Cleaning the air

In the previous post dumplingsmama asked how we deal with the air quality here.  Last year, not very well. This year, though, we've made some investments--and I do mean investments--in our health.


This is an air cleaner of a very high-end European brand. They are sold in China only through one exclusive dealer. Under normal market conditions this is an expensive brand, but it is even more so inside of China. However, like a car, these units hold resale value in the local market. When we move from Beijing, we will be able to sell our well-serviced unit at a good price, recouping some of our, ahem, investment.

Prior to this unit we had purchased a much less expensive air cleaner that was a name brand. We had hoped that it would just as good as the "Eurobrand" above, but it was not. We could see on the filters how much it was capturing from the air. This was, unfortunately, not enough.  Randy has asthma, and he noticed fairly quickly the difference in the air quality inside after a few days of running the new "Eurobrand" air cleaner.  Anytime the air quality has hit the notorious "crazy bad" levels. he retreats from work to home to breathe.

We're considering whether we need to add a second air cleaner. This time, though, I'll be watching the resale ads posted on local bulletin boards.