and it covers a huge area when on maximum, i.e. 440m3 or about 140 square metres and our place is about double that with the living areas taking up around 70 square metres and our section where we all sleep is 112 square metres, so if we wanted to do all the rooms, the IQAir system does it all in one hit.

 

As the old saying goes, if you've got money, you can afford to burn it ????

 

Edited December 23, 2019 by 4MyEgo

[4MyEgo]

2 hours ago, sfokevin said:

I have Xaiomi S2 in the lounge...  this morning I turned it on it read 58... an hour later it read 6... Paid about 4,000 baht for it... 

I trust yours is not the same as the one in this review ?

https://smartairfilters.com/en/blog/xiaomi-auto-mode-leaves-air-unsafe-86-hours/

[4MyEgo]

2 hours ago, NancyL said:

Xiaomi Mi Air Purifier units

Above is a link to a review in the previous post, hope yours is not the same as that one.

[4MyEgo]

1 hour ago, villagefarang said:

We are using HITACHI EP-M70E Humidifying Air Purifier and feel it makes a difference. 

Nice choice and at around 20,000 baht per unit if memory serves me right, sounded like a good deal at the time, it was 2nd choice, only reason I didn't get it was because it only covered an area of 50 odd square metres, and I wanted to cover an area of 70 square metres (living area) and 112 square metres to cover all of the bedrooms, although I could have purchased three and would have been back to square one cost wise.

 

At the end of the day, depends on the area and how you want to use it/them.

[xylophone]

16 minutes ago, 4MyEgo said:

Above is a link to a review in the previous post, hope yours is not the same as that one.

I have the Xiaomi Mi air purifier 2S (don't know if this is the model you are referring to, however it seems to go okay in my apartment but having said that I still suffer from some sort of allergy about the same time every year?

 

Also I am running the Philips's AC 4014 air purifier in the bedroom area and the apartment is a sort of "open plan" design, so I thought I was getting the best of both worlds with these two air purifiers running – – perhaps I'm wrong??

[villagefarang]

11 minutes ago, 4MyEgo said:

Nice choice and at around 20,000 baht per unit if memory serves me right, sounded like a good deal at the time, it was 2nd choice, only reason I didn't get it was because it only covered an area of 50 odd square metres, and I wanted to cover an area of 70 square metres (living area) and 112 square metres to cover all of the bedrooms, although I could have purchased three and would have been back to square one cost wise.

 

At the end of the day, depends on the area and how you want to use it/them.

Our sleeping area is roughly 50 square meters so this unit works well for us.  The main living area is far too big to either air condition or filter so we restrict filtering to bedroom at night and TV/computer room during the day, as needed.

[4MyEgo]

2 minutes ago, xylophone said:

I have the Xiaomi Mi air purifier 2S (don't know if this is the model you are referring to, however it seems to go okay in my apartment but having said that I still suffer from some sort of allergy about the same time every year?

 

Also I am running the Philips's AC 4014 air purifier in the bedroom area and the apartment is a sort of "open plan" design, so I thought I was getting the best of both worlds with these two air purifiers running – – perhaps I'm wrong??

It's always a tough one, as you can research for ever before buying a product, fortunately for me, I also had the opportunity to use a mates IQAir purifier albeit an earlier model back in the old country for a week and I noticed the difference in the air quality.

 

Trust is a big issue with me when spending big dollars as well, hence all the research, that said, I am currently sitting here typing away and looking at the reading on the SNDWAY PM2.5 DETECTOR which came today and also have the IQAir Health Pro 250 running on half speed (3) which covers the 48 square metre bedroom and it is showing a reading of 2ug/m3.

 

The above said, I am breathing better than when I got back from picking up the kids from school, it was showing a reading of 39ug/m3 which is still ok, but the lower the reading the better the quality of the air.

 

If you have a spare 1,400 baht, get yourself one for piece of mind and it pays to check on these guys who claim what they claim, I don't know if the products you have or anyone else have are good, but can certainly say my product, the IQAir is doing its job, why it doesn't have a PM2.5 reading on it is beyond me, but then again, I haven't used it much, or read the manuel, just turned it on from go, maybe it does have one, but the 1,400 baht spent is money well spent as far as I am concerned, can take the little device with me to, maybe next time we go on holidays I will load up the air purifier, although it's not small, but light.

 

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/sndway-pm-25-detector-sw-825-3in1-sensor-pm25-i235439672-s361195325.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI0K-ywNTL5gIVzA0rCh17og_iEAQYBCABEgLRFfD_BwE&s_kwcid=AL!3152!3!286179630377!!!u!296030489971!&exlaz=d_1:mm_150050845_51350205_2010350205::12:1498579383!58089999096!!!pla-296030489971!c!296030489971!361195325!135285496!286179630377&ef_id=EAIaIQobChMI0K-ywNTL5gIVzA0rCh17og_iEAQYBCABEgLRFfD_BwE:G:s

[sfokevin]

50 minutes ago, 4MyEgo said:

I trust yours is not the same as the one in this review ?

https://smartairfilters.com/en/blog/xiaomi-auto-mode-leaves-air-unsafe-86-hours/

Read to the end of your article and he revised his major problem (The sutomode) can easily be avoided by app settings to stop it going into sutomode and the unit works fine...

[xylophone]

6 minutes ago, 4MyEgo said:

If you have a spare 1,400 baht, get yourself one for piece of mind and it pays to check on these guys who claim what they claim,

Thanks 4MyEgo and I do have one of the SNDWAY meters and it seems to agree with the Xiaomi reading. So perhaps my allergy/whatever cannot be helped with an air purifier??

[Lacessit]

I have a Sharp, mid-range, which is supposed to be good for about 50 sqm. Green light goes to orange when the filter is blocking up. Change filters every year, to be on the safe side. No idea what the reduction in PM2.5 is.

[4MyEgo]

1 hour ago, xylophone said:

Thanks 4MyEgo and I do have one of the SNDWAY meters and it seems to agree with the Xiaomi reading. So perhaps my allergy/whatever cannot be helped with an air purifier??

I am the same as you, I think, but not sure, as I have a stent from a mild heart attack back in 2008 and I find that if smoke is around, I feel tight in the check, throat seems to swell, or it feels that way, like a thick layer has been pasted on it, example I walked into the kitchen with the device tonight to see what the reading would be out of interest when the wife was cooking, bang 150 and straight in the red, there is an extractor fan on the wall and a wall fan, doors were open at either end as was the window, the kitchen is not that big probably about 2.5 x 6 metres, with a low roof of probably 2.5 metres high sloping down, do you think she had the extractor fan and the fan going while cooking, nope, I walked in and nearly choked, my throat felt sore and my chest tight, I turned the extractor fan and wall fan on before I left quick smart.

 

I then checked the dining room, mid 80's was the reading as the kitchen is off of the dining room, so went and brought in the air purifier, within about 5-10 minutes on full speed (6) it dropped to around the mid 50's which is acceptable.

 

This is certainly a new area for me to look into, clean air, that is, although don't know what I am going to do about going to the local waterhole as some of the smokers there smoke like chimneys, probably best to avoid until they go back overseas in the 1st week of January and take their smokes with them.

Edited December 23, 2019 by 4MyEgo

[motdaeng]

10 hours ago, 4MyEgo said:

... it dropped to around the mid 50's which is acceptable ...

are we talking about AQI or µg/m3?

 

pm2.5 of 50 µg/m3 would not be acceptable for me. in our bedrooms

it has to be 7 µg/m3 or less, so at least for our night sleep we have

acceptable air quality ...

 

 

 

[4MyEgo]

1 hour ago, motdaeng said:

are we talking about AQI or µg/m3?

 

pm2.5 of 50 µg/m3 would not be acceptable for me. in our bedrooms

it has to be 7 µg/m3 or less, so at least for our night sleep we have

acceptable air quality ...

 

 

 

What I meant was it dropped from 80ug/m3 to 50ug/m3 within 5-10 minutes which was acceptable within that time for an area of 70 square metres.

 

Our bedroom got down to around 4 last night and I switched the IQAir purifier off and when I woke up mid 2's the SNDWAY was 30 and has been like that ever since, however this morning I went into one of the bathrooms and it was 50, and the kitchen 75, opened a window and left it outside for 15 seconds, as soon as I opened the window it went red and straight to 167.

 

When I went to wake up the boys and get a reading of their rooms, (boys are thick as bricks at 15 years of age), I keep telling them not to close their bedroom doors so the purifier can reach their rooms, the readings in their rooms was 80 and 90, I asked one if he window was open and he said yes, I started coughing immediately and closed his window, this coughing attack lasted for about 10 minutes with my throat very scratchy, I can't believe these guys, we have discussed windows remaining closed, me being the only one to open them when I feel the air is at a safe level, e.g. 10am, now to find a suitable punishment for him.

 

They say 0-35ug/m3 averaged out over 24 is a good reading, and 35-75ug/m3 to be acceptable, but I prefer the lower of the 2 readings naturally, and monitoring the house last night, it hovered around the 30ug/m3 without any purifier, suffice to say, I think I will be having it on when it reaches anything above 35ug/m3 and will have it on next to me when on my laptop which is most of the day in our room, which coincidentally is showing 43ug/m3 at 7.15am this morning, not the best, but as I am heading out, will have to turn it on when we get back. 

 

This is all starting to make sense to me now having this device which I can carry around to check what the air quality is like within the house, the only thing is the battery doesn't last too long, so will have to look at getting a powerpoint with a usb socket to instal a few around the house to tell us what the air quality is around the house.

 

No doubt the smoke doesn't agree with me, that's for sure, throat still scratchy, and a little tighter in the chest for now.

 

AQI Category Index 

Revised Breakpoints (µg/m3 , 24-hour average)

 

Good 0 - 50 0.0 - 12.0µg/m3

 

Moderate 51 - 100 > 12.1µg/m3 – 35.4µg/m3

 

Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups 101 – 150 > 35.5µg/m3 – 55.4µg/m3

 

Unhealthy 151 – 200 > 55.5µg/m3 – 150.4µg/m3

 

Very Unhealthy 201 – 300 > 150.5µg/m3 – 250.4µg/m3

 

Hazardous 301 – 400 > 250.5µg/m3 – 350.4µg/m3 

Edited December 24, 2019 by 4MyEgo

[Rimmer]

17 hours ago, sfokevin said:

I have Xaiomi S2 in the lounge...  this morning I turned it on it read 58... an hour later it read 6... Paid about 4,000 baht for it... 

We also ordered and received a Xaiomi S2 also around B4000 from Lazada, duly arrived but the LED read out did not work, so sent it back and in a few days was credited with the B4000 in the wallet. 

Ordered a second one from Lazada paid from the wallet and hit the end of year sale and special price of B 3250. Works perfectly,  use it in the bedroom where typically the PM2.5 shows around 30 when its turned on in the evening and in the morning its down to one, no more coughing at night from wife and myself so all in all well pleased with it. 

[tomazbodner]

15 hours ago, 4MyEgo said:

I trust yours is not the same as the one in this review ?

https://smartairfilters.com/en/blog/xiaomi-auto-mode-leaves-air-unsafe-86-hours/

It is not. 2S has not just particle meter but also a display. The particle meter in Air Purifier 1/2/Pro is different from 2S/3H/Max. It is also funny the reviewer (where he complained how unbelievably inaccurate it is and never shows below 009 - which probably everyone with 2S/3H can dispute) compared with AirVisual Pro sensor, which runs a separate thread about its inaccuracy in readings, since it's showing AQI, part of which is humidity that it misses 10% out of the box, on top of only checking the reading in intervals and not all the time... so basically he's comparing apples and... eggs.

 

I have PurpleAir air sensors mounted outside, and a portable Xiaomi as well as SNDWay particle sensors (which show within a couple of digits of each other) - and being same sensor on the air purifier as what it is on the portable Xiaomi sensor (shows more or less same number with the purifier), I've put it outside next to PurpleAir sensors, and compared their readings over a week at hourly checks. They are nearly identical. Now mind you - PurpleAir is what mostly feeds AirVisual mostly (as few are prepared to put an indoors sensor without any weatherproofing out in the rain).

 

The article also states that high power mode doesn't kick in until air quality reaches 40. That may be true but doesn't mean that in auto mode fans stop. In fact the fans keep on spinning whenever filter is turned on, in my case 24/7, and the pm2.5 is kept to about 10% of the outside (with typical Thai windows that make lots of noise when there's wind outside, basically having no seal at all). A 200 reading outside gets Xiaomi 2S inside air down to about 20 in sleep or auto mode, and now when it's about 100 outside (according to AirVisual) they are hovering between 006 and 009.

 

I believe AirPurifier 2 is available to buy but costing nearly the same as 2S few would take the one without the screen. The firmware was fixed a long while ago (that's one good thing about having internet connected device - it can upgrade software and mine did that a few times).

 

So while I understand your love for your own 60k air filter, which I am sure is as good as you say, you don't need to shame the product that many of the rest of us enjoy and have verified they actually work.

 

At the same time I wanted to thank you for opening this thread. The reason is that it was only when I bought the first Xiaomi 2S a few years back that I realised my previous Toshiba and Philips didn't do anything. They removed some dust, they removed the smell (and in case of Philips replaced it with burning smell), but did absolutely nothing about small particles despite glamorous claims in the specs. Since then there is a Xiaomi filter in every room.

 

And last but not least - when buying a filter I wish more companies were like Xiaomi. Why? They use the same filter on ... ok, not all, but their main models (1/2/2s/3h/Pro) and have them available for a long time from many different vendors at low prices. When I had previous filters (SAC, BlueAir, Bionaire, Sharp, Toshiba, Philips) 6 months after buying the box I'd go to buy additional filter cartridges and sellers were like... oh this... this old model... no have... buy new one dee kwa... have promotion... It was just at Toshiba that I stocked up on many at the time of purchasing the box... just to later find out the darn thing didn't do anything...

[Skallywag]

Great overview and information.  My big question is what to do outside, I spend much of my time outside.  Will breathing bad air for several hours outdoors negate the positive effects of having "clean" air indoors?

[sfokevin]

Xaiomi Bubble Boy?...

 

[CharlieH]

16 hours ago, 4MyEgo said:

I trust yours is not the same as the one in this review ?

https://smartairfilters.com/en/blog/xiaomi-auto-mode-leaves-air-unsafe-86-hours/

No, the S2 model is definitely not the model in that review.

[JAS21]

We have the Dakin streamer, the one with the humidifier. Yes it takes our bedroom down to very small numbers 3or4 on 2.5 measurement.

[gamesgplayemail]

where do you get the cheapest xiaomi air purifier filters ? I have the pro model but i guess that filters are the same ?

[jirathama]

I get mine at Lazada, be aware that some are not 100% originals, prices for the real ones started at around 750,--bht when i got mine 6 months ago. They have 3 different versions, colours. The green one is also filtering Formaldehyde. The blue one is the basis one, and the purple one filters, i think, odors. In addition, at Aliexpress you get Hepa rolls, who fit the filters, you can wrap around and prolong the life of the filter.

[welshboy454]

Out of curiosity guys  how are you measuring the pm2.5  ?  Is it the air coming out of the purifier or the air somewhere in the room  which contains some air from outside ?  When we were up in Chiang Rai last year there were no purifiers in the shops so we made do with a big box fan and a air con supacrete(?) filter taped on the back which rapidly took the pm2.5 down in the room according to a hand held monitor.

[4MyEgo]

3 hours ago, tomazbodner said:

So while I understand your love for your own 60k air filter, which I am sure is as good as you say, you don't need to shame the product that many of the rest of us enjoy and have verified they actually work.

 

Thanks for your lengthy post and experiences, please accept my apologies if I came across as shaming others product/s, it wasn't meant to come across that way, hell, if one can find a cheaper product and it does the same, go for it. Me personally, I try to stay away from what some manufacturers state about their products, and sometimes paying more, along with the research to back it up is worth it, although I would of rather not paid 60k baht for the IQAir, but it does it's job for us and we are also happy with the product, the life of the filters, but not the replacement costs of them, but over the long run, if they do their job, you can't put a price on it. 

3 hours ago, tomazbodner said:

At the same time I wanted to thank you for opening this thread.

Your welcome, I might sound like a bit of a hypochondriac but I am a slow learner when it comes to things outside my field, that said, I definitely pay attention to smoke as it affects me, badly, cough, phlegm and tightness, although not that tight, but still enough for concern.

[4MyEgo]

3 hours ago, Skallywag said:

Will breathing bad air for several hours outdoors negate the positive effects of having "clean" air indoors?

They say that breathing in the PM2.5 particulate matter shortens one's life, guess we will get there, some sooner, others later, me personally, I'm taking my IQAir with me either way ????

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

3 hours ago, Skallywag said:

Great overview and information.  My big question is what to do outside, I spend much of my time outside.  Will breathing bad air for several hours outdoors negate the positive effects of having "clean" air indoors?

 

It's all cumulative, so the less you breathe of PM2.5 in any setting, the better for your health.

 

The answer is to use a good HEPA air purifier indoors, and use N95-class face masks such as those made by 3M when outside when the outdoor air quality is bad.