Constantly fluctuating air quality - Is this right? | Dyson Community
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Constantly fluctuating air quality - Is this right?

  • 13 January 2022
  • 6 replies
  • 9206 views

The air quality in my room, according to my sensor, has been fluctuating very dramatically and I am wondering if this happens to other people, if there is something wrong with my sensor, or if I just have a serious air quality problem? If anyone has any input on how to interpret this information it would be super helpful! Thank you!

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Best answer by Anonymous 14 January 2022, 16:42

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6 replies

Very strange. My purifier only does this when I’m cooking or we’ve sprayed deodorant or air freshener around it. 

Looking at the graph your quality spikes at certain times of the day. Is there anything your doing that causes this or is a window open and letting outside air come in? 

To be on the safe side, I suggest giving the machine a thorough clean. This article can help.


Barry

 

Hi @hanzisano 

Welcome.

It seem there is a running theme in my replies of late. To me, it sounds like what you’re encountering is ‘off gassing’ but at fixed times of the day. I suspect something is causing your purifier to react and taking some time to clear it. Then it is coming right back a few hours later. 

I’ve included a response from the community manager, which he sent on another topic which had a similar issue. 

“”

It is possible that your machine is detecting a high level of particles in the home environment and due to this consistent level, it is being affected by ‘Off gassing’. This is where a source is producing the gas at a rate higher or the same that equals the machines purification.

There are a couple of suggestions which I can make that could help resolve this. 

  1. Check the local environment for sources which can cause this increase. Read our What are the common household pollutants? article to understand where the different pollutant types come from. 
  2. Make sure the machine is working at it’s best. Read our Keeping your purifier performing at its best article for tips and tricks on cleaning your machine and checking the machine sensors. 

“” 

It could as easily be as simple as something in the house affecting the machine like what @BarryM had suggestion. 

Good luck,

Pete.

Your standard house will not be air tight, so you will not only be susceptible to indoor air quality off-gassing from products in your home (furniture, carpet, etc-those typically show up as VOC), but also from outdoor air quality spikes. Have you compared your spikes to the outdoor air quality? 2 of your spikes are at the standard commute times (morning and evening).

Also note if anyone is idling their vehicle by your house, people are running gas yard equipment, things like that will come into your home.

Also, the PM also counts for water vapor sometimes (humidity, showers, etc), if you use an essential oils diffuser or anything like that. Those are caught in the filter. Those would be a few examples of PM that's not "bad".

If you live in the desert you may get wind blown particulate matter for example as well. And, if you have gas appliances, def make sure you have a carbon monoxide detector! Gas appliances are actually really frightening the more you learn about where the chemicals end up.

Oh, and I forgot to mention when the sun comes out and beats down on your house that'll cause higher off-gassing from your house.

And! Most people don't think about how they store their toxic household products. Chemicals, paint (that's not low or no VOC paint), gas cans, any other toxic stuff evaporates from their containers, so they should be stored in a detached garage or shed if possible. If you store them in the basement they just evaporate up into your house and you breathe it all in. Or, if they're in your attached garage some will come into your house. Def don't "warm up" your own car in an attached garage either. Or be mindful to only do it with the garage door open and the absolute minimum time.

Mine does this too. Since I just made dinner, I’m wondering if it’s reacting to the odor of what was cooking. I’ll pay attention now…

When you cook it can produce smoke and other chemicals that will cause the filter levels to go up. I’ve noticed the Dyson does a great job of cleaning the air after cooking pretty quickly in my experience. It even helps the smell dissipate more quickly.

They’ve been finding some pretty alarming chemicals coming from gas stoves too. Electric is WAY safer. 

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