SAN FRANCISCO, Ca., July 31 — So you can’t seem to clear your lungs — or even your skin — these days. It could be secondhand smoke; it could be that cute little cockapoo; it could be that new coat of ceiling paint; it could be anything under the sun. Irritation and shortness of breath are just something you'll have to live with, right? Wrong.
Mercantila Does Air Purifiers!
How did nuclear bombs and African plagues improve your health? In the Beginning. Think your lungs are struggling? Run into a burning building and take a few mammoth gulps of smoke. Such was a fireman’s plight before John and Charles Dean developed a mask for firemen in the early 1800s. Masks for coal miners soon followed; in the middle of the century, John Stenhouse invented the first gas mask, using a charcoal filter design comparable to those found in today’s best purifiers.
Innovations
If necessity is the mother of invention, nuclear bombs and an African plague got the maternal instinct cranking almost a century after Stenhouse's breakthrough. Manhattan Project scientists, naively trying to develop a mask that would protect World War II soldiers from atomic weaponry, succeeded instead in developing protection against all manner of gases and flame throwers. (That's why they tell you to dream big, kids.) An African plague that followed a few years later exposed chemicals, perfumes, building materials, pesticides, dust mites, pollen, and food allergens as breathing hazards. This sparked a run on air-purification development, which renewed in the 1980s as the "dust-free" craze spawned the HEPA filters and Nebulizers that define today's marketplace. More recently, the Ebola outbreak spawned a new wave of electronic purifiers that filter harmful bacteria, spores, and viruses.
What’s In It For You?
Purity. Identifying all these impurities is scary stuff that makes for good headlines and the occasional anti-Republican rally, but it also means someone’s hard at work finding cures for all of it. Do a little research, and you’ll find there’s a product out there to treat whatever’s bothering you. (No, not your mother-in-law. Be reasonable.)
Power. Those tricky manufacturers have products to purify your car, your mansion, your paint factory, your teenager’s moldy bedroom... whatever the dimensions of your space, they’ve sized up a solution for it.
Peace and quiet. Even air purifiers that do make noise — some are silent, or virtually silent — are designed to blend into any environment. And the biggest machines are often sufficiently effective on their lowest (quietest) power levels. But again, they won’t help drown out that mother-in-law.
Meet your match:
No two sets of sensitivities are exactly alike, but we’ve identified a set of products to cover all the bases:
| Top gun: AllerAir 5000 MCS; $799.98 |  The best MCS product on the market — even if you don’t have MCS, this HEPA/carbon combination will cure what ails you. Covers 1,500 square feet, perfect for a pristine home or office. (Or even your delightfully rumpled one.) | | Top saver: Amaircare Roomaid; $124.94 |  Superb HEPA technology to treat allergies, asthma, and chemical sensitivity. It might only cover 150 square feet — but it’s only five pounds, lazy. Take it wherever you need it and leave the heavier stuff at home. | | Top shelf: IQAir Chemisorber GC; $1,045.00 |  This one filters it all — chemicals, gases, odors, particles — with industry-standard excellence. It’s very quiet and energy-efficient, with long-lasting German engineering. And you know the saying: if it’s good enough for Hong Kong hospitals fighting the SARS virus... | | Topsy-turvy: AirFree Platinum 2000; $239.00 |  No filter, no fan, no sound. No confidence? Have no fear: this little space-age looker sucks allergens, bacteria, and viruses into its unique thermo-dynamic core and fries the bejeezus out of them. It’s a new technique, but the field tests just love it. | | | Save & Share |  $50-on-$500!
Take $50 off any air purifier over $500. Enter coupon code ARPU8J at check out. Coupon valid through 8/10/2006 at | | |
| Top Brand | It’s got a huge range of effective products at all spots on the price spectrum. And its story — it was founded by Sam Tetelbaum, who wanted to fill a market gap and provide relief for a relative with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity — is backed up with quality: wonderful HEPA filtration, great treatment of MCS.
The AllerAir Store | |
| Penny For Your Thoughts? |  We sell a lot of stuff. Is there any particular line of products that's always mystified / fascinated you? (Go on, admit it. We're retail freaks. We're into this.)
Tell us why you're so curious -- give us a good enough story, and we'll give you the inside scoop. (Nobody wants pennies these days anyway.) Send your reply to readers@mercantila.com | | |
