This Dust-Zapping Electronic Air Cleaner Is No Dirty Trick

Q: We recently had our furnace replaced and the sales guy tried very hard to sell us an additional air cleaner for several hundred dollars. Is this a scam? If it works, I wouldn't mind having one in my house, but just want to be sure I'm not being taken for a ride.

A: I presume you are referring to an electronic air cleaner. These have been around for many years and have a big following. I don't believe I've met a person who has not been totally sold after having one in their house for awhile, especially if they have pets and kids. Some people say they dust and clean carpets less often because their filters have decreased the amount of dust in their home.

Instead of a paper filter, electronic systems use a cleanable metal pre-screen and a couple of large cassette-looking devices that slide into place. They electronically zap minute dust particles in the return-air system just before they enter the forced-air furnace. The only downside, if you can call it that, is a muted snapping sound, similar to a bug zapper, each time the filter nails a dust particle.

You can take the pre-screens and cassettes out and clean them by running them through the dishwasher or using a garden hose on them. No trips to the hardware store necessary.

Funny story about a recent client of mine: They had an electronic air cleaner installed in their home, paid the man, and went about their daily lives. Come to find out some months later they had no pre-screens or cassettes, just the empty shell. (Nice shell and electrical installation, though.)

These filters are easy to check. Just pull off the removable door and peer inside. The cassettes have a direction of air flow imprinted or engraved on their edges. Make sure this part is always returned the correct way with the air flow toward the furnace.

If I weren't so darned cheap, I'd have an electronic air cleaner in my own house . . . but then I'd miss the itchy nose, the trips returning wrong-sized filters to the hardware store, and the running around chasing down dust balls. The dusting I wouldn't know about . . .

Q: Every winter this miserable apartment gets so much mold, mildew and condensation on the windows I could scream. It's truly gross. I run the kitchen fan almost continuously and it doesn't make a bit of difference. The problem is especially bad when it's raining or cold. Fortunately, we don't get much of that kind of weather in Washington. What can you do to help me out?

A: My readers are the best. So much attitude in so few words. Believe it or not, the majority of kitchen fans in apartments don't actually send any air to the outside. It just gets recirculated from the bottom of the range hood to the top of the range hood through the little slits in the top, after passing through a screen. (That would be why your hair stands on end when you're cooking your famous chili - and you thought it was the pepper.) Lots of noise, but not much utility. If you have a bathroom fan, use it continuously; these almost always terminate outside.

And if you wonder about the actual air being pulled through the fan, stick a tissue on the grille. If it stays, you're doing well. If it falls, you may need to clean the grille, the fan blades, the motor, housing and shroud for better performance. The grille usually can be pulled straight down, if it's held by compression clips, or it will be screwed on directly.

Here are some other things you can do: open a couple of windows slightly, preferably ones that will provide some cross ventilation. Reduce the amount of moisture produced in the apartment from cooking, bathing, etc. if possible. If you have baseboard heat, consider getting a summer fan out to really move the air around. Stagnant air can be a real problem sometimes.

Also open the interior doors and pull the drapes and blinds back off the windows so air can reach those areas. A portable dehumidifier might help.

Most everything else I can think of would be related to the building itself and would be the responsibility of the owner or manager.

Use bleach to kill the mold if it's prolific and attacking you.

Ask The Expert answers readers' questions every Saturday. Send questions to Ask The Expert, Seattle Times, P.O. Box 70, Seattle, WA 98111, or call 206-464-8514 to leave your questions on Ask The Expert's recorded line. E-mail address is dhay@seattletimes.com

Sorry, no personal replies