How Dirty Is Your Air?

Air particulates are invisible, but a new generation of indoor air monitors makes it easy to know the air quality instantaneously and take immediate corrective action. In my family’s case, we learned that turning on the exhaust fan helps - it lowers the PM2.5 from 250 to 100 micrograms per cubic meter, but getting the number below 50 required opening windows in the front and back of the house to get cross ventilation. Of course, opening the window only works if the outdoor air is cleaner than the indoor air - something that’s usually the case, but not always.

"How Dirty Is Your Air?" is from technologyreview.com, published on June 1, 2016.

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