[hammock]

I was so skeptical. Living in SF in 2018(?) during the wildfires, my apartment was drafty and I’d come home from work to a hazy indoor environment. I’d wake up with a sore throat and that’s what got me to take action (can’t sleep with an n95 on)

I got the cheapest air purifier from Amazon and just put it on my bedside table. After one night my sore throat was gone.

As simple as these machines are, they do work.

[CoastalCoder]

I can see how an air purifier makes sense in that 2018 scenario.

I guessing that the benefits are less certain in more typical cases.

[imajoredinecon]

> that 2018 scenario

It’s a little hard to believe if you haven’t lived there recently, but basically the entire US west coast now has an annual fire season where you can expect at least several days of air quality in the “unhealthy” to “hazardous” range. AC (which does ~the same thing for air quality as a purifier) or a purifier is pretty much mandatory.

[samstave]

When the fires were raging, I was looking at all the areas air quality from purple air monitors and some areas near folsom California were at ~700

And healthy is something like <100

[GekkePrutser]

Healthy is far lower than 100. 100 especially indoors is really bad.

[AlotOfReading]

Higher air pollution, especially during childhood, is also strongly linked to the development of asthma and other respiratory issues later in life. Pretty much everyone should at least be aware of their home air quality.

[hammock]

The benefits, yes. Those would be dependent on the local environment and if it’s causing you specific suffering. But that experience sold me on the functionality at least.