It’s never a bad time to start looking into the air quality at home. Whether you’re moving into a new place or welcoming a new family member. Today I wanted to share a few gadgets that we researched and purchased for our own family.
Air Monitor.
Temperature & Humidity.
One of the items we got for our nursery a while back was a digital hygrometer. It just monitors two simple things: temperature and humidity. I wanted to ensure the nursery was not too hot (or cool) and that we have a good humidity level maintained. Too dry or too wet can lead to longer term health issues.
Radon Levels.
To be honest, I never thought about this until I moved out on my own – somehow I learned about Radon and the importance of long term monitoring. Radon is a naturally occurring gas and they recommend putting your monitor on the lowest level of the home that you spend the most time in. So that could be the basement or main floor. According to Health Canada, radon is the #1 cause of lung cancer in non-smokers. Exposure to high levels of radon in indoor air results in an increased risk of developing lung cancer.
Machines: AirThings Radon Gas Monitor, AirThings Wave Plus
For Radon, both AirThings monitor have been great – one is more simple, just monitors the long term and short term average of your radon exposure through time. If your numbers are higher than recommended, you can look into consulting a professional to see how you can lower your radon exposure in the home. The 2nd machine is great for the added features, it monitors additional items such as VOCs, CO2, humidity, temperature and pressure. Plus you get the added benefit of having a mobile app that gives you a high level overview, educational articles, and push notifications.
Resources: Canadian Lung Association, Government of Canada, City of Toronto.
Air Purifiers.
I think you’d be surprised how dusty the home can be – but an air purifier does more than just clean dusts. We invested in a couple of machines throughout the house such as the main living area and bedroom. I recently learned that there is a way to install a professional grade one in your own HVAC system – I’m not too familiar with it but it’s worth looking into to purify the whole home without needing to buy separate gadgets. In the meanwhile, these are the machines we have – they are easy to use and portable.
Air Purifiers: Blue Air – Blue Pure 411, Blue Air – Blue Pure 211+, Blue Air – Blue Pure 121, Levoit Air Purifier
The Blue Air is also available on Amazon (double check price), Home Depot and sometimes Costco. One thing to note is the 121 model is not as accessible and also hard to find replacement filters for. You can always purchase from Blue Air directly. We recently purchased the smaller 411 machine and they offered free shipping to Canada.
Resources: Wirecutter – Best Air Purifiers of 2022
Humidifier.
With any humidifier you choose for baby’s room – I read that you should focus on one with cool mist vs (hot). The two that I have from BabyMoov and Crane were both highly rated – I think I preferred the BabyMoov since you can turn off the lights whereas the Crane has a soft green light that glows (and turns red when it’s empty). Another item to note is that you can also unplug all wires from the BabyMoov – making it easier to unplug and clean.
Humidifier Machines:Crane Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier, BabyMoov Hygro Plus
I also added the Dyson humidifier as a worthy item to research. It’s quite a bit pricier but I think you don’t have to refill as frequently and has this UV cleanse technology that kills 99.9% of bacteria. How necessary is that? To be honest, I’m not sure. But if it gives you more peace of mind and you like the added features and technology, it’s worth weighting out before choosing a machine.
Multi-function machines.
All the items mentioned above are items I’ve research and spent my own money on. Recently I invested in the Dyson Pure Cool Link Tower because I needed a cooling fan and I realized that many of the Dyson products have multiple functions. The Dyson Pure Cool Link (I believe it’s a Costco exclusive) has cooling capabilities along with air purifying capabilities and thermometer/hygrometer if you connect it with the app. It had the Certified asthma and allergy friendly seal – so I thought that was great. From my brief calculation, it might be more cost effective to purchase each functionality separately – but it depends on what you’re looking for. I like the sleek design Dyson offers, most of their products are easy to clean, and it combines multiple products into 1 elegant machine. Which is great if you want to save space.
Dyson Machines: Dyson Pure Cool Link Tower, Dyson Purifier Humidify + Cool
I popped in the Purifier Humidify + Cool model as another research worthy item. It seems to offer many different functionalities from air purifying, cooling, humidify + access to their app. Although the price point is also significantly higher – you’ll have to see if having all the machines you need in 1 tower is a feature that is important to you.
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