Home Air Purifier - Dangerous Levels of EMF ?

Hello,
Last year I purchased 3 Home Air Purifiers from a major brand name manufacturer. Recently, while testing various office equipment for EMF emissions I inadvertently discovered that the Air Purifiers were unusually high in EMF readings.

All 3 gave the same readings of over 200mG. My meter only goes to 200mG and it easily pegs to infinity when I even get close to any 3 of these units.
For comparison, here are the readings I get from other devices in my household.

1). Computers - 3mG
2). Microwave Oven - 76mG (Maximum at close range, nearest magnetron)
3). LCD Computer Monitor - 2.2mG

I have read that 12mG is about as much as you want to be exposed to for any length of time but I'm not sure about that.

These 3 Air Purifiers emit EMF readings as high as 63mG even at a distance of 2 feet from the appliance. From what I have read, this is extreme for a household appliance and would represent a significant hazard.

Since I'm not an EMF expert, I was wondering what your opinion is of these over 200mG readings on these Air Purifiers.
As a precaution, I have unplugged all 3 and discontinued their use.

Thanks

 

There are several types of Home Air Purifiers and what you are describing sounds like an Ionizing Purifier or an Ozone Generator type. Both involve the use of high voltage charged plates. There are other types of home air filters as well as the ones I mentioned so without knowing what you have, exactly, it is about impossible to say why you are seeing high EMF readings. Environmental Protection Agency recommends that you limit your exposure to 0.5 mG to 2.5 mG. (milliGauss).

If you have any of the types I mentioned and you have concerns as to exposure to the fields I suggest you get a basic filter type or look into somehow shielding what you have.

Ron

 

There can also be problems generating too much ozone, as the ghost of the sharper image could tell us. As you say, HEPA seems to be the right alternative for those who are concerned.

 

Having two dogs, one a long hair golden dust and dander are a way of life around here. I simply change the furnace filter once a month and annually buy a new case of filters (have to love Amazon). I was never really big on any of those home air filters, especially the ozone generator units. High Efficiency Particulate Arresting does have a nice ring to it.

Ron

 

Ever wonder how effective your filters are [ insert shameless plug here] ?

 

I got a lesson in that from my HVAC guy. He showed my the preferred design. I confess I have been thinking about having all the duct work vacuumed and cleaned.

I also figure things this way. I turn 69 in a few weeks and my wife just turned 71. Neither of us has had any respiratory problems. While I have never done an air quality survey I figure the air quality must be good enough or we would have known about it by now. My wife has been in this house since she was 13 with the exception of 4 years away at college. I did add a few carbon monoxide detectors to compliment the smoke detectors.

That was a good link, thanks for sharing it.

Ron

 

I can't help but wonder what frequencies the "EMF meter" is designed to detect, especially when comparing such different things as the purifiers, a microwave oven and a computer screen.

If it is designed to measure only magnetic fields via an iron core sensor, then it probably doesn't go much further than audio frequencies. Ferrite would go between hundreds of kHz to tens of MHz, but after that it would simply be attenuated.

Also, the biological effects are highly dependent on the frequency. It is undeniable that being exposed to 1kW of a typical microwave RF is much more damaging than the induced electromagnetic field generated by something drawing 1kW at 60Hz.

Up until a few months ago I had a Spectrum Analyzer (up to 3GHz) that could measure -14dBm @ 2.447GHz at a distance of 40cm in front of a microwave oven's front door (rated as 0.6kW RF power) and -76dBm @ 2.438GHz at a distance of 1m in front of a typical Wi-Fi router and -5dBm at 10cm.

 

Maybe the true source is not an air purifier. Maybe the source of EMF is actually supernatural like a ghost? EMF measuring devices are after all, a preferred tool used by ghost hunters.

Ron

 

Thanks for this.
I was reading about the noise levels etc.
The Air Purifier has a large motor assembly and that is indeed the source of the RF I'm measuring.

All I have is a simple Tesla / Gauss tool that seems good at showing the difference between various electronic components.
It's made by FLIR. Extech 480823

Most reading I've done doesn't get as deep into the differentiation between the power differences such as between a microwave vs a 60Hz source of EMF. Your post makes me wonder if the 200+ mG reading I'm getting is safe? Nothing I've read anywhere makes that distinction.

I just see that anything above about 12 mG is not good.

 

In this case, it's an air purifier.
Unless I'm mistaken, EMF meters are instruments with valid and useful purposes in many industrial applications.

I think what you're referring to is similar to VooDoo, witchcraft and other nonsense like that used by charlatans and the uninformed.

If you're just being goofy, then I would laugh, except that I'm still concerned as to whether or not my family has been exposed to an unhealthy amount of EMF.

 

Have you got an analog CRT TV? A nice big color set. What does it read?

 

Go back and look at my first post in the thread, before I got goofy. I mentioned:

There are likely a half dozen types of air purifiers out there on the market. There are likely a half dozen methods employed to purify air used in home air purifiers.

What I was getting at was what type air purifier do you have. Not the brand name but the type. Somewhere in any supporting documentation it should tell you how it works, how does it remove impurities from the air? I intentionally asked the type for good reason. Some, as I mentioned ionize air and clean air using high voltage plates which would clearly explain a high EMF force around the device.

Yes, my second post was a spoof.

Ron

 

Unfortunately not. Only Flat Screen TV's and flat screen computer monitors

 

Ron,
This one has a large motor in the center and two drum fans attached to a shaft coming from both ends of the motor.

I don't see any plates inside. I took a photo while it was open. I'll post it.

 

" I'm still concerned as to whether or not my family has been exposed to an unhealthy amount of EMF."

No, not unless your family uses cell phones. We know the phones do affect tissue. Whether is is a health concern has not been determined.

What does a cell phone read on your detector?

 

My cell phone reads approximately 0.4 mG to 1.9mG during a call. It fluctuates.

Are you saying the greater than 200mG from the Air Purifier is of no concern?

(It could be 500mG for all I know, the meter stops at 199.9mG and the meter maxes out sometimes as far as 1 foot away)

 

First of all.....you are too concerned. And second....what type of detector are you using?

Do you have ANY reason to suspect that your family is in danger?

The measurements from your detector are relative. It will depend on what the detector is measuring.....AND how fast it can measure it.

I bought an EMF detector on ebay for $2.99. For my cat. And it works.

 

The old CRT tvs......people sat in front of those things for decades....and even received small doses(hopefully) of X-rays. As far as we know......it caused no health effects.

There is a danger from the air purifier.......if the kids try to stick a fork in it.

 

From what I see it's just a motor likely moving air through a filter. Much like my furnace filters. It's not surprising it has an EMF as that's why a motor works.

As to measuring EMF strength there is quite a pile of variables including the sensor and sensor distance from the source. I doubt you have anything to be concerned about but if you do have concerns you can contact the company who made the air purifier and the company who made the gauge you are using to measure Gauss. Based on variables at a distance of three feet a microwave oven emits about 25 mG which really depends on the microwave power level and how well it is sealed. However, the distance is critical in the measurement plane.

Ron