Air in computer room problem

[Dave]

I use a spare bedroom as a home office. It seems as though when I am on my computer I start sneezing. I was thinking about getting one of the small Whirlpool room air purifiers to see if that would help me. I was thinking about getting a Sharper Image one, but I heard they are junk and costs too much. I have a year around allergy problem. I wonder if the blowers on the PC disperses a lot of micro fine dust and that is cause of it. Do any of you out there have a problem with sneezing when you use your PC, and if so have you done anything about it? Thanks

[Goedjn]

Open the case and clean the inside.

[Joseph Meehan]

I would not be surprised if the computer is blowing around some dust, but dust from the computer is nothing more than the same dust that is around the computer and got there by being blown in.

I suggest you do a through cleaning of the room and take the computer outside open it up and go to work with a can of compressed air to clean it out. (I would not rush out on a cold day with a warm computer to do this) :-)

You could consider one of the room type HEPA filters. Don't bother with the Sharper Image thing. It has been proven in court as being insufficient to do much good. I love there new ozone filter. What they don't tell you is that add on ozone filter reduces the ozone coming out of the thing to a level only a little higher than what goes in. I can remember the old commercials for it that talked about the fresh rain smell, which was ozone, the same stuff that lightning can make and which they now admit is bad for you and have reduced the amount it adds to the room

[SQLit]

I have the older Ionic Breezes and they seem to work for me. I never have any "floaters" in the air.

I seriously doubt that the computers are making you sneeze. More probable is something in the room.

Read up on MERV ratings of filters. The read up on the static air pressure on your HVAC system. Find a MERV rated filter for the application. Higher is not always better. To much static air pressure and the HVAC system suffers.

WW Grainger has good information in their catalogs on replaceable air filters. Catch them on sale and mine are about $5 a piece. Stores want ~$12 to $25 a piece for the same ratings. I run mine for 30 days, not the 60 they claim. Besides they come 12 to a case at Grainger's.

[andynewhouse]

Do you by chance use a laser printer with your computer? I know some people that are very sensitive to whatever chemical is in the toner. I have dust allergies also, but I've never noticed that they're any different around a computer. I'd guess it's something else in the room

- could a previous owner have kept a pet in there? Either way, I'd get a HEPA room filter and see if that helps. Andy

[PJL]

You are allergic to Microsoft !!!!

[Bob Vaughan]

Consumer Reports tested air purifiers a couple years ago, and IIRC, the Sharper Image Ionic Breeze was at the top and bottom of the ratings..

I think it was the most expensive, and the least effective..

[Bill Gill]

This may not at all apply. I have noticed that sometimes I start sneezing when I go into the computer room. I think in my case it may be because of my change in body position from where I am in the rest of the house. It causes my sinuses to change their flow pattern and I start sneezing.

Bill Gill

[Greg Esres]

I seem to recall that Consumer Report's objection to them is that they put out a lot of ozone, as well as being marginally effective.

[Bill]

Get a Walmart HEPA air cleaner. These have the best prices and the best prices for replacement filters. The largest models are the most quiet.

Also some models of vacuum cleaners have pretty good filters on them some have two filters to keep the dust in the vacuum cleaner. But look at the cost of replacement filters before buying. Some will do basically the same thing and the replacement filter cost will be lower.

Also you can run the HEPA air cleaner while vacuuming. Or go to a medical supply and get a P95 surgical mask or a P100 face mask. These are also sold at construction safety equipment stores for filtering out asbestos and stuff like that. The rated masks (P95, P100) are best for filtering out stuff. The cheap masks sold at hardware stores with no rating are useless.

[CJT]

Maybe something in the equipment is outgassing -- is any of it new?

The problem with the typical PC is that it has one or more fans, but no filters, so it just stirs up dust. Some high end machines _do_ have filters over their fans, but then you have an additional maintenance item.

[barry]

IOW, useless for anything bigger than a shoe-box.

I'd suggest a good electrosatic and/or mechanical high-efficiency filter, mostlikely useful here for human dander, micro-fine dust from toner mix. And humidifier, with humidistat set to 30-35% relative.

HTH, J

[gfretwell]

Or perhaps the ozone from bad coronas

[Oscar_Lives]

Put a lime in 'em. Helps kill the skunkiness.