Better Decisions Through Data.
If you live near in a wildfire zone you basically need our app in your wildfire preparation kit.
Thanks to the latest dust sensors, combined with EPA data, we have a unique perspective of how the Colby Fire affected our air quality in Los Angeles. Finally, the technology is affordable that let’s you take control of your indoor air quality in these kinds of situations. If you live in a wildfire zone you might want to make this tech part of your wildfire preparation kit.
Although the EPA has declared an “Action Day” for our area today [originally published: Jan 16, 2014], we’re not seeing a big impact in air quality where we are (near Beverly Hills) yet. EPA has PM2.5 at “moderate” which is in the yellow, but fairly typical for LA (and by no means the worst we have seen, thanks to automobiles, not forest fires.)
With air purification (check out our recommendations), our indoor air quality is actually pretty good at the moment.
But we’re not that close to the fire. If you live closer to the fire, you’ll definitely want to get our free app and buy one of our recommended dust sensors so that you can make informed decisions about your indoor air quality.
One of our staff members actually lived in San Diego during one of the major forest fires there, and air quality around forest fires is not a joke. (The authorities were advising us to wear moist clothes over our faces, and for good reason.) What is different today than back then is you can now buy your own dust air quality monitor, and, together with our app, figure out how your indoor air compares with your outdoor air. You can figure out if you need to amp up your air purifiers or whether you need to go to sleep with a moist cloth over your face (hopefully not).
[…] notifications this way. Yes, pollen is bad (and we guess surf advisories are bad), but we had an EPA action day alert for PM2.5 just last week due to the Colby fire, and you’d think cancer risk would […]
[…] we mentioned in our earlier Colby fire post, the good news is you now, finally, have tools to take control of your indoor air quality. Options […]
[…] As the Green Living in DC blog article points, regardless of whether or not you own one of the supported sensors, AQcalc is the app you want to have if you’re living near a wildfire, such as the recent Colby … . […]
If you’re planning on painting the interior of your home after the wildfires consider adding the ionic paint additive to the paint, turns the walls into a permanent air purification system. The ionic additive will keep your home free of smoke odors from the wildfires and air toxins one treatment will remain effective as long as the paint on the wall surface is intact.
These are dubious claims you’re making (we assume you’re trying to sell this product).
One of the most frustrating things about controlling PM2.5 pollution are the air purification manufacturers, who will put all kinds of bogus claims on their product packaging and marketing. “Buy our air filter! Now your air is super clean! Trust us!” One manufacturer was outed by Consumer Reports for getting a previous unknown (and spurious) allergy “non-profit” in Europe to endorse their air purifier as wonderful. (No one had ever previous heard of this non-profit.) Their product didn’t work well in Consumer Reports testing.
We’ve found here in Los Angeles you need zero air purifiers on a good dead, and several on a bad day for just a small apartment. And these are air purifiers that labs have found actually work well (many don’t work well and are a waste of money).
Some of your claims above are very suspicious. Air purifiers remove consider physical volume of material from the air. The purifiers must be periodically cleaned and replaced. You claim your paint works forever! Where do the particulate pollutants go? Science fiction transporter beaming the pollution to another dimension, maybe? If they stick to the wall, they’ll turn it black pretty quickly and reduce the efficiency of the paint. Guessing that doesn’t happen. In any event, we’re not aware of any performance data for this paint. How does it compare to a physical air filter (guessing not very well).
one thing that’s certain about paint is that it’ll emit fumes (aka VOCs) when fresh. So if you repaint your house with this, and the product even works (doubtful) you might trade one pollutant for another.
One product that *does* actually reduce PM2.5 pollution (according to the EPA website) are carpets. Carpets, when periodically cleaned, do act as a natural air purifier for reducing PM2.5s. They’ve fallen out of favor because people are worried about fumes from carpets (e.g., VOCs) supposedly triggering allergies. Also, there is currently a fad for hardwood floors thought to have been ushered in by all those wood stain commercials on TV.
Our argument all along is that you should be measuring PM2.5s (and, optionally, VOCs) now that the sensors have become so cheap. Don’t just go out and repaint your house with some bogus paint just because some salesperson or slick product marketing claims its great. Measure your PM2.5 levels in your home before and after you’ve turned on air purifier. Then, find out the specifications (or testing from someone like Consumer Reports) and how these products compare to your air purifier to determine (1) whether you still need them (2) what impact they’ll have for the money.