Clean Air Tips
People are always asking me about the air filters we have in the gym. I have sent countless texts/emails to friends, clients, etc., so I decided it was time to put everything together into a blog post!
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September 11, 2022
People are always asking me about the air filters we have in the gym. I have sent countless texts/emails to friends, clients, etc., so I decided it was time to put everything together into a blog post! This post will continually get updated as I have more free time and best practices are updated by the experts.
We have six (6) Jaspr air filters on the training floor in the gym. I also have one in my bedroom at home! We often take for granted the water we drink and the air we breathe. If we want to create a “healthy by default” environment, there is no better place to start then the air your breathe (along with the water you drink, closely followed by how you light your home and in particular your bedroom).
Their website can be found here.
Jaspr air filters have an H13 HEPA filter. H13 is considered medical grade. That means it captures around 99.97% of what’s in the air. In other words, it only lets through around 3/10,000 particles in the air and captures the rest. It filters out dust, bacteria, viruses, mould, etc.
An H14 HEPA filter is generally not something you would buy for your home. That would get you another decimal point. E.G. an H14 filter would only let through about 3/100,000 particles. I’m not even sure you can get an H14 filter at a reasonable price. It’s starting to get into the level of cleanliness you would need for a pharmaceutical factory or semiconductor factory.
The levels down from H13 are EPA 10-12. They work at the following efficiency:
Another important factor for reducing virus transmissions in indoor spaces is humidity. Viral transmission is lowest when humidity is between 40-60%. When you go above 60% the negatives start to outweigh the benefits (e.g. higher likelihood of mold, for example).
Jaspr filters monitor humidity but don’t control it. The problem with most cheap humidifiers you might find on amazon or at Walmart/Canadian Tire is that they are hard to clean and prone to a build up of mold over time. The are designed to be cheap to manufacture and not to be easy to clean/to minimize mold accumulation in the filter itself.
Dyson now makes an H13 HEPA filter with a built in humidifier. It looks really cool, and if I didn’t already have a Jaspr at home this is probably what I would buy. Since I already have a good air filter at home I will probably get the Dyson humidifier (it’s about half the cost of the HEPA filter + humidifier device). Dyson even has models that also heat/cool so you can get a 3 in 1 device! (e.g. climate control, humidity control, and air filtration all in one device).
Other things that I want to share:
My friend Joey Fox is a professional engineer who will be chairing a committee recently put together for the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers. The committee is an “indoor air quality advisory group”. I have linked his Twitter at the bottom of this post. Joey is smart and I trust him. He is also very blunt/direct so his Twitter is not for the faint of heart! We were co counsellors at overnight camp 15 years ago and were friends in undergrad, although we have since lost touch. If anyone wants an intro to Joey I will reach out to him on your behalf – just let me know.
Other notes:
Links from this blog post:
