3 ms·

Any idea how to remove the most common pollutants we run into everyday? I try to avoid high VOC materials and use charcoal filters for water. Kinda lazy to set

by sizzle 2y ago

Any idea how to remove the most common pollutants we run into everyday? I try to avoid high VOC materials and use charcoal filters for water. Kinda lazy to set up reverse osmosis system right now.

reaperman 2y ago
1) You're pretty much just screwed unless you're both very wealthy and make this topic your primary hobby/past-time. To really answer this you'd need to do an incredible amount of testing. Like buy 10 of everything you're considering and send off to labs for $100,000 of tests. Or install a million dollars of chemical air quality monitors in and around your home. 2) Large activated carbon air scrubbers. For air filtration you really need not just HEPA particulate filters, but robust VOC capture. The tiny bit of activated carbon in things like a Winix C535 or Coway Mega/AirMega really don't clean much. Instead, consider something like buying two 10"-12" carbon scrubbers from https://terra-bloom.com https://terra-bloom.com and get a matching size of their in-line "Silenced Ultra Quiet EC Fan". You can just stack these three items together and it forms a tall but not horribly ugly appliance that doesn't take up much floor space. You'd probably need to replace the filters once a year, and have quite a few around a normal-sized house, just like standalone HEPA filters (which you'd also probably still want as well). 3) Wash everything often - bedding, clothes, carpets, floors, walls, appliances, etc. Obviously, attempt to use a soap that won't add additional pollutants. Wash them twice, once with soap then again without soap. 4) Time. Assuming similar materials, something that is 5 years old should have already leeched out a lot of the chemicals which are going to off-gas/transfer/leech from it. So the polluting rate of something 5 years old that's been washed 50 times and already worn and broken in should be assumed to be lower than an identical, new, version of the same thing.
itchyouch 2y ago
Outside of switching things up like using glass containers, enabling the body to detoxify itself and repair itself by ensuring that it gets adequate nutrition (daily) and exercise is the key. But for a simple pill solution, consume sulfur. For as important as it is, it's not widely front of mind in the health space. So much focus on Vit D, Magnesium, Omega 3s, etc, which are all absolutely necessary. Some great sources of pill based sulfur are Taurine, NAC, and MSM (methylsulfonylmethionine). My preference to recommend blindly as a general pill is MSM. But sulfur is key for the liver's detoxification functions to work ideally. There's quotes flying around that say something like: 80% of the population (US or world) is deficient in X. Usually X is omega 3's, Magnesium, Vit D, and also to add to the list, Sulfur is a huge one. Outside of being in a culture like Koreans that consume cruciferous veggies 3x/day (via kimchi), most americans only get it from meat, garlic, onions and broccoli. If one has brittle nails or hair doesn't grow as quickly, that would be the sign that something like MSM in pill form would be helpful. Otherwise, folks are probably fine if they are consuming daily amounts of anything containing sulfur.

by sizzle 2y ago

Any idea how to remove the most common pollutants we run into everyday? I try to avoid high VOC materials and use charcoal filters for water. Kinda lazy to set up reverse osmosis system right now.

reaperman 2y ago

1) You're pretty much just screwed unless you're both very wealthy and make this topic your primary hobby/past-time. To really answer this you'd need to do an incredible amount of testing. Like buy 10 of everything you're considering and send off to labs for $100,000 of tests. Or install a million dollars of chemical air quality monitors in and around your home. 2) Large activated carbon air scrubbers. For air filtration you really need not just HEPA particulate filters, but robust VOC capture. The tiny bit of activated carbon in things like a Winix C535 or Coway Mega/AirMega really don't clean much. Instead, consider something like buying two 10"-12" carbon scrubbers from https://terra-bloom.com https://terra-bloom.com and get a matching size of their in-line "Silenced Ultra Quiet EC Fan". You can just stack these three items together and it forms a tall but not horribly ugly appliance that doesn't take up much floor space. You'd probably need to replace the filters once a year, and have quite a few around a normal-sized house, just like standalone HEPA filters (which you'd also probably still want as well). 3) Wash everything often - bedding, clothes, carpets, floors, walls, appliances, etc. Obviously, attempt to use a soap that won't add additional pollutants. Wash them twice, once with soap then again without soap. 4) Time. Assuming similar materials, something that is 5 years old should have already leeched out a lot of the chemicals which are going to off-gas/transfer/leech from it. So the polluting rate of something 5 years old that's been washed 50 times and already worn and broken in should be assumed to be lower than an identical, new, version of the same thing.

itchyouch 2y ago

Outside of switching things up like using glass containers, enabling the body to detoxify itself and repair itself by ensuring that it gets adequate nutrition (daily) and exercise is the key. But for a simple pill solution, consume sulfur. For as important as it is, it's not widely front of mind in the health space. So much focus on Vit D, Magnesium, Omega 3s, etc, which are all absolutely necessary. Some great sources of pill based sulfur are Taurine, NAC, and MSM (methylsulfonylmethionine). My preference to recommend blindly as a general pill is MSM. But sulfur is key for the liver's detoxification functions to work ideally. There's quotes flying around that say something like: 80% of the population (US or world) is deficient in X. Usually X is omega 3's, Magnesium, Vit D, and also to add to the list, Sulfur is a huge one. Outside of being in a culture like Koreans that consume cruciferous veggies 3x/day (via kimchi), most americans only get it from meat, garlic, onions and broccoli. If one has brittle nails or hair doesn't grow as quickly, that would be the sign that something like MSM in pill form would be helpful. Otherwise, folks are probably fine if they are consuming daily amounts of anything containing sulfur.