Friday, March 9, 2012


When is Allergy season?


The answer depends on what you are allergic to and some allergens are perennial, or ongoing, year-round allergies:

  • Spring has trees, pollen and grass.
  • In early summer, grasses pollinate.
  • In late summer and into fall, weeds pollinate, and other allergens include grass and animal dander.
  • Fall more specifically has Allergic Rhinitis (hay fever) caused by ragweed pollen, and MOLD. Fall allergies can also include leaves and grass.
  • In winter, indoor allergens include dust, dust mites, dust mite droppings, mold spores, and dog and cat dander. Cockroaches, mice, and rats can also be the source of indoor allergens.

It just depends on what you are allergic to.


Indoor Air Pollution, VOCs, MCS

Common causes of indoor air pollution which can trigger allergy symptoms at work or home include carpeting, upholstery, adhesives, manufactured wood products, copier chemicals, cleaning agents and pesticides. These often emit or “off gas” what's known as volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
that can trigger allergy symptoms. Common VOCs include formaldehyde (often from furniture or building materials) , and aerosol cleaning agents.

Although VOCs can cause allergy-like reactions, they are more likely “chemical sensitivities”. Some individuals have a condition called Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, or “MCS”, which is not a true allergy. True allergies cause the immune system of an allergic person to react, while VOCs or chemical irritants can simply irritate the respiratory tract in some people without triggering an immune system reaction or allergy. Those who have true allergies to different substances may experience both allergies and chemical sensitivities.


If you have Allergies, it is highly recommended to use a HEPA Purifier with a heavy CARBON bed (5-15 lbs.+ depending on design) at work, home, and while sleeping for sensitive individuals including those with Asthma, MCS. The HEPA filter will remove the particles, while the CARBON will remove VOCs such as chemicals, irritants, gases, and even odors.


As the owner of Allergy Purifiers LLC, I personally use, and highly recommend the IQAir HealthPro Plus purifier for a wide range of allergens or VOCs and for Asthma or MCS. This particular air purifier is currently regarded as one of the very best on the market, and the IQAir HealthPro Plus purifier removes more allergens than standard HEPA filters, even catching cat dander, where most HEPA filters cannot efficiently capture these smaller particles.


Thank you for reading!

Doug Bracken - 3-6-12

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

ION Air Purifier vs. Ozone Generator, Ozone Generator Sizing Guide

----- Original Message -----
11-17-09

To: Allergy Purifiers LLC

Why is an ozone generator more effective than an ion air purifier?

What size is best for a 3000 sq foot home?

Thx,
M. D.
--------------------



Q. 1) Why is an ozone generator more effective than an ion air purifier?

ANSWER FROM ALLERGY PURIFIERS LLC:

Ion generators alone cannot kill germs or actually purify the air. Ions do have their place though, ions make micron sized particulate clump together and "magnetically" draw the particulate to surfaces in a room. The most ideal use of ions is in conjunction with a filter system. micron sized particulate often slip through filter systems that are rated below HEPA ratings, however, when these smaller particles are clumped by ionization, the larger clumped particles can now be trapped in the filter. For this to be effective in a filter system, the ion generation must be in line on the intake flow of a filter system.

Most corona discharge ozone generators naturally produce ions as a by-product of ozone generation, though they are quite useless without a filter system designed for moving adequate amounts of air through the filter.

Ozone generators should not be used to "filter" the air, rather to emit ozone into a room so it can purify (oxidize) and do its job. If you are looking to filter particulate or dust, I recommend a HEPA filter system such as the IQAir Healthpro Plus Air Purifier:
http://www.o3ozone.com/iqair/iqair_healthpro_plus.htm#iqair_healthpro_plus_carbon_hepa_air_purifier


Q. 2) What size is best for a 3000 sq foot home?

ANSWER FROM ALLERGY PURIFIERS LLC:

What size ozone generator unit depends upon the intended use - to rid smoke, cooking odors, (general air purification), or to decontaminate and kill germs or mold, or protein decomposition jobs such as dead animal odor or crime scene cleanup. I recommend shock treatments for all ozone applications.

Consider the largest sized area that cannot be further enclosed or made smaller by shutting doors; If you are on a budget, you may consider sizing the ozone generator to the largest space you have that cannot be reduced further by shutting doors, and then treating the rooms separately.

Depending on the level of contamination and humidity, the UV PRO 550 Ozone Generator http://www.o3ozone.com/ozone_generators_air_purifiers/ozone_generators_air_water_purifiers/uv_ozone_generator/uv_pro_550_ozone_generator.htm#uv_pro_550_shock_treatment_ozone_generator can usually shock treat or disinfect medium - large sized rooms such as basements - or approx. 1,000 sq. ft. (this unit is rated for 650 sq. ft. for extreme commercial jobs such as dead animal odor or crime scene cleanup but if you can afford to treat longer – it will work for all but the most severe jobs up to about 1000 sq. ft.). Larger ozone generators can be used to ensure a thorough shock treatment and to speed up treatment times. Keep in mind – you can undersize an ozone generator to an application, but a larger ozone generator is a small space will simply speed up the treatment time necessary. You may want the UV PRO 1100 Ozone Generator:
http://www.o3ozone.com/ozone_generators_air_purifiers/ozone_generators_air_water_purifiers/uv_ozone_generator/uv_pro_1100t48_uv_pro_1100at%20ozone%20generators.htm#uv_pro_1100_shock_treatment_ozone_generator_1100t48_1100at_mold_odor_removal for your job at hand or choose a large unit such as the UV PRO 4000 Ozone Generator: http://www.o3ozone.com/ozone_generators_air_purifiers/ozone_generators_air_water_purifiers/uv_ozone_generator/uv_pro_4000_ozone_generator.htm#uv_pro_4000_shock_treatment_ozone_generator if you need to treat the entire 3000 sq ft space at once.

The size ozone generator needed also depends upon other factors, including temperature, and type / level of contamination. More details on understanding ozone depletion times are available on our website links below.
For ambient air Corona Discharge Ozone Generators, humidity is the largest factor. At 50% Humidity, a corona discharge ozone generator is producing only half of its rated output and often less. I highly recommend the UV ozone Generation method over the corona discharge method for this reason and others including increased maintenance as deposits inherent with the corona discharge ozone generation process will quickly build up and reduce the output of the corona activity.

I highly recommend this first link on shock treatments / choosing ozone generator:
http://www.o3ozone.com/q&a_informed/size_a_generator.htm#ozone_generator_purifier_sizing

see also:
Air Purification instructions:
http://www.o3ozone.com/ozone_use_instructions/air_purification_instructions.htm#air_purification_with_ozone_instructions


Thank you for the inquiry!


Doug Bracken
Allergy Purifiers LLC
804 Stone Crossing St. NE
Canton, Ohio 44721
330-497-6900
http://www.allergypurifiers.com/
http://www.o3ozone.com/

Twitter: http://twitter.com/AllergyPurifier

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Ozone Generators for Shock Treatment

Recent Question:

-----Original Message-----
Sent: Monday, November 02, 2009 6:22 PM
To: info@o3ozone.com
Subject: o3ozone Ozone and Oxygen Systems - Inquiry

Hi,
I am curious. Since ozone is an oxidizing agent how does it determine what to attach to? Smoke, pollutants in a house, but what about rugs, furniture etc. My daughter had a company remove some white mold in her basement, and then ran an ozone generator for 48 hours. The house is now uninhabitable due to a pungent odor in the house. This has been 3 weeks ago and after airing the house with huge 3 ft fans, the odor is still there. So, what did the ozone interact with? Companies seem to think this stuff is safe, but they never talk about the interactions with other household items. Why would ozone adhere to tobacco smoke but not rug fibers? adhere to all other pollutants in a house but not rubber, or plastic or drywall or painted surfaces?

So, the question I am trying to get an answer to is how do I get rid of the odor caused by the ozone? AND more importantly is the odor I am smelling dangerous to my daughter’s health?


Thanks for any information you can provide.

Bob


ANSWER:

Can you describe the residual odor? Is it bleach like? If so it should not be harmful if it has been 3 weeks since the ozone treatment. Of course, if the bleach-like odor is coming from a currently running ozone generator, then yes, this can oxidize lung tissue.

Ozone is simply clumped oxygen molecules. (o3, 04, o5 for example) Because the molecule is very unstable, it is an excellent oxidizer. When the ozone molecules come in contact with anything from a virus in the air, odorous bacteria, or the wall surface and carpet fibers- the unstable molecule loses one or more of the extra oxygen atoms - reverting back to regular oxygen (o2) and oxidation is the result.

Ozone oxidizes everything - but at different rates. Here is a link to an ozone materials compatibility chart provided by Cole Parmer:
http://www.o3ozone.com/q&a_informed/ozone_materials_compatability.htm

Most household materials are quite ozone resistant, or oxidation resistant. Even rubber, which is rated "D - Severe Effect" with ozone - still takes considerable time to oxidize using concentrated high levels of ozone before damage occurs. Some types of rubber like materials are ozone resistant - such as butyl and silicone and are rated "A - Excellent"

One type of rubber can be damaged and sometimes destroyed in a 48 hour concentrated ozone treatment is natural elastic rubber such as rubber bands or the elastic rubber in some clothing.
Still, often the choice is made to treat clothing with elastic rubber rather than throwing the clothes away - usually with success and no recognizable damage.

Understand that using ozone in the shock treatment manner is effective at killing an infestation of MOLD or smoke odors, yet it is a more invasive treatment that some choices you can make.

A benign choice for air purification for effective removal of allergens, odors, VOC’s, viruses such as H1N1 or TB is to choose a high end HEPA Carbon filter system such as the IQAir Healthpro Plus
http://www.o3ozone.com/iqair/iqair_healthpro_plus.htm#iqair_healthpro_plus_carbon_hepa_air_purifier or the Allerair AirMedic carbon HEPA filter / air purifier:
http://www.o3ozone.com/allerair/allerair_airmedic_purifiers.htm#allerair_airmedic_exec_voc_purifier_air_filter
Like the IQAir air purifiers, the Allerair AirMedic carbon and HEPA filter /air purifier meets DOP test, the equivalent of EN1822.

Hospitals commonly use the IQAir Cleanroom H13 HEPA air purifier which is for Microbiological Control in Medical Facilities, Hospitals, and other clean-rooms:
http://www.o3ozone.com/iqair/cleanroom_h13.htm#class-100-cleanroom-h13-hepa-purifier-virus-hospital
Another choice that Hospitals commonly use to filter the air is the NQ Environmental Commercial or Medical Clarifier; this HEPA carbon air purifier is used in hospitals, dental labs, cleanrooms and for personal us as well:
http://www.o3ozone.com/nq_environmental/nq_commercial_clarifier.htm#nq_commercial_clarifier_uv_hepa
All of the above referenced HEPA Carbon air purifier filters will either kill or trap all virus, mold, particulate and allergens, basically all contaminants in the air, effectively making a healthy environment to breathe fresh air. Please call or email for any comparison or to compare one air purifier vs. another. 330-497-6900 or info@o3ozone.com

Simply, with an ozone treatment, for mold / flood or smoke / fire damage for example, it is worth the potential damage to some materials to get rid of the bigger problem. Usually this only applies to antiques or rare paintings or items in a museum, where decisions to use ozone to kill an infestation that is damaging items is required to stop the problem or mold from growing.

Thank you for the inquiry!

Doug Bracken
Allergy Purifiers LLC
804 Stone Crossing St. NE
Canton, Ohio 44721
330-497-6900
http://www.allergypurifiers.com/
http://www.o3ozone.com/

Twitter: http://twitter.com/AllergyPurifier

For More information on Shock Treating with Ozone, see this page:
http://www.o3ozone.com/q&a_informed/ozone_shock_treatments.htm#ozone_generator_shock_treatment_purification
If you have a question relating to ozone, ozone generators, allergy purifiers for MCS, Allergies, HEPA Filters, or Carbon Filters and their uses, please email me at either info@o3ozone.com or allergypurifiers@gmail.com

Allergy Purifiers LLC; http://www.allergypurifiers.com/ and http://www.o3ozone.com/ sells 3 different product lines including products from IQAir, Austin Air, Allerair, AirSep (oxygen generators);

Providing the best rated and highest quality products in each product category Represented; AirSep Oxygen Generators / Concentrators for all applications with the exception of Human Medical, IQAir HEPA Carbon Allergy Asthma Air Purifiers for medical, Cleanroom, and personal uses; Filtration of microorganisms for infection control units, TB, H1N1 virus isolation rooms, critical particle control. Ozone Generators for MOLD, Fire, Flood and ODOR Remediation, Austin Air HEPA Carbon Allergy Purifiers, Allerair Carbon HEPA Air Purifiers for MCS and Asthma, Abatement Technologies Extraction / Negative Air HEPA Filters for Hospitals, Construction, and Remediation. Therasage Products including Jade Heat Massage Beds and Jade Stone Heating pads.

Doug Bracken
Allergy Purifiers LLC
804 Stone Crossing St. NE
Canton, Ohio 44721
330-497-6900
http://www.allergypurifiers.com/
http://www.o3ozone.com/

Twitter: http://twitter.com/AllergyPurifier