Clean(er) Air
SARS-CoV-2 is airborne; it hangs in the air like smoke. With proper ventillation and air purifiers, you can reduce the level of virus in a given room in addition to other benefits.
Overview
- COVID is Airborne - Comprehensive resource for understanding airborne transmission (Website)
- How Can You Clean the Air? W.A.T.C.H. (Infographic)
Air Quality Monitoring:
- Studies and Considerations
- Level of CO2 can be considered as a proxy for COVID to give one an idea of how ventilated an area is (Study by NCCEH, Jan 2021)
- High CO2 concentrations in one's local atmosphere may prolong the longevity of SARS-CoV-2 circulating as an aerosol (Summary of study, phys.org. June 2022)
- "Portable CO2 meters could be used to help fight coronavirus transmission, experts say" ABC Health and Wellbeing. (Study summary. Sept 2021)
- CO2 Monitoring of Ventilation - When and How to Use It (People's CDC Resource)
- Brands and Links to Buy
- In-depth comparison post on 6 of the best monitors (BreatheSafeAir)
- Aranet4 ($250+ on their website)
- Very portable, long battery life, manual calibration with 30 days of memory when paired with your spart phone
- Also tracks humidity, temperature & atmospheric pressure
- Vitalight ($36.99 on Amazon)
- Very portable, low battery life, manual calibration is tougher to achieve compared to Aranet4, no connectivity to other devices
- Straightforward and affordable device for determining risk
- In-depth comparison post on 6 of the best monitors (BreatheSafeAir)
Air Purifiers
- "Air filters work - EPA, CDC, OSHA, ASHRAE, and more agree." - CleanAirCrew's roundup of various agencies' statements supporting the use of air purification as a tool to prevent COVID and other airborne viruses.
- #COVIDisAirborne.org's comprehensive list of studies supporting filtration (I'm not going to repeat already fantastic work, I recommend this as your one-stop-shop)
- Make your own air purifier
- Instructions for Corsi-Rosenthal Box (Clean Air Crew)
- How to Build a Corsi-Rosenthal Box (UC Davis College of Engineering)
- Musical video instructions (Geoff Berner)
- S.A.F.E. Box (Like CR Box, but only 1 filter needed) (Project N95
- Make your own CHC Box Fan Air Purifier (Like CR Box, but only 1 filter needed) (Common Humanity Collective)
- Brands/Links to buy
- A tool to help you choose the right air purifier (Clean Air Stars)
- "The 7 Best Air Purifiers of 2023" (Article from NY Times Wirecutter)
- Clean Air Kits ($174-255; also sells individual parts)
- Smart Air ($179-$1,079; also sells separate filters/other items)
- ProjectN95 ($129-$324.99; can apply for free air filters for certain orgs)
- A tool to help you choose the right air purifier (Clean Air Stars)
Ventilation
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