It must have been after 9-11 that I became so conscious of the air quality in the city. Drafts of sorrowful smoke drifted uptown into our West Village apartment. Friends who volunteered at the site developed respitory infections. Others with children simply packed up, left town and waited for the air to clear. It was perhaps the least of the tragedies that came from that day, but 9-11 drew our attention skyward in more than one way.
Now that I have children, I see the air again. When they are in the carriage, I swerve to avoid busses belching their exhaust and cars sitting with their engines idling. I cross the street when I see a conclave of smokers in my way.
But, when we moved to a third floor apartment on a busy, downtown avenue, and the fumes from cars and busses came right in, and our neighbor’s cigarette smoke crept under the door, I began to worry about the air-quality inside our home. When I relayed this to my sage and very, very, very low-key pediatrician, she strongly suggested that we get an air-purifier.
"It's the most important thing you can have in your home," she said. That's all I needed.
After doing extensive research I bought an IQ Air Purifier and it has been revolutionary. The air quality in our apartment changed drastically. I feel confident that my babies are as protected as they can be from the city fumes.
This air purifier is expensive, but this is not something you want to mess around with. The money we didn't spend on expensive highchairs went to theHealthPro Plus. It controls a wide range of gaseous contaminants and odors.
Most air purifiers filter particles, but this baby also removes the widest range of airborne chemicals as well as significantly relieving allergies and asthma. ( The American Lung Association recommends the IQ purifier). The timer lets you use a high setting when you're not at home while the lower setting gives off a very soothing - white noise - hum. The three filters get changed only once a year!
Oh, it's ugly and its size may seem over the top, but it has given my family and me peace of mind and, I sincerely believe, better health. Granted, we live in a pollution-high zone, but the other day when we had some plasterwork done I wheeled the purifier in and just zapped those fumes.
Would I have bought this if I didn't have children? I hope so. But looking at my boys sucking in all that air - I definitely saw how vulnerable we all are. This invention has really improved our quality of life. LMD
If I read/hear about one more anti smoking diletante I think I will implode. My husband and I are in our late fifties and probably in better health than the smoke nazis even tho we are both heavy smokers. As far as our smoke "creeping under our door"...don't be ridiculous.
By the way, that stuff hanging over the New York City skyline isn't cigarette smoke.
If you want less polution, ban cars/trucks/buses/airplanes and oil heat.
But do keep crossing the street when you see us coming.
We have no use for silly people
Excuse me, are you the neighbors of the author of this piece? Have you been in their apartment? Are you an expert on every apartment building in this country? Some buildings have big gaps under the front doors of the individual apartments, in which case, trust me, odors from other units can certainly get in.
I agree that it's illogical to focus exclusively on smokers and ignore all other causes of pollution -- we could certainly cut down on transportation- and heating-related pollution. But the author didn't single out smokers -- it was you who made that inference.
Your self-righteous attitude about your smoking is as annoying as the attitudes of the anti-smoking "silly people" you rail against.
Great first post Marie!
What a way to introduce yourself to the AT community. Please feel free to implode now.
Back to the topic -
Your post peaked my interest. I had not thought of this before so I took a quick look at what Consumer Reports said (usual caveats apply with their generalities). Here's a summary
Indoor air quality could be more seriously polluted than outdoor air. But that’s not the same as saying that indoor air is unhealthy and should be cleaned. Dr. Robert A. Wood, director of the Pediatric Allergy Clinic at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore said “People who do not have any respiratory disease are very unlikely to be affected unless their indoor air quality is dramatically bad.”
Without convincing proof that air cleaners improve health, the medical profession remains skeptical. In a January 2000 study of asthma and indoor air exposure, the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies said that “air cleaners are probably helpful in some situations in reducing allergy or asthma symptoms.” However, the Institute qualified that statement by adding that the data suggest air cleaning “is not consistently and highly effective in reducing symptoms.”
In your case with smoke coming into your apt (I have had this also with a neighbour smoking in the fire stairwells - doors were steel with rubber strip on bottom but smoke smell still came in) I would say you greatly benefit.
Can you tell me other areas of research you did?
Thanks
I sincerely hope that first post was meant to be a joke because - seriously. I think smokers just become immune to it all, completely unaware that the smell, the smoke is completely invasive. It goes under doors, through ceilings, into venilation systems. Ugh. I will continue to cross the street when I see smokers coming -- there's nothing worse than a smoker blowing a foul smoke cloud and then some unsuspecting pedestrian having the misfortune to walk straight into it. If you want to smoke - fine. Have at it. Just don't pollute my environs.
eileen, it has to be a joke her last name is karp. (a slang term for complaining}. anyway, i can identify with house of l&g 2 months after 9/11 i bought an air purifier.i bought it to have some control over what was happening around me. now i realize it made a differnce with pet hair and dust that was in the air. it is a good basic appliance for all homes.
Jamie pup, I can't say that I've done any extensive research, but we recently bought an air purifier that seemed to significantly reduce our dust. I also (based on no scientific evidence) believe that being in an environment like NYC, where you can really only have your windows open for three months max, a lot of pollutants do build up in your home.
I once lived above smokers and it would smell like cig smoke when the HVAC kicked on. My girlfriend (now wife) absolutely loved this feature. It also seeped up through the ceiling.
It was cheap though. You NYers will love it. 900 sq. ft., 1 bedroom, dishwasher, central air, furnace heat, full-size kitchen, windows on 3 sides, parking lot. Crappy 50's type building though. $405/mo (St. Louis)
On this topic--
AT recently featured an apartment (Smart Space by Avro Ko) which features an ionizer and light bulbs (the O*ZoneLite) that are supposed to help with indoor odors.
I sopke to an O*ZoneLite sales rep and was not very convinced with what he had to say, but am considering trying out their product anyway. (I too have an air purifier; actually two. The one that works best emits ions. Yet both are huge and unwieldy and ugly and just too much to have in my 600 sq ft apt.)
I'd appreciate anyone's input on this--does anyone know about these light bulbs or how I might do some research on them? Does anyone know of alternatives to the bulky air purifiers? Does anyone know of an air purifier that works well in eliminating smoke odors that is not HUGE and ugly?
All input will be hugely appreciated and I'll be happy to reciprocate with other help if I'm able.
Jon B, glad to see there are some STL-ers lurking about.
Okay, having just said that the lips urinal is gross, allow me to commence my own gross-out. When I first moved to NYC (20 years ago), I used to blow my nose and there'd be soot visible in the tissue-- when I used a Q-Tip, I'd get soot, too. Within a few months of living here, though, everything was back to normal, secretion-wise. But, wtf? Am I now ingesting the dirt that my body once rejected? I've become the filter? Is it the same acclimatization process as when nasty things said to me on the street used to make me flinch but now roll off my back (or get tossed back in kind)? Freaks me out.
Ann, I'd forgotten until you mentioned it, but when I lived in Rome, my nose would blow 'black' and when I washed my face, the water was grey... every day for the six months I was there. This was in 1991, so they may have toughened up pollution controls since then. Back then, however, all the Italian gas stations sold gas marked 'piombo'... i.e., leaded fuel. Of course, it seemed as though every Italian smoked, too.
I don't recall any kind of air quality or smog reports of any kind; it was just accepted and normal. (I could be wrong, though; I was doing A LOT of wine tasting at the time!)
We have two air purifiers in our apartment, a Panasonic and a Honeywell (bought for $10. at a stoop sale). When we lived in Willamsburg, Brooklyn not far from a Matzah factory the filters only lasted for half of their purported life span. They would be a filthy black when we removed them and replacement filters are expensive!
Now that we live in Boerum Hill they just keep the dust down a bit. I don't think they help much with cigarette smells as our downstairs neighbor is a heavy smoker. I just passive aggressively stomp on the floor and yell stop smoking and open my windows (thank goodness for steam heat!)
I have a an EcoQuest purifier that doesn't use filters, is the size of a toaster oven, and eliminated the nasty cat pee and cigarette smell so thoughtfully secreted by my downstairs neighbor. You have to buy them through a dealer. My dealer (also my aunt's brother) will let you try it for free for a week or so.
Hi Martha,
Can you please post the dealer information for the EcoQuest? This is exactly what I am looking for as a new asthma sufferer (who is a vocalist, imagine that combination). I live directly across from the Trade Center site. My asthma started this year! Help!
More info on EcoQuest products at www DOT ecoquestintl DOT com/rnewell, as well as contact information for Bob Newell, the dealer.
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