Cleaner Indoor Air

"Those with asthma are four-times more likely than those without the

respiratory disease to end up hospitalized if they contract H1N1, and Dr.

William Busse of the UW School of Medicine says that's raising concerns about

the effectiveness of the vaccine among that population.

Researchers at the UW School of Medicine are now looking for possible

interactions between asthma sufferers and the H1N1 vaccine. They're conducting

clinical trials to determine how much of the vaccine needs to be given to people

with asthma, along with what impact any medication they're taking could have on

its effectiveness."

When we seal-up our homes for the on coming flu season, it's important to remember to take preparations to prevent sickness in ourselves and family. Gargle with mouthwash or salt water, wash hands regularly, keep your hands away from your face and keep your home as clean as possible.  One way to do this is install a whole home air cleaner. Getting a high efficiency air cleaner can removes up to 98% of the airborne particulateit traps from your air, down to .3 micorns (including virus sized particulate).

Aprilaire makes the model 5000 electronic air cleaner that captures and kills small virus sized particles. Go to www.aprilaire.com to learn more about high efficency air cleaners today.

Pet dander is an uncomfortable reality for many people. Swollen eyes, itchy nose, and sneezing are all symptoms of a four leg allergy. If this describes the relationship between you and your fuzzy critter then read on Scratchy!

Interestingly, airborne dander and hair can be captured by a whole home air cleaner. A whole home what, you ask. Yes, a whole home air cleaner. This air cleaner attaches to your air handler and cleans the air of particulate as small at .3 microns. Go to Aprilaire.com and learn how a whole home air cleaner can be the foundation of a beautiful relationship between you and your furry four legger.

Top Five Questions to Ask When Getting a New Furnace or Air Conditioner

1.) For my home's size, what do you see is the most appropriate equipment size (furnace, heat pump, air conditioner).

2.) What would be the least expensive to buy? Least expensive to run?

3.) How does my entire system help or hurt in delivering air to all parts of my home?

4.) What other factors could contribute to my family's comfort besides buying a new furnace/air conditioner? Like new ducts, more insulation, or zoning? (Zoning is the ability to control what part of your home is heated or cooled. Almost every multi story home in America could benefit from zoning)

5.) Since I don't know all of the pieces that make up a heating and air conditioning system. Can you provide me or point me in a direction to learn what a basic list of major componants looks like? I want to fully understand what I need and what I would like to have before I select a contractor to do the work.

A frustraition for both the homeowner and the contractor is confusion over what equipment is needed and what equipment is desired. Some homeowners believe that all contractor quotes are based on the same criteria. The more exact you can be with what you need and what is required can help the bid process significantly. If you're spending $5,000 to $20,000 then you need to take charge of the education process!

Even though it's summer time, you need to make sure that your HVAC system (which pushes the cold air from the air conditioner through your house) has plenty of air so the motor isn't straining. Much of the new equipment being installed today has a variable speed motor. This means that the motor has multiple speeds to move the air through you house.

This equipment is expensive and will run on high unnecessarily if the filter isn't changed often. Imagine trying to run with a towel over your face! When you cannot get enough air your breathing becomes more and more labored. This is what's happening to that expensive stuff in your basement that heats and cools your house! And it's totally preventable.

To prolong the life of your investment and to make it run as efficiently as possible, make sure that you check your filter every couple of months and change it per the manufacturer’s recommendations.

The filter in Aprilaire media air cleaners can last one year or more and can keep your HVAC equipment clean and help it last as long as possible. Contractors throughout the country install Aprilaire air cleaners because many of them see it as the best protection for their customers’ equipment and homes; not to mention because they provide a cleaner, healthier home environment.

Hot days in urban areas mean possible elevated levels of ground level ozone. Ground level ozone is formed when pollution from power plants, factories and other industrial sources, vehicle exhaust, and volatile organic compounds chemically reacts with hot temperatures, high humidity and atmospheric stagnation. In these conditions, the Air Quality Index will reach the orange level, which is considered unhealthy for people in sensitive groups and others, including people who are not in sensitive groups but who are engaged in strenuous outside activities or exposed for prolonged periods of time. People in those sensitive groups include those with respiratory diseases, such as asthma, older adults, and active adults and children. When an air quality watch is issued, people in those groups are advised to reschedule or cut back on strenuous outside activities during the watch period.

People with lung diseases such as asthma and bronchitis should pay attention to shortness of breath, or respiratory symptoms like coughing, wheezing and discomfort when taking a breath, and consult with their physician if they have concerns or are experiencing symptoms. Ground level ozone can irritate the respiratory system, reduce lung function, aggravate asthma and chronic lung diseases, and, over time, cause permanent lung damage.

You can escape from these outside atmospheric conditions by installing a whole home air cleaner from Aprilaire. These air cleaners attach to your air handler and clean the air circulating through your entire home. Go to

Will a whole-house air cleaner eliminate dust/dusting?

The Aprilaire air cleaners are never less than 99% efficient on the smallest particle seen by the naked eye (approximately 10 microns). Therefore, the visible household dust particles that reach your air cleaner will be caught and permanently held. The problem is not all partials will reach the filter.

So we recommend continuous furnace blower operation as the best method to accomplish this. It provides continuous air cleaning and ensures whenever dust particles are airborne, they can be carried to the air cleaner and trapped.

However, if you choose periodic air cleaning with furnace blower operation through the normal heating or air conditioning cycles, you might consider turning your blower on manually during and for several hours after vacuuming your home. This is because vacuuming stirs up large volumes of dust particles. If your furnace blower is operating, these particles can be carried to the air cleaner and removed from the air.

Aprilaire now has an "air cleaner control" that comes with Model 4200, 4400, 5000, and can also be purchased separately and added to an existing air cleaner. This control gives you more air cleaning option than just continuous and periodic air cleaning.

Your home's heating and cooling equipment has a working life of approximately 17 years. Your cost of replacing that equipment (furnace, air conditioner, heat pump etc.) can range from $4,000 to $20,000. For that kind of investment, you would want to prolong the operation and maximize efficiency over that 17 years (maybe make it to 20 years!).

The easiest way to do this is by installing an air cleaner with a rating of MERV 10 or higher. MERV stands for Minimum Efficiency Reported Value. The rating of a 10 (on a scale from 1 to 20) means it removes large particulate from the air which are 10 microns or larger. In fact it must remove up to 85 to 100% of the particulate in the 3 to 10 micron size range. This captures all of the dust, dirt, pollen, mold spores that builds up on your coils and equipment.

Hey, like your arteries, stuff builds up and puts strain on your heart and therefore your life... your home's heart is it's HVAC equipment and you want to prolong it's life too!

From: My House Is Killing Me by Jeffery C. May

Mold needs the same conditions for growth as dust mites: moisture and nutrients.

Mold is a fungi and most fungi reproduce by creating spores. These micrscopic spore cells are generated in great numbers. If moisture is present when a spore lands on a suitable food source, it uses nutrients within it to start growing.

Mycotoxins are the chemicals fungi make as they grow and process nutrients (myco means fungus). Scientests do not yet know what functions mycotoxins may serve, but the more closely investigators look at different species of molds, the more often they find mycotoxins. Though most traditional mycotoxin poisoning is associated with eating toxic mushrooms or mold-contaminated grains, it now seems likely that inhaling spores containing mycotoxins can also be hazardous.

An Aprilaire whole home air cleaner with a MERV 10 media or greater can filter out airborne mold spores from you home. You will also want to make sure that the relative humidity in your home is less than 60%. A typical basement has 70% relative humidity and that's perfect conditions for mold growth. Oh, Aprilaire also makes dehumififiers that put you in control of the humidity level in your home!

Material Taken From: My House Is Killing Me by Jeffery C. May

Dust mites are considered one of the most common causes of alergy and asthma in the world. When surfaces are disturbed in your home, microscopic dust mite body parts (they molt as they grow) and fecal pellets become airborne. This fecal matter is the major allergenic componant in dust.

Using a whole home air cleaner with a MERV rating of 13 or higher will help mitigage the amount of dust mite poop in the air.

Read more of 'My House is Killing Me" to learn how to minimize dust mite infestation.

Hey, it's May 1st, the rain has stopped (for today anyway)!

This means that plants have some time to bloom and the result equals runny noses and itchy eyes for some of us.

Interestingly, we spend a high percentage (up to 80%) of our time in doors. You don't want to experience discomfort 24/7, so a great solution is to use a whole home air cleaner that can capture these large pollen particles (3 to 10 microns in size).

Aprilaire's 2210 air cleaner has a MERV 10 media filter in it. This unit attaches to your central air handler (furnace, air conditioner duct work or heat pump) and can make your Spring time much more comfortable.