dpc
Companies that also sell air conditioning units offer devices that filter the air in a room. They’re called air purifiers, unless the manufacturers have come up with a name that sounds English.
In any case, I could imagine that such devices are quite useful if you have a darkroom in your flat: annoying dust is removed... and the smell of chemicals disappears.
Are these devices as practical as I’d like to think? Which ones would you recommend, and which ones would you advise against?
dpc
cfb_de
Hello dpc,
Ideally, they should help with dust (electrostatic filter). In reality, however, their effectiveness is limited because far too much dust comes in through the door, settles on the shelves and is generated by the towels in the bathroom.
They do absolutely nothing to combat chemical odours, unless they are fitted with suitable and appropriately sized liquid absorbers. But then the units would be so big that they’d fill the master bedroom and could only filter the tiny Duka in the basement.
After buying it, you’ll have no trouble setting up your Duka in the bedroom. The wife’s away and you can sleep on the sofa too :-)
Is that a clear enough description of how this scam works?
Best regards,
Franz
Gast
Hello dpc,
Franz has often spoken ‘words of wisdom’, but unfortunately he has also said some ‘unwise’ things. That’s why his post on filters is only partly correct, or in some cases simply wrong.
There are certainly filter systems that work particularly well in a darkroom or laboratory, don’t take up the whole room, and don’t necessarily have to operate on a ‘wet’ basis.
Of course, there are no cheap alternatives from DIY stores, and standard room ventilators, hygiene fans and whatever else they’re called are naturally of no help either. To cut a long story short, I’ve been using a “Filtair LF 300” in my lab since 1997; this is a rotary filter manufactured by “Filtair P Filtration Limited” in England. I purchased this filter at the time through the company “Techlab Photoequipment GmbH”. This filter is suitable for rooms up to 60 cubic metres in size, has special filter cartridges, including carbon filters, and is particularly effective at combating chemical odours whilst also filtering dust, of course. Of course, a room full of dust (e.g. a living room with carpets and curtains, etc.) cannot be made completely clean by this alone; after all, that is not what the filter is designed for. However, even with a filter, a laboratory still needs to have the air in the room replaced from time to time, i.e. it needs fresh air!
These filters are also available for larger rooms. The size of the filter unit is very practical, i.e. compact. The unit can be placed on the floor or hung on the wall or from the ceiling. However, they are – or rather were – not exactly cheap. I cannot tell you whether Techlab still exists, or indeed whether this English filter company is still in business. But, as I said, there are also handy, practical laboratory filters. Eight years of use can’t be wrong :-)
Have a lovely day.
Regards, Lothar
Gast
Hello. Well, I’ve bought an air purifier too. Coarse filter, electrostatic filter, carbon filter: that’s the three-stage filtration process. As I use a windowless bathroom, and on the odd Duka session I’ve forgotten to air the room out in my enthusiasm <_<, the air in that little room has sometimes felt a bit ‘stuffy’. I don’t know whether the occasional feeling of unease can be directly attributed to the Duka work, but in any case, this led to the idea of trying an air purifier. And I have to say, it seems to be working (maybe a placebo effect? ;) ) In any case, I no longer feel like I’m sitting in stale air, and I haven’t felt unwell during or after a Duka session since. Greetings from the south.
Gast
Hello dpc,
My Philips air purifier with a HEPA filter and a three-stage filter is brilliant.
Of course, it only helps with airborne dust!
But the carbon filter actually removes odours from the air.
For example: my neighbours’ renovation firm was painting the wooden floorboards in the front room that very morning, just as the new residents were planning to hold a small housewarming party at the back that evening. After two hours of ‘air filtering’, there was almost no smell of the varnish left. In my flat, the same varnish / same firm / same floor still stank for two days.
You shouldn’t forget to ventilate the lab, though ;-) Anything that stinks is generally not very healthy! Besides, fresh air has a positive effect on your ability to concentrate.
Regards
Ole
