Tractor Cab Air Filtration Regarding Seasonal Allergies

[npalen]

I've spent the last several weeks helping with the Fall grain harvest in North Central Kansas. My allergies are greatly relieved during the hours in the cab of the Deere 8420 tractor. I believe this is due to the tight fitting cab and excellent filtration of the heating/cooling air system. The seasonal allergy symptoms resume with a vengeance when I'm out of the cab for a while and when I return home in the evening.

Why can't a home be be enclosed and filtered as efficiently as the tractor? I realize that the volume of a typical home is many times that of a tractor cab so the air handling system would need to be constantly moving a great volume of air thru an efficient filter system. I realize that there are some very expensive air handling filters available but would it be practical to move enough air to clean the air as well as the tractor cab system?

I question whether whole house filtration can be achieved to the level of the tractor cab but would like to hear some input. Allergy sufferers like myself would be willing to spend a lot of dollars if it could be done.

 

[jimmysisson]

In our area (MA) you're now required to seal up a new house pretty tight, tested with a blower door before occupancy is granted. In those houses, tha fresh air system can be spec'd to do what you're after. Most of our housing stock is older, though, and pretty porous. The new ones are costly, with sprayed foam everywhere, but they work very well.
Jim

 

[Mysfyt]

My niece suffers from all sorts of allergies so my sister invested in a whole house air cleaner that uses a hepa filter. Very quiet running and made a big difference for her. Especially for sleeping.

 

[williaty]

Why can't a home be be enclosed and filtered as efficiently as the tractor? I realize that the volume of a typical home is many times that of a tractor cab so the air handling system would need to be constantly moving a great volume of air thru an efficient filter system. I realize that there are some very expensive air handling filters available but would it be practical to move enough air to clean the air as well as the tractor cab system?

It can be done. It's not cheap, and it's not easy. 99.99% of builders aren't yet capable of doing it because it takes strategies that aren't commonly know at this point. In 15 years, everyone will be doing it because code restrictions on airtightness are getting stricter every year.

If you're really curious about it, look at the Passiv Haus (that's the international organization, US version is Passive House) movement. They're aiming for 0.6 ACH50. What that means is that house only leaks about half its internal air volume per hour when a 50 Pascal air pressure difference is created between the inside and outside. When the structure is that air tight, you can easily add filtration to remove the allergens with great effectiveness. However, a "normal" house built in the last 20 years is probably more than 15 ACH50 and trying to filter it is a losing battle. Older homes can leak their entire air volume in just a minute or two when the wind blows. It's easiest to go for airtightness when the structure is built. For an existing house, you'd be looking at some version of a Deep Energy Retrofit, which are generally quite costly.


However, even in our leaky-as-all-heck house, I can dramatically improve my allergies by sitting in the outflow from a filter. Now, the problem with that is basically all the things that are sold as in-room air filters (like Oreck and others) are complete and utter crap from a filtration perspective. What I did was to get an ambient air filter unit for woodworking and install a MUCH more effective filter in it. The unit I got is the Jet AFS-1000B, but the ones from Jet, Powermatic, Delta, Rikon, and others are basically identical units. I threw away the filters that come with it and bought replacement filters from Wynn Environmental. They come as a set of an internal multi-pocket soft filter and an external typical pleated filter. The external filter removes the chunks and has to be replaced pretty often (every 6 months maybe, give or take) while the internal filter removes the really fine stuff that causes allergies, costs a lot, but lasts a VERY long time. The downside is that the unit is big, ugly, and noisy. My wife was not a fan at first. However, the first time I was wheezing audibly just to breath, walked over and sat in the outflow from it for 30 minutes, and stopped wheezing without having to use drugs, she was sold on the fact the big, ugly box was staying in our living room. I often run it for about 4 hours on high if I'm having a rough day and it'll dramatically improve things. Through the worst of the allergy season, I have to run it about once a day but most of the year I only turn it on if I've gotten into something I should have avoided.

 

[npalen]

Thanks for the enlightenment on the house leakage, guys. Our 40 year old home probably leaks with the best of them. I was mistakenly thinking that a large enough filter system would do it but that is obviously not the case.
I have one of the ambient air systems for woodworking and hadn't considered it as being effective for allergens. Buying the finer filters from Wynn Environmental (I'm familiar with them) is a great suggestion. Wonder if it would work to put a unit like this in the attic (or basement) with ducting for a bedroom?
Maybe I need to buy a cabbed tractor, park it in the driveway and sleep in it. Seriously, the only downside I see to the tractor air is that it does get dry after a while with the AC running.
I had given up on my thread here so was great to hear some feedback.

 

[woodlandfarms]

I am allergic to the out doors. Step out, sneeze... Except for Bamboo. I am not allergic to bamboo....

A bunch of things Ithink I know...

First, Allergy shots. They saved my life. really... do it. it is PITA but you will be stunned on how your life changes. I have a doctor in LA and I would say seeing him would be worth the trip.

Second, do some research on home filtration. As you have heard, basically it doesn't work. You can do it, but at a cost that is staggering. We had an electrical heppa filter that cost bookoo bucks. When it all failed and we went to a new system, I expressed concerns about trying to improve the air quality in my house.

My doctor of all people said don't spend the money on fancy filtration and then said"As a matter of fact, when you get your new system use the cheap low MIRV filters, the expensive ones don't work any better and burn out your system" I was like bojack horseman "Wha????" Went back, got onto the interweb and yup, the pros say you will never be able to improve filtering in a house without a system reconstruct that is incredibly advanced. And the better filtration a filter gives you the more likely it will cause restrictions and burn up your air conditioner prematurely.