Question:

I guess you remember last I checked in we had that "toxic" mold problem..(we are still dealing with that!!!)thanks for all the advice on that.     As you also may remember my son is battling severe infant asthma. Our move has been to try and reduce his allergens and try to find out what is "driving" his attacks and how to reduce them ..(so that he may have a chance of out growing the severe part of his asthma). So our next step is to replace our furnace air filtering device. I had a air cleaning system specialist in today and he recommended  the following: a "April" air humidifier attached to the furnace,

The optimum humidity is 30 to 50% RH; in cold winter areas humidification may be desireable in the winter to achieve this. However humdifiers need to be kept clean so as to not create a mold hazard. a Hepa filter also attached to the furnace with a prefilter infront of the Hepa filter. With this prefilter being either a)plain, b) with charcoal, or c) with a special filtering module…(forget the name of it). Anyone else have any of these products in their home?Or heard of any of these? How effective do you find them? Or do you notice a difference? The man who came out told me I’d notice a huge difference with a furnace hepa rather than my stand alone unit that is a Bionair.

HEPA filters tend to put a big load on the furnace fan due to the high resistance of the HEPA filter; in practice most of the air is bypassed on each cycle, but eventually gets filtered. Electronic filters tend to be more practical for forced air heating. Note however that the filtering only happens when the furnace is actually on with fan running; some set the fan to run all the time. Many experts think it is more practical to determine the allergens that affect the patient, then take steps necessary to minimize them at the source; for example pet dander [get rid of pet], dust mites [cover mattress & pillows, wash in hot water], carpet [remove], chemicals [move outside house], carbon monoxide from leaking plenum, smoke from fireplace or smokers, etc. A room size air cleaner can be effective for use in the bedroom, where much time is spent.  Also it can be effective to clean out the heating ducts in your house and install filters at the hot air outlets. Links: http://www.lungusa.org/pub/cleaners/air_clean_chap4.html Residential Air Cleaning Devices http://www.lungusa.org/pub/cleaners/air_clean_toc.html Residential Air Cleaning Devices: Types, Effectiveness and Health Impact c98 http://www.lungusa.org/pub/cleaners/air_clean_chap4.html#g Recent Studies on the Health Impact of Air Cleaners Well you must know how we feel, I want to do ***anything*** to reduce my son’s asthma severity…so an outside  point of view would be helpful. Thanks. Just wanted  to know what you guys think before I go and spend "an arm and a leg". Thanks in advance for any comments, your help is **immensely* appreciated. Vicky

No easy answers here; I would be cautious about spending a bunch of money on a HEPA furnace filter. There are other asthma triggers like viruses and sometimes foods. Also check other sources of pollution: http://www.epa.gov/iaq/pubs/hpguide.html Indoor Air Pollution 4/98 Ellis

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hi All I guess you remember last I checked in we had that "toxic" mold problem..(we are still dealing with that!!!)thanks for all the advice on that.    As you also may remember my son is battling severe infant asthma. Our move has been to try and reduce his allergens and try to find out what is "driving" his attacks and how to reduce them ..(so that he may have a chance of out growing the severe part of his asthma). So our next step is to replace our furnace air filtering device. I had a air cleaning system specialist in today and he recommended  the following: a "April" air humidifier attached to the furnace, a Hepa filter also attached to the furnace with a prefilter infront of the Hepa filter. With this prefilter being either a)plain, b) with charcoal, or c) with a special filtering module…(forget the name of it). Anyone else have any of these products in their home?Or heard of any of these? How effective do you find them? Or do you notice a difference? The man who came out told me I’d notice a huge difference with a furnace hepa rather than my stand alone unit that is a Bionair. Well you must know how we feel, I want to do ***anything*** to reduce my son’s asthma severity…so an outside  point of view would be helpful. Thanks. Just wanted  to know what you guys think before I go and spend "an arm and a leg".

Vicky, did the furnace specialist make sure that your furnace is capable of handling the increased load caused by the filter?  We spent a LOT of money to have an industrial-class furnace installed so that I could have HEPA filtration.  It works great, but the average furnace isn’t capable of handling the load. Chris Owens

Response:

Hi All I guess you remember last I checked in we had that "toxic" mold problem..(we are still dealing with that!!!)thanks for all the advice on that.     As you also may remember my son is battling severe infant asthma. Our move has been to try and reduce his allergens and try to find out what is "driving" his attacks and how to reduce them ..(so that he may have a chance of out growing the severe part of his asthma). So our next step is to replace our furnace air filtering device. I had a air cleaning system specialist in today and he recommended  the following: a "April" air humidifier attached to the furnace, a Hepa filter also attached to the furnace with a prefilter infront of the Hepa filter. With this prefilter being either a)plain, b) with charcoal, or c) with a special filtering module…(forget the name of it). Anyone else have any of these products in their home?Or heard of any of these? How effective do you find them? Or do you notice a difference? The man who came out told me I’d notice a huge difference with a furnace hepa rather than my stand alone unit that is a Bionair. Well you must know how we feel, I want to do ***anything*** to reduce my son’s asthma severity…so an outside  point of view would be helpful. Thanks. Just wanted  to know what you guys think before I go and spend "an arm and a leg". Thanks in advance for any comments, your help is **immensely* appreciated. Vicky

Response: