Tag: Dust

The Hanoi Commuter’s Survival Guide: Essential Gear for Clean Air

Navigating Hanoi’s bustling streets? Don’t forget the most important piece of gear for protecting your lungs – a high-quality pollution mask. Whether you’re commuting by motorbike, bicycle, or on foot, Hanoi’s air pollution poses a serious threat to your health.

Why Commuters Need Extra Protection

Commuters in Hanoi are particularly vulnerable to the harmful effects of air pollution. Spending hours each day exposed to traffic fumes and dust can take a toll on your respiratory system. Motorbike riders, in particular, inhale a concentrated dose of pollutants as they weave through traffic.

A pollution mask acts as a barrier between you and the harmful particles in the air, filtering out PM2.5, dust, exhaust fumes, and other pollutants. This is crucial for protecting your lungs and overall health, especially if you spend a significant amount of time commuting in Hanoi.

person on a motorbike wearing a mask

Choosing the Right Mask for Your Commute

Not all masks are suitable for commuting. Here’s what to look for in a mask that will keep you safe and comfortable on your daily journey:

  • High Filtration Efficiency: Look for masks that filter out at least 95% of PM2.5 particles. N95, FFP2, or KN95 masks are good options.
  • Breathability: Choose a mask that allows for easy breathing, especially if you’re physically active during your commute.
  • Comfort: A mask that fits well and doesn’t irritate your skin will make your commute more enjoyable.
  • Durability: Invest in a mask that can withstand daily wear and tear.

Additional Tips for Commuters

  • Check the Air Quality: Before heading out, check the air quality index (AQI) for Hanoi. If the AQI is high, consider taking alternative transportation or adjusting your route to avoid heavily polluted areas.
  • Wear Your Mask Properly: Make sure your mask fits snugly over your nose and mouth to prevent pollutants from leaking in.
  • Replace Your Filters Regularly: Most masks have replaceable filters. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for replacing filters to ensure optimal protection.
  • Clean Your Mask: If your mask is reusable, clean it regularly according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

person on a motorbike wearing a mask

If you’re looking for a mask specifically designed for motorbike riders, check out our article ‘Hanoi’s Motorbike Madness: The Best Masks for Two-Wheeled Commuters.’

Improve Your Breathing By Spending More than 12 hours a Day in a Filtered Area

Indoor air quality is such an essential part of our everyday lives, even though some might not know it. Believe it or not, you can be exposed to air pollutants inside of your homes. The worst thing about this is that you can be completely unaware.

What are some examples of indoor air pollution?

One of the most common indoor air pollutants is dust. Inhaling dust can trigger allergic reactions. No one wants the air that they breathe to be dirty. Another is old or new paint. Paint actually contains VOCs or volatile organic compounds, and if it is in high concentrations, it could lead to various health problems.

There are also household cleaners and disinfectants that may cause harmful effects. By scrubbing them on any surface, they will interact with the air that you breathe and form VOCs. Another air pollutant is mold. Mold grows in humid places and can cause fevers, sneezing, and headaches, among other things. The bottom line is that all of these indoor air pollutants won’t do any good to your lungs and health.

How will a purifier help?

Some devices can help eliminate these indoor air pollutants. Air purifiers are devices that remove contaminants from the air and thus improve your Indoor Air Quality.

 

The filters in air purifiers have large HEPA filters which remove as many contaminants as possible. It is ideal to have a purifier that filters all the air in your space a few times every day.

It is also very good to have an air purifier running while you sleep at night. In the end we spend most of our time indoors, so making sure that the air you breathe while inside will really help your lungs to clear our and for you to recover from the dust and chemicals you’ve breathed outside.

The Benefits of HEPA filters

You should make use of purifiers with HEPA filters. These are high-quality filters that remove at least 99.97% of PM2.5 particles. These are common in most air purification systems. They are very beneficial to

your homes and offices because they can filter out the smallest particles, resulting in the best indoor air quality. You need to keep in mind that your indoor air space could contain a lot of harmful microorganisms that are not seen with the naked eye. That is why, with HEPA filters, you can breathe easily, and you and your family’s health won’t be at risk.

Humans take around 600 to 840 per hour on average. Can you imagine the positive impact that it will have on your lungs if you are in a filtered space for 12 hours? You would then be inhaling the best indoor quality air for 7,200 to 10,080 breaths.

Thus, there is no reason for you to hesitate in buying your own purifier. There’s the Xiaomi 3 Purifier that is affordable and contains a HEPA filter. You can also opt for a DIY solution of getting your hands on a high quality HEPA filter and the taping it to a fan. As the air is pulled or pushed through the fan it is filtered. Now is the time to improve your indoor air quality by filtering out these harmful particles that can damage your lungs.

To find out more about keeping the air quality super high in your indoor area, see how we do just that here: https://www.arymask.com/making-indoor-air-clean/

If you want to boost your indoor air quality with a great selection of plants, check out this article.

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How I Improved My Breathing In 1 Week (Pt 1-Indoors)

Finding clean air to breathe in polluted cities is possible, but difficult. In this post you’ll learn how to improve your breathing in just 1 week.

It is long known that polluted air harms our lungs, especially those of young children and elder adults. We now know that it can take years off of our lives, so we’re striving to provide options to breathe clean air whenever and wherever we are.

Indoors

At home it is necessary to understand that certain things cause and keep a closed environment polluted.

Make sure your home environment and especially where you sleep has low readings of PM2.5 particles.

  1. Any form of cooking emissions or smoke that is not removed from your breathing environment at the same time it is generated will cause higher readings of particles. Cooking, dust, and air from outside that enters your home will harm your lungs without you actually noticing it. If you schedule an appointment to fit a mask with us we might be able to organize bringing a PM2.5 reader to your home to measure your indoor air particle levels. If you’d like to purchase a reader or compare different types of readers you can also get in touch with us for the most affordable and high quality readers there are.

Original Xiaomi Mi Air Purifier 3H Global Version White2. Dusting often and vacuuming all the particles inside will help, but a HEPA purifier will help even more. Getting a purifier in your area is getting easier and cheaper. Send us a message and we’ll be sure to refer you to a place that has a showroom or can deliver you a purifier. The more material things you have in your home, the more dust can be collected on those things. Having a minimal home with only the furnishings you need and cleaning your space regularly will give you the best results. A deep clean every month is something you should keep in mind, and when you first move into a place do make sure everything is clean to keep small particle circulation down.

3. Turning on exhaust fans when cooking or producing any form of heating (even candles), will help to clean your indoor environment. We were surprised to read PM2.5 levels of 600 when we visited a customers’ house who had just slightly burnt a pizza in their oven. When we opened the windows and cleared and equalized the air, it slowly went back down to outdoor levels. They didn’t have a purifier however, so we suggest getting one as soon as possible.

Part 2 will cover outdoor air quality.

Here are 6 more tips to keep your indoor environment clean.

 

How to Stop Everything from Getting Dusty

The answer is simple: buy and use electrostatic (microfiber) cloth!

There are many reasons why dust collects on our things. First of all, most people own more things than they actually use daily. That’s because we have invested our time or money into material things, which then seem to lose their use, or are sometimes replaced. We then convince ourselves that we will later find time to sell, get rid of, or make use of it… which rarely is more important than things you’ve purchased more recently. This, can be seen as hoarding.

Dust is more rampant in dusty areas. Therefore, if you often keep windows or doors open, and you live in a dusty area, the invisible dust particles will creep into your home and lodge themselves on your belongings. To stop this from happening, limit the amount of time you leave your windows and doors open, and perhaps use the fan on your air conditioner or another ventilation system to keep circulating air indoors.

If you use your A/C a lot, and have not had it maintained in a long time, you should call a repairman to take a look at the filter and perhaps change it. If you have no pets or allergies, you should change your A/C filter every 6-12 months. If you have a pet or allergies, you should change/clean your A/C filter every 20-60 days.

When sweeping, keep the broom at a 45-degree angle from the floor. Don’t sweep everything swiftly, letting the broom stay perpendicular or upright. Doing this will cause all the dust to go into the air and spread. It will also only come down out of the air slowly and spread onto other material belongings.

Here are 6 tips to living in a dust free environment.

1. Sell your material things, or simply own less.
2. Keep windows and doors closed, but don’t forget to circulate the air in your living space.
3. Keep dusty things (shoes, bikes, furry jackets, or old fabric) out of your living space. To clean, use electrostatic cloth that attract dust particles.
4. Use electrostatic cloth instead of a duster! They collect the dust instead of spread it.
5. When sweeping, don’t rush!
6. Get a high quality HEPA air purifier that removes the dust from the air you live in. We would suggest the Xiaomi 2S for around $130.