This is achieved with my DIY purifier build.
https://www.reddit.com/r/AirPurifiers/s/Spw1UO0m5T

But the pollution that come with the season is the part nobody needs

There are so many ways to track air quality now. AQI apps, CO2 monitors, air purifiers with sensors etc.

But I'm curious how often people actually do something with that information.

Have you ever changed your plans, kept your windows closed, gone for a walk (or a run) at a different time, or bought something because of an air quality reading?

And for those who have monitors at home, have they actually been useful? Or is it mostly another gadget showing numbers?

Also curious about people who never check air quality at all. Is it just not something you think about?

Breathing clean air shouldn't feel like a luxury.

Hello everyone, My team and I are students building VayuBudhi, a device that measures local air quality and estimates what might be causing pollution. We’d like honest feedback before developing it further.

Air quality apps usually show readings from a nearby monitoring station. But that may not reflect the air outside your window, near your school gate, or beside a busy road.

VayuBudhi measures air quality where you place it, shows changes over time, and alerts you when pollution rises. It also estimates possible pollution sources, such as traffic or dust, to help people understand what might be causing a spike. These are estimates, not confirmed identification of the source.

The goal is to help people decide when to avoid outdoor activities, investigate recurring pollution, or check whether an air purifier is making a difference.

We’ve built a working prototype and tested it at our college. We’re still validating its measurement accuracy and source estimates.

We’d appreciate your thoughts:

• When have you needed more local air quality information?
• Would knowing the likely cause of pollution change what you do?
• If you already own a monitor, what’s missing?
• Would you consider buying this? Why or why not, and at what price?
• What evidence would you need before trusting it?

We’re students exploring a startup idea, not taking orders. Honest criticism is welcome, including if you think existing products already solve this well.

I'm just curious has anybody ever used one of the cheaper options and then went to the more expensive ones? I'm just trying to see if there's a difference before I spend $20 to $30 instead of less than $6. We have a one-story home and we do have two dogs in case that helps.

Para abordar el problema y encontrar la solución de filtración del aire adecuada, es importante conocer las causas principales de la mala calidad del aire dentro de los centros de atención sanitaria.

PACIENTES

Lamentablemente, los pacientes enfermos de los centros sanitarios pueden contribuir a empeorar una calidad del aire que dista de ser la ideal. Las expectoraciones pueden contaminar el aire y las superficies de una habitación de hospital o un laboratorio. Las heridas abiertas y las infecciones pueden transmitir virus y bacterias del cuerpo de los pacientes a superficies como cuñas, vasos, platos, cubiertos, ropa de cama y otros materiales. Una vez que entran en contacto con estos materiales, los contaminantes se transmiten por el aire.

CONSTRUCCIÓN DE LOS HOSPITALES

Muchos hospitales públicos en grandes áreas urbanas se construyeron hace muchos años, cuando las innovaciones en conductos y ventilación no estaban tan avanzadas como hoy en día. Como resultado, el aire que entra en los hospitales podría no estar filtrado adecuadamente debido a los conductos anticuados. En este caso, contaminantes habituales como los ácaros del polvo, la suciedad, el polen y las bacterias en suspensión pueden circular más libremente por los conductos de ventilación.
La humedad presenta un desafío importante en los conductos, ya que suele conllevar problemas como el moho y las esporas, sin olvidar el riesgo de salmonela e infecciones nosocomiales, que pueden llegar a convertirse en un grave problema de salud que va más allá de la calidad del aire.

CALIDAD DEL AIRE EXTERIOR

La mayor parte del aire que circula por un hospital proviene del exterior. Por lo tanto, la calidad del aire interior en muchos centros sanitarios depende de la calidad del aire exterior. Los peligrosos olores y humos de escape de los vehículos pueden presentar una amenaza al introducirse en el edificio a través del sistema de climatización

We have a 2 foot space between our main level and finished basement where all our ductwork is ran between the engineered joists. We have 4 rooms with large windows framed with stone and block walls beneath. This space is getting mold near exterior walls. The ductwork is sweating. I believe the stone and block walls are transferring heat into this space and causing the dew point.

I’m not sure the correct way to keep this from happening. Insulate the block walls? Add hidden dehumidifiers? Foam insulation on these exterior walls? Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Hi, first time poster on this sub-- I'm an undergrad who just purchased an Atmotube Pro 2 to collect data for a research project on lichen diversity and air pollution. While the focus of my project is PM, I'm also interested in this model's ability to detect NOx. I understand that it cannot detect NOx emissions with any sensitivity, and instead maps detections to an index (1-500) based on a moving window of baseline emissions. I have no expectations for getting useful data on NOx emissions. Still, if it happens to detect NOx at one of my survey sites, that could be useful info.

I spent a few hours today fiddling with this thing. It seems to work great except that I could not get it to pick up any NOx emissions at all. I held it next to my car exhaust pipe and then next to the burner of my stove while the pilot light was on. The index was at "1" the whole time even while CO2 and VOCs went off the charts.

Was curious if anyone who has used this model could weigh in on why it might not be picking anything up.

This is the Odak Air Monitor from Mountain Labs and I'm not sure whether I need to go for a refund here.

I have bad cat allergies and I wanted something to measure whether I can sit down with my family or maybe have to vent the air a little more.

This air monitor basically constantly has a PM value above 2 no matter where, even in a small completely open vented room with big open windows. Even funnier, the values in that room were higher than right next to my shitting cats. But never a reading above 9. So the range here is 2-9, that seems wrong. Or am I missing something obvious?

Heads up to anyone shopping for indoor air quality monitors—be cautious with Airlab.

The Issue: My monitor is showing a PM (particulate matter) reading of 0 continuously, which is a clear sign of a failed or disconnected optical sensor.

The Support (or lack thereof):

• Sent customer support email with no response.
• Left comments/replies on their active Facebook ads asking for assistance, which were completely ignored.

It's frustrating to buy an environmental monitor only to have a key sensor fail and receive zero post-purchase support. Save yourself the headache and go with a brand that actually stands by their products and responds to support tickets.

Hello,

Male / 32 years old / No medical history.

I have some questions about the burning season in Thailand.

I’m planning to go to Chiang Mai, in northern Thailand, to study for a little over two months.

As it turns out, my stay falls right in the middle of the burning season. After going through forums and various websites tracking air quality in the area over the past few years, I’m wondering how dangerous or risky it would be to stay there for two months (from late January to late March).

Should I expect any potential health effects after returning to France, or even in the long term?
I don’t really know much about this topic, so I’d really appreciate the opinions and expertise of anyone who can shed some light on the matter.

Also, are masks specifically designed to filter PM2.5 particles actually effective? Can wearing one provide some reassurance and help reduce the risks?

Thanks in advance for your feedback!

A nearby coke plant often releases benzene, hydrogen sulfide, sulfur dioxide and ammonia into the air. They claim they don't but my sense of smell and burning eyes say otherwise. Is there a way to remove these pollutants from the air?

So, I hate the dust in the air, and I want to clean out as much of it as possible.

However, I also hate the loud sounds these can make, so looking for ones that are quiet but also can remove dust\bacteria from the air. Potentially, if those have some additional qualities for air freshness or similar would be appreciated, but not if those are taking a hit on the sound levels. I kinda don't really trust the internet shops and their reviews, as well as the "top X" articles because yay, bots and cases of cash.

I'm moving into a newly constructed apartment in Los Angeles that was completed a few months ago. When I first toured it, there was a noticeable chemical/new-paint smell (not overpowering, but definitely present), which got me concerned about VOC off-gassing.

I arranged for the landlord to leave the windows open for about 10 days straight to ventilate the apartment. Today, I went back and took readings with my Temtop LKC-1000S+:

TVOC: 0.09 mg/m³

Formaldehyde (HCHO): 0.02 mg/m³

PM2.5: 2.2 µg/m³

PM10: 4.3 µg/m³

AQI: 9

These readings were taken with the windows open, and I understand consumer monitors aren't necessarily accurate for VOCs.

I've also scheduled a professional post-construction cleaning, including an eco-friendly wipe-down, HVAC/duct inspection and cleaning if needed, and a few hours of air scrubbing.

I've spoken with several air-quality companies, all of whom have given conflicting advice. Some recommend expensive filtration treatments, while others say ventilation is the best approach and that some off-gassing is unavoidable in new construction.

My question: Given the building's age, ventilation, and these readings, would you consider this a normal, reasonably safe new-construction situation? Or is professional laboratory VOC/formaldehyde testing actually warranted?

I recognize I have some serious health anxiety/OCD around this and am trying to distinguish reasonable precautions from overreacting. I'd really appreciate evidence-based perspectives rather than worst-case scenarios.

I live less than half a mile from over fifty natural gas turbines. I am concerned for what this means for the health of myself and my community. Preferably budget conscious, but I’m willing to be flexible for a quality monitor. Thank you all!

Hi, everyone.

I recently moved to Southern Maryland and I recently started noticing the AQI was higher than I expected the past few days. The AQI went from low (<50) in the morning all the way to 77 around 8PM. I know that number is technically "moderate", but it seems way too high for the population density of the area (I'm in Calvert County, MD).

I checked various maps and there seem to be some fires in the south (Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, etc.), but that seems too damn far lol.

Anyway, my questions are:

• Are those fires the cause maybe due to the direction of the wind?
• Is this a common occurrence?

Here is the IQAir map for reference, but every AQI map I checked out looks like this.

Thanks in advance!

I just moved into a newly renovated place with lots of built in cabinets. Prior to moving in, I engaged the services of a formaldehyde removal company and that helped to reduce the formaldehyde levels in thehouse.

However with the current haze situation, I started closing all the windows at home the past week and can feel the rising formaldehyde levels. My eyes are starting to sting, I get headaches etc. I used an air detector and formaldehyde levels measured 0.025-0.035ppm.

It felt so bad that I have moved to a temporary place of lodging for now. Should I open the house windows even with haze and unhealthy psi, or wait till the haze eases and deal with formaldehyde levels then? It's quite a bummer to have to move out of the house.

Exhaust does not stop changing when it leaves an engine. Reactions in the atmosphere can produce new particles and alter the chemistry of existing ones. In laboratory experiments, aircraft-combustor emissions became substantially more reactive as researchers simulated days of exposure to atmospheric oxidants.

Their oxidative potential per unit particle mass increased six- to sevenfold after aging equivalent to approximately 12 days. Emissions from a marine diesel engine showed a different pattern in the same chemical test. The contrast suggests that freshly emitted exhaust alone cannot describe how particle reactivity develops in the air.

The study, published in Environmental Science Atmospheres, was led by Markus Kalberer’s group at the University of Basel. Alexandre Barth and Battist Utinger were its two first authors. The work examined chemical indicators associated with potential harm, rather than measuring disease or demonstrating a corresponding increase in human toxicity.

Disclosure: I work with MENRED, an HVAC ventilation manufacturer. I’m sharing a practical ERV selection checklist for discussion; the linked article is company-affiliated.

A high heat-recovery rating can be useful, but it does not tell you how much energy the building will save over a year. The result also depends on the unit’s airflow and pressure conditions, leakage, fan power, climate, controls, maintenance and the HVAC equipment.

When reviewing an ERV proposal, I’d check:

• What does the rating measure: sensible, latent or total recovery?
• What test standard and operating conditions were used?
• Is the figure gross or net, and is leakage performance available?
• What fan power and pressure drop apply at the design airflow and external static pressure?
• How will supply and exhaust airflows be balanced after installation?
• Does the energy comparison include the fans, frost protection and affected HVAC equipment?
• Are bypass, defrost and filter maintenance appropriate for the project?

The comparison should keep the required ventilation rate and indoor air quality target consistent. Otherwise, apparent savings could come from providing less ventilation.

For engineers, designers and commissioning teams: which data point is most often missing from ERV proposals?

Full checklist:
https://www.menred-hvac.com/newsdetail/erv-efficiency-vs-real-energy-savings-what-buyers-should-check

City council has long sought to dismantle the citizens idling complaint program and allow idling again in the city for the sake of big business. Intro 561-A is their latest attempt. Please sign the petition and tell Speaker Menin that NYC deserves clean air!