Shopping Guide – Clean air, dishes, dust, laundry, water

• Austin Air Healthmate+ https://austinair.com/shop/healthmate-plus/,  $815.  14.5″L x 14.5″W x 23″H, 250 CFM, HEPA removes 99.97% of all particles larger than 0.3 microns and 99% of all particles larger than 0.1 microns, Has 15 pounds of activated granulated carbon/zeolite blend (ratio is 90:10 carbon to zeolite) = 13.5 pounds carbon, 1.5 pounds zeolite. It’s also impregnated with potassium iodide (exact amount?)  The large particle pre-filter removes particles easily seen by the naked eye (e.g., dust, hair and pet dander).  The medium particle pre-filter removes small to medium size particles (e.g., molds, spores and pollen).  Contains 60 sq. ft. of Medical Grade HEPA – removes up to 99% of all airborne contaminants as small as 0.1 microns.  The “Bedroom” filter has an additional 5^th stage filter: Military Carbon Cloth (HEGA carbon cloth).
• AllerAir Air Medic Pro 5 or 6 series https://www.allerair.com/.  $700.  23.5″ (height) x 15″ (diameter), 45-62 dB, 560 CFM, Activated carbon filter, 2.5″ depth, Medical-grade HEPA, pre-filter, HEPA removes 99.97% of all airborne particles 0.3 microns in size
• Pure Air Systems HPS 500 https://www.pureairsystems.com/air-filter-systems/hps-500/, $ ?,  13” x 13” x 21” Long, 500 CFM.  HEPA removes 99.99% at 0.3 microns.  Can be used as a true portable unit or attached to any HVAC system in the partial by-pass configuration.

You can purchase HEPA air cabin filters for your CAR as well.  Bosch sells these for most models: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01JYSWOSY/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Vacuums & steam mops

A legit vacuum will be designed so that the canister or barrel, is sealed with a gasket  (sealed system).  The gasket ensures that nothing is escaping the canister (releasing the dust back into your air), and any air being sucked into the canister is being forced to go through the filters.

Both CFM and Water Lift are required for an efficient vacuum. The key is finding the perfect balance between the two. Efficient Water Lift is also an important factor in Dust Extraction Equipment or Vacuums with HEPA filters because that will determine its ability to effectively function at higher resistance, due to the HEPA filter. (More resistance is result of more layers in the HEPA filter) Additionally, efficient Water Lift will ensure that your piece of equipment will continue to perform at high levels, even as the filter begins to fill up with fine particles.  Read more here.

• Home vacuum
  
  • Miele vacuum that has a certified AirClean Sealed System.  All C2s and C3s have a sealed system.  Only the compact C1s have the sealed system (classic C1s do not).  If you have carpet, choose a vacuum that comes with a “powered head” instead of a “turbo head”.  The turbo head is powered by air only instead of electricity, and thus will only work well on low-pile carpets and hard floors.
    • Miele Compact C2 Electro+ (or ElectroPlus) HEPA, $700 – watch for a sale as low as $480
      weight 12.9 pounds, CFM ?, capacity .925 gallon, dB ?, hose length ?, cord length ?
    • Miele S8590 Marin C3 HEPA $1,100
      weight 13-16 pounds?, CFM 158, capacity 1.19 gallon, dB ?, hose length ?, cord length 22′
      The benefit of the C3 canister is that the small attachments are hidden in a compartment on the canister. On the lower priced C2 the attachments are stored on the outside of the canister.
      Authorized dealers have 2 better Miele C3 models than the Marin that are not sold online, and may have different warranty: ex: “Homecare” C3 is the same price as the Marin but comes with several hundred dollars worth of additional tools/attachments, including a 2 foot flexible crevice tool that will change your life. You can buy this tool separately to use on the Marin, but it’s included on the Homecare. With a dealer, purchase only the features you want, which will get you a lower price.  Ex: motorized Miele brush head – the top of the line with LED lights and electronic height controls invites more repairs than the level down with manual pedal controls and no lights. The top of the line brushed has a slightly lower profile but not so much that it matters.  The other standard feature on the Marin that you probably don’t need/want and is optional on the Homecare are the electronic off/on, and suction level controls on the handle, but the standard Miele way is with buttons on the canister itself and with a switch on the handle which activates the motor on the brush head. You use your foot or even the wand to hit them.  The controls on the handle are relatively new and like the electronic brush head they can break and take longer to fix.
      There are less expensive Miele C3’s such as the Calima is that Miele, for whatever reason, has not made its C3 vacuums streamlined. This means that although all C3’s are the same, you cannot – say- buy the lower priced Calima C3 which does not come with a motorized brush head and then buy the motorized brush head separately. It will not attach to the wand and hose that comes with the Calima. You’ll need to buy a new wand and hose too. Which will cost you the difference in price between the Calima and more expensive C3’s such as the Marin.
  • Nilfisk GM 80 – this is an abatement level vacuum used to abate mold, lead, and asbestos and is a highly recommended vacuum $1,370, weight 13 pounds, CFM 87, capacity 3.25 gallon, 61 dB, hose length 6.5′, cord length 30′.  This vacuum is officially abatement rated to abate mold, lead, and asbestos.  Miele will not submit to this test.  GM-80 wins from independent air testers as well.  You don’t have to have that abatement rating.  6′ is a little short for a hose, but is of course workable.
  • Nilfisk GD 930 – another highly recommended abatement level vacuum; if you have carpet, add the Nilfisk Power Nozzle M70032, $590, weight 16.5 pounds, dB 53, hose length 6′. cord length 32′
  • Shark Apex Powered Lift Away – if unable to invest in one of the more expensive systems, this offers a more economical option with a sealed system
•  Shop vac (wet/dry)
  A Dust Extractor System can have amazing Water Lift but without a high enough CFM there won’t be strong enough air flow pulling the debris up the hose and through the filter. Having said that, if you’re picking up heavier debris like sand or other soils or stone, you’ll want to make sure you have a high enough Water Lift so it can handle heavier particles.
  • Nilfisk Aero 21 (model# 107418440)
  • Aero 26 (model# 107419097) – make sure you get the models that include HEPA filters
  • Get a drill shroud or bubble to capture dust when drilling holes into walls that might have layers of lead paint from Dustless Tools
• Steam “mop”
  When using a high powered steamer on any materials that are made with hazardous air pollutants (HAPs), one should protect themselves from the release of HAPs by wearing a mask with filters appropriate to filter the HAPs being released.  Start with a half mask respirator from 3M, model 7501.  I use a size small.  Then choose the correct filter to put on this mask respirator:
  • •  for mold: filter 60923.  does filter out acid gases. 
    • + formaldehyde: filter 60925
    • + methaline chloride, methanol or certain things in paint stripper: filter 60926 is the best filter consumers can really get to filter out things from burning buildings and cars.
    • any more you would be getting into the masks firefighters use
      
  • Dry steam cleaner.  Uses very high heat and dries quickly Advanced Vapor Technologies  https://www.advap.com/
    The reason it is called dry steam is because the high temperature is reached by way of an on-board boiler reducing the steam to only around 5% humidity. This results in surfaces needing only minutes to dry. For instance, regular steam cleaned carpet can take a couple of days to dry whereas a dry steam cleaned carpet takes only a few minutes to dry. The heat reaches deep into the pores of the surface being treated, destroying mold, mildew, bacteria, and viruses when using TANCS (Thermal Accelerated Nano Crystal Sanitation), while at the same time removing dirt/grime, smoke, previously used cleaning chemicals, and outgassing odors from that surface.  Originally TANCS was designed to pretreat the water so that it would not build up scale if using hard water. But during the process of obtaining a patent for the device it was found that it had a high microbial kill rate.Using industrial strength bleach on a biofilm can take 20 minutes or more to work, while a TANCS-equipped steam vapor system takes only 3 seconds.* * (http://www.ajicjournal.org/article/S0196-6553(11)01317-4/abstract).

    The Ladybug dry steam vapor system with TANCS has an EPA establishment number, which means it is accepted by the EPA as a disinfecting device. It can be used as a disinfectant at schools, hospitals, and commercial establishments such as restaurants instead of harsh EPA-registered chemicals that are normally required.

    •  Ladybug TEKNO 2350 – has LED readout; available with a trolley.  Water tank capacity 3 quarts $2,400
    • Ladybug 2300 – less expensive; offers the same cleaning power. The 2300 is lighter than the TEKNO, does not have the LED readout, and the cold-water reservoir has half the capacity of the 2350.  No trolley available. $2,200
    • Ladybug 2200 – least expensive; has less power and psi $1,900
  • Sargent steam cleaner – you might find it cheaper on their website, compared with Amazon
• Another way to clean the air of your home is via plants.  Branch Basics recommends you have 10-20 house plants for the average size home.