Comments on: Can Air Purifiers Prevent Swine Flu?

By: Dentists In West Hollywood

Dentists In West Hollywood — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 21:36:13 +0000

Is there a video on youtube about this?

By: Flu,H1N1,Swine,Swine Flu,Flu Pandemic,

Flu,H1N1,Swine,Swine Flu,Flu Pandemic, — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 03:33:45 +0000

Excellent post, finally a post thats worth reading

By: Duncan

Duncan — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 07:46:45 +0000

This could do you more harm than good as it would hurt your eyes if it got into them and there is the potential to breathe in the detergent aerosol which could damage your lungs. Also it probably wouldn’t do your carpets or clothing much good either if the bleach precipitated out onto them.

As for whether or not it would kill the virus, I don’t think the active ingredient in the detergent would remain in the atmosphere for long, doing the same bacteria-killing job it does when sprayed onto surfaces, so it probably wouldn’t be an effective solution.

By: Husam Rezek

Husam Rezek — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 06:21:24 +0000

Thanks a lot for the article. It is very helpful for work places such as offices for example.

I have a question. Can spraying air with detergents such as DETOL kill the virus?

Thanks,

By: How to Prevent Flu

How to Prevent Flu — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 18:37:28 +0000

Thanks for the info. Never knew about this.

By: Duncan

Duncan — Fri, 01 May 2009 09:24:39 +0000

Many thanks for your comment. The mistake has been corrected re 3 rather than 0.3. It is also true that HEPA filters can trap particles smaller than 0.3 micrometers, such as viruses, but it is also possible for viruses to pass through these types of filters. Some may get trapped by adhering to the HEPA media but can also break loose and return to the air. Some HEPAs have treated media impregnated with germicidal, which gives an added protection against viruses but if they make it through initially due to their small size, this does not help.

It’s safer to rely on a HEPA and UV light combination. The HEPA filter will capture particulate matter >0.3 micrometers and some matter that is smaller, such as viruses, and the UV light will kill any airborne viruses that make it through the HEPA media. Most UV air purifiers do incorporate HEPA filters, as without this function bacteria and viruses can be “shadowed” by larger particulate matter.

Thanks again for your correction.

By: McKay Hansen

McKay Hansen — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 14:45:53 +0000

Your article is incorrect. A medical grade HEPA filter removes 99.97% of particles at 0.3 micrometers (not 3 micromenters) and above. 0.3 micrometers is equal to 300 nanometers. The swine flu virus is between 80 and 120 nanometers. However, a HEPA filter is even more efficient at smaller particle sizes and so is quite effective with viruses.