"The #1 Pollution Problem in America is Indoor Pollution "U.S. Environmental Protection Agency".

Modern buildings are constructed so tightly that odors and pollutants are trapped inside. Nature’s own cleansing process, which uses both activated oxygen and negative ions are left outside. Dust, pollen, molds, mildew, bacteria and viruses can fill the air in our living spaces. These can cause odors, irritation and allergic response. Fumes from paints, cleansers, carpets, pressed board, fabrics and other chemicals are also breathed in daily by you and your family. According to the EPA, many pollutants in the typical home or office are at least 10 times higher than in outdoor air. The average American spends 90% of their time indoors. 

A Person Takes Over 20,000 Breaths Each Day. 

Have you ever walked into someone’s home and noticed an odor that you are not accustomed to? Odors are constantly created in the spaces where we live. Finding a simple solution to clean air is not always easy. 

Air Filters Are Only Part of the Solution. 

As air passes through a filter, small particles that are floating in the air are trapped. This is helpful in reducing particles such as dust, pollen and dander but is only part of the solution. Most gases and odors pass right through even the best HEPA filters. 

"We get 60% of our energy from the air we breathe." 

Waterfalls are a good example of nature creating negative ions. 

Negative Ions cause dust and other particles to fall out of the air. Most indoor particles that are airborne tend to be positively charged. Negative ions will give some of the particles a negative charge. The positive and negative particles then combine with each other, become heavy and fall to the ground. 

Nature is constantly creating negative ions to clear the air. Some examples are waterfalls, waves crashing on the beach and changes in the weather.

Activated Oxygen breaks down odors and other pollutants at their source. 

Nature has many ways to produce activated oxygen, a natural air cleaner. For example, we’ve all taken a walk after a thunderstorm and experienced the clean, fresh smell in the air. That’s ozone, or activated oxygen, at work. Normal oxygen O2 is converted to O3, which is commonly called ozone or activated oxygen. O3 will break down odors and other contaminates.

What do you know about HEPA Filters?

Here Are Some Interesting Facts About HEPA Filters: 

High-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters, formerly called high-efficiency particulate arrestors, are a further extension of extended-surface media filters. HEPA filters were originally developed during World War II to prevent discharge of radioactive particles from nuclear reactor facility exhausts. They have since become a vital technology in industrial, medical, and military clean rooms and have grown in popularity for use in portable residential air cleaners.

A HEPA filter has been traditionally defined as an extended-surface dry-type filter having a minimum particle removal efficiency of 99.97% for all particles of 0.3 micron diameter with higher efficiency for both larger and smaller particles. This rating is determined using a test challenge smoke that consists of particles of 0.3 micron average diameter. To qualify as a "true" HEPA, the filter must allow no more than 3 particles out of 10,000 to penetrate the filtration media. The filtering media of a HEPA filter is made of submicronic glass fibers in a thickness and texture very similar to blotter paper. More recently, filters made in the same physical style using less efficient filter paper are being referred to as HEPA filters or "HEPA-type" filters. Their actual efficiency may be 55% or less at 0.3 microns.

While still very good filters when compared to conventional panel type and even extended-media pocket filters, these versions of the original HEPA filter have higher airflow, lower efficiency, and lower cost than their original version. The true HEPA has very high pressure drop performance and both versions require prefiltration for maximum life cycle. Also, HEPA filters are generally not applied to residential HVAC systems due to their size and horsepower requirements.

A disadvantage of HEPA filters is that the need for a powerful fan leads to increased energy costs compared to less efficient filtration systems, and replacement filters are generally quite expensive (retail prices range from $50 to $100, depending on size). The major advantages of the original HEPA filters, however, include high efficiency, which actually increases with use, and a long maintenance-free life cycle of up to five years when used with a prefilter. Additionally, the 1990 review of indoor air pollutants and environmental controls published by the American Thoracic Society (1990) concludes that: "High-efficiency particulate filters (HEPA) are highly efficient in removing particles of a wide range of size. A room-size unit will control particles in that room, and a central unit will remove particles from the air of the building when the ventilation system is operating."

What do you know about Mold?

What is mold?  There are thousands of types of molds and yeast, the two groups of plants in the fungus family. Yeasts are single cells that divide to form clusters. Molds consist of many cells that grow as branching threads called hyphae. Although both groups can probably cause allergic reactions, only a small number of molds are widely recognized offenders.

The seeds or reproductive particles of fungi are called spores. They differ in size, shape, and color among species. Each spore that germinates can give rise to new mold growth, which in turn can produce millions of spores.

What is mold allergy?  When inhaled, microscopic fungal spores or, sometimes, fragments of fungi may cause allergic rhinitis. Because they are so small, mold spores may evade the protective mechanisms of the nose and upper respiratory tract to reach the lungs.

In a small number of people, symptoms of mold allergy may be brought on or worsened by eating certain foods, such as cheeses, processed with fungi. Occasionally, mushrooms, dried fruits, and foods containing yeast, soy sauce, or vinegar will produce allergic symptoms. There is no known relationship, however, between a respiratory allergy to the mold Penicillin and an allergy to the drug penicillin, made from the mold.

Where do molds grow?  Molds can be found wherever there is moisture, oxygen, and a source of the few other chemicals they need. In the fall they grow on rotting logs and fallen leaves, especially in moist, shady areas. In gardens, they can be found in compost piles and on certain grasses and weeds. Some molds attach to grains such as wheat, oats, barley, and corn, making farms, grain bins, and silos likely places to find mold.

Hot spots of mold growth in the home include damp basements and closets, bathrooms (especially shower stalls), places where fresh food is stored, refrigerator drip trays, house plants, air conditioners, humidifiers, garbage pails, mattresses, upholstered furniture, and old foam rubber pillows.

Bakeries, breweries, barns, dairies, and greenhouses are favorite places for molds to grow. Loggers, mill workers, carpenters, furniture repairers, and upholsterers often work in moldy environments.

Which molds are allergenic?  Like pollens, mold spores are important airborne allergens only if they are abundant, easily carried by air currents, and allergenic in their chemical makeup. Found almost everywhere, mold spores in some areas are so numerous they often outnumber the pollens in the air. Fortunately, however, only a few dozen different types are significant allergens.

In general, Alternaria and Cladosporium (Hormodendrum) are the molds most commonly found both indoors and outdoors throughout the United States. Aspergillus, Penicillium, Helminthosporium, Epicoccum, Fusarium, Mucor, Rhizopus, and Aureobasidium (Pullularia) are also common.

Are mold counts helpful?  Similar to pollen counts, mold counts may suggest the types and relative quantities of fungi present at a certain time and place. For several reasons, however, these counts probably cannot be used as a constant guide for daily activities. One reason is that the number and types of spores actually present in the mold count may have changed considerably in 24 hours because weather and spore dispersal are directly related. Many of the common allergenic molds are of the dry spore type -- they release their spores during dry, windy weather. Other fungi need high humidity, fog, or dew to release their spores. Although rain washes many larger spores out of the air, it also causes some smaller spores to be shot into the air.

In addition to the effect of day-to-day weather changes on mold counts, spore populations may also differ between day and night. Day favors dispersal by dry spore types and night favors wet spore types.

Are there other mold-related disorders?  Fungi or microorganisms related to them may cause other health problems similar to allergic diseases. Some kinds of Aspergillus may cause several different illnesses, including both infections and allergy. These fungi may lodge in the airways or a distant part of the lung and grow until they form a compact sphere known as a "fungus ball." In people with lung damage or serious underlying illnesses, Aspergillus may grasp the opportunity to invade the lungs or the whole body.

In some individuals, exposure to these fungi also can lead to asthma or to a lung disease resembling severe inflammatory asthma called allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis. This latter condition, which occurs only in a minority of people with asthma, is characterized by wheezing, low-grade fever, and coughing up of brown-flecked masses or mucus plugs. Skin testing, blood tests, X-rays, and examination of the sputum for fungi can help establish the diagnosis. Corticosteroid drugs are usually effective in treating this reaction; immunotherapy (allergy shots) are not helpful.