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"Attention People With Breathing
Difficulties..."
Discover what may be slowly stealing the vitality
from you...
Hi!
I'm Paul, and I couldn't believe what I found out about many silent
problems that just might be lingering in your home.
Are you like most
Americans?
Do you spend like most people an average of 90%
of your time indoors?
Then you need to find out all you can to ensure the safety of you
and your family! Read on...
The Enviormental Protection Agency has stated that
your indoor air pollutant levels may be 2 to 5 times higher. Wow! If you think
that is high it can sometimes be 100 times more than outdoor levels.
The EPA has also identified indoor air quality to be one of the five
largest enviromental risks to public health.
That is one reason that I have worked so hard to
compile all this information for you. I knew that I could not be the only one
trying to find solutions to indoor air pollution.
So if you are determined to protect your as I am. I
know that you will find the information here about your homes air and your
family's health very helpful in answering all your questions. But if
you need futher information or extra help choosing the unit that will meet
your needs please feel free to fill out the form below and ask the questions
you have.
Let's start out by figuring out what you need to change so
you can breathe freely in your own home.
Scroll down to find the information about what you
are dealing with please read all about it then scroll down to choose the
link that fits the size of your house.
INDOOR AIR POLLUTION
Everyone faces many risks, including various
pollutants and toxins in their daily environments. Most people know that
outdoor air pollutants such as car exhaust, city smog, factory waste, etc. are
toxic. But you might not realize how dangerous the air inside buildings can be
to their health. The EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) states that
the air in even the largest and most industrialized cities is less toxic
than air found in typical homes. Did you know that indoor air pollutants
can be two to five times higher than outdoor air pollution and can sometimes
be 100 times higher!
It is estimated the most people spend 90%
or more of their time indoors. Because of this, the quality of the indoor air
you breathe every day becomes critical. Here's more, those who are indoors for
the longest periods are often those who are the most susceptible to the
effects of indoor air pollution-including the old, young children, and the
chronically sick.
Various micro-organisms such as bacteria, viruses,
molds, and fungi often become airborne and this is a common cause of illness
or allergy. With the threat of biological warfare, the eradication of airborne
pathogens becomes even more important.
Building materials and
furnishings:
New
or damp carpeting.
Cabinets or furniture made of
pressed-wood products.
Deteriorated asbestos-containing
insulation.
-
Combustion sources:
Oil,
gas, kerosene, coal, wood, tobacco products.
-
Combustion appliances (vented or
unvented):
Gas
ranges and ovens, gas water heaters, furnaces, gas clothes dryers, wood or
coal-burning stoves, fireplaces, and space heaters.
-
Products for cleaning and building
maintenance:
Air
fresheners, glues and adhesives, paints and coating materials.
-
Products for personal care or
hobbies:
Hair
spray, woodburning, soldering, welding.
-
Central heating and cooling systems:
Air
ducts and shafts contaminated with mold and fungi.
-
Outdoor sources:
Radon,
pesticides, outdoor air pollution (factories, etc.) and combustion engines
such as in lawn mowers or vehicles.
 Water
vapor can affect air pollution as well. It results in wet surfaces and/or high
humidity. This, in turn, promotes the growth of biological toxins such as
mold, bacteria, and dust mites.
The amount of pollution a particular source gives
off can vary widely, depending upon how old that source is and/or how well it
has been maintained. For example, new carpeting can emit high levels of
toxic gases while older carpeting has relatively few. A gas stove can give off
much more carbon monoxide if it has not been properly adjusted compared to one
that has been properly maintained.
Some sources of indoor air pollution release their
toxins fairly continuously…these include things like building materials,
central heating and cooling systems, air fresheners, etc. Other sources
release pollutants erratically-these sources are typically related to
activities in the building such as smoking, cooking, the use of
solvents in hobbies, redecorating, or cleaning activities; and the use of
pesticides and cleaning products. High levels of these toxins can
remain in the air long after the source activity has ceased.
Read enough? Check out our Indoor Polution Solutitons for you... If Not Read on...
BIOLOGICAL
CONTAMINANTS
Bacteria, viruses, mold, mildew, animal dander,
cat saliva, dust mites, cockroaches and pollen are listed among the types of
biological contaminants often present in homes or offices.
Sources of these
pollutants are quite diverse:
Viruses are transmitted by people and animals
-
Pollens come from plants
-
Pets have saliva and dander
-
Bacteria are spread by people, animals, and
soil/plant material
-
Protein from urine in mice and rats is a potent
allergen and can become airborne when dry
When biological contaminants enter the
central/forced air heating and cooling systems, these systems become their breeding
grounds. Mold, mildew, and other pollutants are then blown throughout
the home or office.
If standing water, water-damaged materials, or wet
surfaces are present, they also become breeding grounds for mold, mildew,
bacteria, and insects. House dust mites are a strong biological allergen
for many people and these breed in damp, warm environments.
How Biological Contaminants
Affect Health
 Infectious
illnesses are often transmitted through the air-diseases such as colds,
flu, measles, and chicken pox. Molds and mildews release toxins
that can causes disease. Biological contaminants can cause health problems
with symptoms such as sneezing, watery eyes, lethargy, fever, digestive
problems, coughing, shortness of breath, and dizziness. Those
particularly at risk for such problems are the old, children, and people with
breathing problems, allergies, and lung diseases.
Biological agents can trigger allergic
reactions such as allergic rhinitis, asthma, and hypersensitivity pneumonitis.
Sometimes only after repeated exposure to a biological allergen will an
allergic reaction occur. This reaction may happen on the second exposure or
after many exposures over time. Because of this, even those who have
noticed no reactions at all or only mild reactions might suddenly
become very sensitive to particular allergens.
Humidifier fever is an illness associated with
exposure to toxins from biological contaminants that breed in big buildings
ventilation systems, as well as home heating and cooling systems and
humidifiers.
Check out our Solutions to Biological Contamants
IMPROVING
THE QUALITY OF INDOOR AIR
Sick
Building Syndrome PDF
 According
to the EPA, there are three basic ways in which the quality of the air we
breathe while indoors can be improved: controlling or removing the source,
improving the ventilation, & cleaning and purifying the air.
1.
Source Control
An effective way
to improve indoor air quality is to eliminate individual sources of pollution
or to reduce their emissions. Some sources, like those that contain asbestos,
can be sealed or enclosed. Other sources, like gas stoves, can be properly
maintained and adjusted to decrease the amount of emissions. Source control is
often a more cost-effective approach than improving ventilation because
increased ventilation increases energy costs. It is tough to control
the source of indoor air pollution, however, when the issue is biological
contaminants. That's where UV comes in.
2.
Ventilation Improvements
 Increasing
the amount of outdoor air that comes indoors can decrease the concentrations
of indoor air pollutants. Most home heating and cooling systems, including
forced air heating systems, do not mechanically bring fresh air into
the home. In the absence of such a system, a homeowner’s only recourse is to
open windows or doors, using window or attic fans, or running a window air
conditioning unit with the vent open-weather permitting for all options.
Localized fans such as kitchen and bathroom exhaust fans can help by removing
air pollution directly from the room where the fan is located.
Office buildings
can pose special challenges. In the past, most buildings had windows that
opened and airing out a stuffy room was commonplace. Differences between
indoor and outdoor air pressure also helped ventilation by the movement of air
through leaks in the building.
Today, most newer
office buildings have no operable windows, buildings are sealed tightly,
and mechanical systems are the only way to exchange indoor air for the
relatively cleaner outdoor air. Ventilation rates, or the rate at which
outdoor air is supplied to a particular building, is specified by the building
code. If these mechanical ventilation systems are poorly designed, operated,
or maintained, the systems themselves can add to indoor air pollution
levels.
Sometimes in
an effort to save energy costs, ventilation systems do not bring in proper
amounts of fresh outdoor air. Air supply and return vents in particular rooms
can be blocked or poorly placed so that the fresher outdoor air does not reach
the people in the building.
Your ventilation
system can be a source of pollution by spreading biological contaminants that
have been breeding in your ductwork. Lastly, outdoor air intake vents may be
placed in areas that bring in air that has been contaminated with vehicle
exhaust or air vented from restrooms. In the event of biological warfare,
these intake vents may be in areas accessible to the public and thus,
susceptible to pathogens being placed in the intake vents. High output UV
systems can destroy many of these bio-terrorism agents like Anthrax
or Small Pox.
How the building
is used can also contribute to indoor air pollution if it is not properly
ventilated. Buildings that house multiple uses or businesses such as
restaurants, print shops, dry cleaning stores, etc. have various emissions
that may be circulated back into offices in the same building if proper
precautions aren’t taken.
Check Out Our Sollutions To Sick Building Syndrome
Air Cleaners
Many types and sizes of air cleaners are available
on the market, from relatively inexpensive table-top models to expensive and
sophisticated whole house systems. Some air cleaning systems are quite
effective at particle removal, while others (particularly table-top &
tower models) are much less effective. Air cleaners are generally not
designed to eliminate gaseous particles or living organisms.
Many companies tout “ozone generators” as the best
thing for indoor air pollution. This is not the best way to purify indoor air…
Ozone Generators That Are Sold
as Air Cleaners (See
the "Ozone
Air Purifier Study" to view the
EPA report on these misleading air purifiers)
click
here
 Ozone
generators intentionally produce the gas ozone and these machines are sold as
air cleaners. According to the EPA, the vendors of ozone generators often make claims
that encourage people to believe that these machines are always safe and
effective in controlling indoor air pollution. For nearly 100 years health
professionals have disagreed with these statements.
Some manufacturers of ozone
generators even claim that the federal government has approved these machines
for use in occupied spaces. The EPA reports that NO federal agency has
approved ozone generators for use in occupied spaces and indeed, ozone
can actually cause health problems at high concentrations.
Nearly
every state health department recommends these ozone air purifiers and ionic
air purifiers not be used..
The
air we breathe is comprised of mainly oxygen and nitrogen. Two atoms of oxygen
comprise the basic oxygen molecule that is the oxygen we breathe (O2). A high
voltage discharge (such as a thunderstorm) can create ozone by breaking apart
the O2 oxygen atoms. These extremely reactive oxygen atoms recombine in groups
of three and the result is ozone (O3) or trivalent oxygen, (also called
"activated oxygen"). This third oxygen atom can detach from the O3 molecule
and attach itself to other molecules, such as pollution, thus altering its
chemical composition.
This property is the basis of the
claims made by the manufacturers of ozone generators. The EPA uses the phrase
“good up high-bad nearby” to describe ozone. This phrase makes the distinction
between ozone in the upper atmosphere (“stratospheric ozone”) which helps
filter out damaging radiation from the sun, and ozone in the lower atmosphere
(in the air we breathe, 'ozone action day') which is harmful to the
respiratory system.
This harmful ozone can be produced
via an interaction of sunlight with various chemicals in the environment such
as emissions by vehicles and industrial plants. Available scientific evidence
shows that ozone has little ability to remove indoor air pollutants at
concentrations that do not exceed public health standards. Some manufacturers
or vendors of ozone generators claim that ozone will make almost every
chemical pollutant harmless by producing a chemical reaction that leaves only
carbon dioxide, oxygen and water.
This claim is misleading to the
public. Scientific research shows that for chemicals commonly found indoors,
the reaction with ozone may take months or years.
If ozone does not readily react with
a chemical, irritating by-products are often the result.
Ozone does not remove
particles from the air such as dust and pollen. These particles are
common causes of allergies. Some ozone machines include an “ion
generator” or “ionizer” in the unit. An ionizer or ionic air purifier
disperses negatively charged ions which attach to particles in the air. These
particles then attach to surfaces such as walls or furniture.
Scientific experiments have shown
that ionizers are less effective in removing pollen, fungal spores, tobacco
smoke, or dust particles than other methods of air cleaning such as high
efficiency particle filters or electrostatic precipitators.
Evidence shows that at concentrations
that do not exceed public health standards, ozone is not effective at removing
many odor-causing chemicals.
Evidence also shows that at
concentrations that do not exceed public health standards, ozone does
not effectively remove viruses, bacteria, mold, or other biological
contaminants.
Some studies suggest that low levels
of ozone may inhibit the growth of some biological pollutants and reduce their
airborne concentrations. Ozone concentrations, however, would have to be 5
- 10 times higher than public health standards recommend to
decontaminate the air sufficiently to stop the regeneration of the biological
contaminants once the ozone is removed.
Even high concentrations seem to
have no effect on biological pollutants implanted in porous materials
like ceiling tiles or duct lining.
Simply put, the ozone produced by
ozone generators may inhibit the growth of biological contaminants while the
ozone is present, but it is quite unlikely to completely decontaminate the air
unless concentrations are high enough to become a health concern to
people and pets. What’s worse is that the ozone generators available produce
varying and unreliable levels of ozone, even when used according to
manufacturer instructions.
Various factors can also influence
the level of ozone produced in a room, including the size of a room, the
setting of the machine, whether doors to the room are open or closed, and
whether the ventilation system is turned on or off. Even if these machines are
used in unoccupied spaces, when ozone is produced in high
concentrations, damage can be caused to plants, rubber, electrical wire
coatings, and fabrics and artwork containing susceptible dyes and pigments.
ULTRAVIOLET FILTERS
Introduction to Ultraviolet
Light
The sun generates ultraviolet
rays-these rays are nature’s air purifier. When sunlight passes through a
prism it is broken into its component colors, thus giving it the colors of a
rainbow. Each color, in turn, has its own wavelengths. Ultraviolet light has
four specific wavelengths that have particular applications:
UV-A is the source of suntanned skin-with its
relatively longer wavelength, can penetrate the atmosphere. Applications
include tanning beds and treatment of skin diseases.
UV-B is in the middle wavelength of
the ultraviolet spectrum and has been used to treat skin diseases, principally.
Shortwave UV Energy is primarily used as a
sterilizer and can be generated by specially designed UV lamps.
UV-C, or shortwave ultraviolet radiation, is
used to destroy bacteria and other biological contaminants in the air, in
liquids, food, or on surfaces.
Ultraviolet Light and Microorganisms
Ultraviolet rays with this UV-C wavelength will destroy
pathogens such as viruses, bacteria, mold, and mildew. This component of
sunlight is the main reason that microorganisms die in outdoor air. The UV-C
rays break through the outer membrane of microbes like yeast, mold, bacteria,
viruses, or algae. When the radiation reaches the DNA of the microbe, it
causes modifications. The DNA then transmits incorrect codes and this causes
the death of the microbe.
Ultraviolet germicidal lamps provide a way more
powerful and concentrated effect of ultraviolet energy than can be found
naturally. Such lamps sanitize air that is passed directly in their path to
destroy pathogens that come in contact with the UV rays. Musty, moldy type
odors can be eradicated, along with tuberculosis, cold and flu viruses,
smallpox, anthrax, and other airborne diseases. Your system is particularly
good for those suffering from allergies-common allergens are molds, mildews,
and fungi. These microbes would be destroyed, improving the health of the
allergy sufferer.
Ultraviolet germicidal irradiation has been
studied since the 1930’s and has been used to destroy the same microbes that
cause indoor air pollution. For many years, the medical industry has used UV
light to sanitize rooms and equipment. The Centers for Disease Control
recommend UV lamps for their germicidal effect.
The UV energy
output needed to destroy various microbes is only one third the power output
of our units. Keep in mind that our Clear Air™ System (now known as the 'Blue'
)provides upwards of 24,000 microwatts of UV energy-enough to
eradicate most any pathogen, including colds, flu, smallpox, anthrax, molds, e
coli, Legionnaires Disease, salmonella, staph, and many more. Our high output
'Blueray' produces 40,000 microwatts almost doubles the
effectiveness! And is used in especially moldly applications.
The CaluTech air purifiers are a better UV air
purifier.
The UV lamps are so... efficient
that once all air in the building has passed this system an average 98% of
microorganisms are destroyed. And the cycle continues…namely, when all the
air in the building is cleaned a second time, 98% of the remaining
microorganisms are destroyed (this is 98% of the 2% that were remaining
from the first time). And so it continues…
Who Can Use the CaluTech
Blue™ System?
 Right
now, any home or building with forced air heating and/or cooling can use our
system. Anyone with basic home improvement skills can install this system in
their house or condominium in under 30 minutes.
To do this, 2 holes are made in
the ductwork of your ventilation system using our easy to use stick-on
template and a hole saw. The unit is slid into the holes and screws hold it in
place. On the other hand you can have a heating and air conditioning
serviceman do the work would probably cost $60 - $80. For more information on
installation visit our
Easy Installation page.
Maintenance is minimal. The UV lamps should be
kept as dust-free as possible to ensure their maximum effectiveness. This is
easily accomplished by regular changings of the air filter which should
be done anyway. The UV lamps should ideally be replaced every 12 months for
maximum effectiveness. They can, however, be used for up to three years with
less efficiency, but this is not recommended.
Replacement UV lamps are
available, and can be purchased right here at the Best Home UV Air
Purifier Online website. Replacement UV lamps are also readily available at
lighting stores nationwide. One or two UV lamps are included with each UV
system.
Larger existing buildings can easily be
retrofitted with these units as well. Thus, any building with a forced air
system can enjoy pathogen-free and allergen-free air. If you're a homeowner
and your home is over 10,000 Sq. Ft., please contact us for a custom UV air
purifier, the cost is generally close to the standard units. If your home or
business is 200 to 10,000 Sq. Ft., the UV air purifiers sold on this website
produces enough UV light for you already.
Email a Friend Let them know We're here!
Air Quality
Read How Our UV-C Air
Purifiers Kill Avian Flu!
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