I was visiting my local IKEA Tempe a few months ago when I noticed that they had a range of air quality sensors and air purifiers. Later on I had some home delivered to try them out, this is what I learned…
Why Indoor Air Quality Is Important
Many Australians live with asthma, with the condition affecting approximately one in nine people.
However, the importance of good indoor air quality extends beyond those with respiratory conditions.
In a country where extreme temperatures often necessitate keeping doors and windows closed for extended periods, indoor air can become stagnant and potentially harmful.
During hot summers and cold winters, homes are frequently sealed to maintain comfortable temperatures, inadvertently trapping pollutants inside.
This situation can lead to a build-up of various indoor air contaminants, including dust, pet dander, mould spores, and chemicals from household products.
Even for those without diagnosed respiratory issues, poor indoor air quality can cause discomfort, fatigue, and long-term health problems.
Therefore, maintaining good indoor air quality is crucial for all Australians, regardless of their respiratory health status, especially when weather conditions limit natural ventilation.
Ways to Improve Indoor Air Quality
- Get air quality sensor/s and perhaps an air filter to remove pollution from your indoor home air.
- Improve kitchen ventilation: Use an externally ducted extractor hood when cooking.
- Add plants to your living space: Research suggests that certain plants may help purify indoor air. Peace lilies are one example of a plant that improves air quality.
- If possible, switch from a gas cooktop to an induction cooktop. Induction cooktops do not produce air pollution, unlike gas cooktops which can significantly contribute to indoor air pollution.
- If possible switch from gas heating to electric reverse cycle heating. You will be exposed to higher levels of air pollutants inside your home when using an unflued gas heater. The air pollutants produced by an unflued gas heater that can be harmful to your health include carbon monoxide (CO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). Unflued gas heaters also release moisture into the air which can lead to window condensation, growth of moulds and dust mites, which have the potential to affect your health.
What If You Can’t Afford A New Cooktop?
According to Asthma Australia, gas cooktops are known to emit pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter like PM2.5 into the air of your home where they can irritate the airways and trigger asthma symptoms.
Our house already had a combined ceramic electric cooktop & oven when we bought it. A standard ceramic electric cooktop is rubbish as it inefficiently uses lots of electricity, takes ages to get hot, temperature changes take a while and also it takes a long time to cool down.
We’ll replace our ceramic electric cooktop when we get new kitchen cabinets but in the meanwhile I needed to find a better cooktop solution for my 2 person household and during my search I came across the IKEA TILLREDA portable 1 zone induction hob so I bought it and it has served us well for about 2 years so far.
What are PM 2.5 air pollution particles?
Breathing in PM 2.5 air pollution particles can affect your health because they’re small enough for you to breath them deeply into your lungs. Sometimes PM 2.5 particles can enter your bloodstream.
Tips for buying IKEA Air Quality Sensors and Filters
The IKEA Air Quality gadgets I used during the last few months are:
VINDRIKTNING only measures PM 2.5 particles but that’s fine for a simple air quality sensor because PM 2.5 is one of the most important air pollutants to keep track of.
VINDRIKTNING is almost perfect as a low cost way of monitoring PM 2.5 particles in your home with it’s traffic light system of Green=good air, Amber=poor air, Red=bad air.
- Green: 0-35μg/m3
- Yellow: 35-120μg/m3
- Red: 120μg/m3 +
Unfortunately I don’t recommend purchasing VINDRIKTNING until IKEA change their Good/poor/bad air quality thresholds to more closely match at least Australian air quality standard as explained below.
Better yet IKEA Air Quality sensor gadgets should use the international WHO standard air quality thresholds.
VINDSTYRKA measures PM 2.5 particles as well as temperature, relative humidity and tVOC (Total volatile organic compounds).
tVOC may be emitted from fabrics, carpets, fibreboard, plastic products, glues, solvents, household cleaners, printed material, methylated spirits, paints and paint products (such as thinners or varnishes), disinfectants, cosmetics, degreasing products, hobby products and in fuels.
Unfortunately VINDSTYRKA displays tVOC as an arrow for constant, falling or rising which isn’t very useful. A number and thresholds for advising good/poor/bad would be better.
A big difference from the cheaper VINDRIKTNING is VINDSTYRKA has a screen so you can actually see the exact number measured for PM 2.5.
As you can see in the photo of the VINDSTYRKA manual, just like the cheaper VINDRIKTNING it displays Green=Good air if PM 2.5 particles are below 35.
- Green: 0-35μg/m3
- Yellow: 35-120μg/m3
- Red: 120μg/m3 +
I agree with the BreatheSafeAir review of the VINDRIKTNING which says:
“Why is this scale not great? Well, the WHO states the average 24-hour exposure to PM2.5 should not exceed 25 μg/m3. Considering that this is considered ‘good’ (green) on the IKEA device, an issue quickly becomes apparent. Luckily, while this colour scale isn’t a great reference, the screen also displays the exact concentration. If you’re going to use this device, refer to the number as opposed to the scale”.
In Australia as an example the Victorian EPA also says Good air should have PM 2.5 levels less than 25:
| Air quality category | PM2.5 µg/m3 averaged over 1 hour |
|---|---|
| Good | Less than 25 |
| Fair | 25–50 |
| Poor | 50–100 |
| Very poor | 100–300 |
| Extremely poor | More than 300 |
I recommend buying the VINDSTYRKA to monitor your home indoor air quality but use the numbers as a guide not the colour.
As with VINDRIKTNING, IKEA need to change their Good/poor/bad air quality thresholds to more closely match at least Australian air quality standard as explained below.
Better yet IKEA Air Quality sensor gadgets should use the international WHO standard air quality thresholds.
FÖRNUFTIG Air Filter
I made a mistake getting the FÖRNUFTIG but that fault is mine not the product. Learn from my mistake
My mistake is not reading the specifications closely enough. The FÖRNUFTIG is designed for spaces of up to 8-10 square metres eg: a small bedroom.
I was using it in an open plan dining and kitchen area about 20ish square metres so it was very slow at cleaning up the air, since there was a lot more air to clean than it was designed for.
A better choice for that space would’ve been the more powerful STARKWIND which can purify the air in a space of up to 20 square metres,
I use the FÖRNUFTIG for situations like when my neighbour is outside smoking near our shared fence and the smoke drifts in our kitchen back door. First I closed that door, then I turned the FÖRNUFTIG on.
I also used FÖRNUFTIG when the VINDSTYRKA showed a house near us was up to its usual habit during Winter of burning poor quality fuel, emitting lots of smoke and pollution all around it. Again I closed all the room doors and windows first.
As the VINDSTYRKA shows, fireplace air pollution is really bad. Even if it’s 3 houses away from you if the wind is blowing from their direction to yours it will carry high levels of polluting particles which are very bad for your lungs.
FÖRNUFTIG specs are below:
- Particle filter:
- Included – Filters approximately 99.5% of PM2.5 particles, dust, and pollen
- PM2.5 particles measure 0.1-2.5 micrometres
- Gas filter:
- Sold separately – Purifies air from tVOC gaseous pollutants like formaldehyde
- Reduces odors from smoke, cooking, and other sources
- Particle and gas filters can be used together for greater effectiveness
- Fan speeds: 3 different settings. Use lowest fan speed for quiet night time operation, highest speed is a bit too loud if you’re not listening to music, watching TV etc.