Workshops have all kinds of dust and debris, which can, over time, become hazardous and prove detrimental to you in the long run. According to the prestigious American Lung Association, poor air quality carries many risks, from premature death and asthma attacks to cardiovascular diseases and developmental damage. We often focus on the outdoors, but indoor air quality matters equally and requires as much attention. If you have a workshop where you toil away for long hours, it is important to protect your lungs by using high-quality air purifiers that filter pollutants and keep your indoors health-friendly.
This write-up will explore the different aspects of air pollution inside the workshop space, the workings of an air purifier, replacement filters, and much more. Read till the end to learn everything and save your lungs in the long run.
The air quality inside wood workshops can suffer due to various airborne particles. Before we go any further, it is important to discuss these gaseous pollutants and understand their impact on your health.
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), Particulate Matter (PM) & Carbon Monoxide (CO)
VOCs are man-made chemicals that are found in paints, furnishes, building materials, and more, with both short-term and long-term health effects. You might be surprised to know that their concentrations are much higher indoors than outdoors, reaching up to ten times. Therefore, you can expect them to damage indoor air quality significantly.
Particulate Matter consists of smoke, debris, liquid droplets, soot, and many more elements. It is divided based on different sizes ranging from PM2.5 to PM10; the smaller the riskier. The smaller particulates can easily enter the alveoli in your lungs and can make asthma and other breathing problems worse.
Carbon monoxide is an odorless and colorless gas that is very hard to detect, which is also why it is so dangerous for indoor air quality. While other workshops also contain these pollutants and allergens, the wooden workshop space is especially notorious for having bad air quality.
The problem becomes worse in winter when all ventilation is when the heat is exhausted through the roof. However, extremely cold winters usually result in workshop owners sealing all the gaps. It results in an accumulation of dust and other particles, which were being driven out through ventilation before.
How to Check Workshop Air Quality
Checking Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) is described by the World Health Organisation as testing the concentration of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, and airborne viruses.
Digital monitors use advanced air quality sensors that identify and alert you to possible issues in your air quality. They indicate the amount of particular particles present in the air, such as formaldehyde and VOCs. A high-quality air monitor has precision and calibrations to ensure reliable measurements. Make sure you do thorough research before buying one, and don't forget to check its range. Moreover, try to buy one that measures as many pollutants as possible and connects to other digital devices.
While you'll find several mold tests out there, the ones used to detect the amount of mold spores in the larger spaces are called the air pump and the petri dish test. To detect pollutants, you collect samples in a petri dish and send them to a lab for analysis.
How to Eliminate the Risks through Air Purifier
Everyone wants to maintain clean air in their workshops, and thankfully, you don't have to suffer from it if you use some quality air filtration systems. They help you breathe clean air efficiently at very low costs. Let's understand how a smart air purifier works.
Air purifiers have sieves inside them that trap particles of various sizes, and the amount of particulates captured depends upon the filter strength. Today, the most popular type is the true HEPA filter, which can filter up to 99.97% of particles larger than 0.3 microns. One micron is 1/25,400 of an inch and cannot be seen with the naked eye. In fact, the human eye can only see particles that are 10 microns in size. Using air purifiers with a hepa filter ensures that you remove all kinds of toxic particles, such as chemicals, pollens, dust, tobacco smoke, and much more.
Different Types of Filters for Air Purifiers
Filters for most air purifiers can be classified into pleated and non-pleated:
Pleated and Non-Pleated Filters
Pleated filters are used when you want a larger air purifier surface area. They are usually pretty efficient at capturing airborne particles and can improve indoor air quality significantly. These air purifiers use paper, polyester, or cloth that restrict airflow, making the HVAC system motor work harder. Consequently, they are not very energy efficient and are a bit more expensive than their non-pleated counterparts.
Non-pleated filters are made of woven fiberglass or electrostatic material and are better suited to higher air pressures. Although they are cheaper than their pleated counterparts, they do require more servicing and replacing if you want clean air. One thing going for them is higher energy efficiency, but they can only filter larger airborne pollutants.
PuriSystems Dust Collector
Purisystems air filtration systems consist of a pleated Merv-10 filter and an internal 1-micron filter. Multi-stage filtration works best, with the external filter capturing larger particles and the internal filter capturing fine particles as small as 1 micron. It helps you absorb suspended particles in the air to protect your health as you breathe.
The Puricare 500IG's built-in ionizer provides a third stage of purification with a maximum output of 15 million negative ions per second and 10 million positive ions per second. It is a compact and efficient air purifier with three-speed settings of 350/450/500 CFM (HI) to create a recirculating airflow for maximum efficiency.
It is a smart air purifier with settings from 1 hour to 6 hours and can be controlled remotely from up to 26 ft away. So you can easily set it up and have it up while continuing to purify the air when you leave the house. Since the air purifier weighs only 22.95 pounds, it is easy to hang from the ceiling. It is recommended to assemble it with a helper for a safer two-person installation.
Let's now discover the materials used for making these filters for a standard air purifier.
Paper Air Filters
The cheapest way to purify indoor air is by using paper filters in an air purifier. They are not as durable as some other filters on this list and can be called replacement filters, given their short lives. These air filters are strengthened by compacting them together and are mostly for small rooms.
Foam Air Filters
As the name suggests, these air filters are made from polyurethane, polyester, polyether, or a combination. They have different categories based on open pores per linear inch (PPI), with higher PPI meaning more air passes through the filter. However, the major drawback of these air filters is their lower efficiency, as they let many higher micron particles through them.
On the other hand, they are the best options as exhaust filters because of their ability to capture large particles. To avoid frequent filter replacement, you can use filter oil, which also boosts its air purification efficiency.
Aluminium Air Filter
Aluminum is one of the best air purifier materials on the market for large spaces. Usually, several aluminum layers are packed together inside a rigid frame and are used as a pre-filter to prevent the particles from reaching the main air filter. One of their major advantages is their durability, which allows them to be washed and cleaned several times without any damage.
Conclusion
Everyone deserves to breathe cleaner air, completely free of toxins. However, doing that inside a busy workshop can become quite a tall order, given all the dust and grime produced daily. One thing that can help you avoid this problem and keep your lungs healthy is a high-quality air purifier with minimal noise levels.
But from where can you get such an air purifier that can solve the problems of airborne particles effectively? Well, when it comes to air filtration systems, PuriSystsems stands out. We offer a wide range of filtration systems manufactured specifically to reduce workshop pollution. So, say goodbye to the dust and enjoy the clean air with our top-tier filtration systems.