Share this page!

Enter URL or ID to Unroll

You can paste full URL like: https://x.com/threadreaderapp/status/1644127596119195649
or just the ID like: 1644127596119195649

How to get URL link on X (Twitter) App

  1. On the Twitter thread, click on or icon on the bottom
  2. Click again on or Share Via icon
  3. Click on Copy Link to Tweet
  4. Paste it above and click "Unroll Thread"!
  5. More info at Twitter Help
Jeff Gilchrist Profile picture
@jeffgilchrist
Feb 3, 2024 • 39 tweets • 11 min read • Read on X
Warning: Ultrasonic Humidifiers with Tap Water Generate lots of PM2.5 Pollution

Since we are in winter and humidity levels are much lower this time of year, I wanted to provide this warning after a recent experience of a colleague of mine.🧵1/ Graph of PM2.5 levels showing 3 large spikes between 150-200 ug/m3, three days in a row at night.
It is amazing what you can discover about your environment when you actually monitor it. My colleague recently purchased a particulate matter (PM) monitor for his home & after multiple days of nothing he saw massive spikes in PM2.5 levels every night for three nights in a row. 2/
The PM2.5 levels exceeded 150 ug/m3 the first night and over 200 ug/m3 the next two nights. While no level of PM2.5 is safe, the WHO warns of exposure to levels above 5 ug/m3 annually and 15 ug/m3 in a 24 hour period ( ). 3/ who.int/news-room/fact…
Graph of PM2.5 levels showing 3 large spikes between 150-200 ug/m3 from an ultrasonic humidifier that was using tap water instead of distilled water, three days in a row at night.
He was able to track down the source to an ultrasonic humidifier that had been filled with tap water to make humidity levels more comfortable in a bedroom. 4/
The PM monitor was actually in a different part of the house and he measured 3x higher levels in the room where the ultrasonic humidifier was operating. 5/
What happened? “Ultrasonic humidifiers generate humidity by breaking water into small droplets using a piezoelectric transducer, a device that vibrates very fast at the ultrasonic frequency." ( ). 6/ualberta.ca/science/news/2…
“These small water droplets are then sent into the air by a fan. That is the mist that we can see coming out of the humidifier." 7/
"Once released in the air, water evaporates quickly into the surrounding air, but the minerals and salts dissolved in tap water are left behind in the air as suspended PM.” 8/
The PM was not confined to the bedroom but spread all throughout his house where it was being breathed in by all family members. 9/
A study confirmed that using distilled water purchased from local grocery stores in ultrasonic humidifiers generated no PM pollution ( ). 10/onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.111…
@threadreaderapp please unroll
It is important to note that PM generation happens with ultrasonic humidifiers but you can use tap water with evaporative, wick-based humidifiers which does not break up the water molecules in the same way. 11/
Thankfully he had a PM monitor and noticed there was something wrong so he was able to identify and correct the issue. 12/
Why bother using distilled water, what would be the impact if he just kept using the much cheaper tap water and breathing in high levels of PM every night? 13/
Berkeley calculated that exposure for every 22 ug/m3 of PM2.5 for 24 hours is equivalent to smoking 1 cigarette so if they kept using tap water for their humidifier it would be like smoking about 9 cigarettes every night for them ( ). 14/
I used a Model E PM monitor to measure how much outside PM pollution I was letting inside the house by opening a window and also how much frying an egg generates ( ). 15/co2.click
Cooking can also cause high levels of PM so please ensure good ventilation by turning on your range hood fan or opening a windows if possible and HEPA filtration/CR boxes help too ( ). 16/
You can read more about the importance of indoor air quality here ( ). 17/
Much of the PM we breathe in, even while indoors, comes from outdoor origin so it is also important to monitor outdoor PM air quality ( ). 18/
Many people have asked if carbon water filters help. People would need to measure & confirm their filter but most only remove some minerals/metal but not all so could potentially reduce PM levels but wouldn't eliminate ( ). 19/mytapscore.com/en-ca/blogs/ti…
Are the contents of water dangerous? Besides minerals there are metals commonly found in drinking water such as arsenic, copper, lead, iron, nickel, cadmium ( ) and ( ). 20/lakecountyil.gov/DocumentCenter…
mytapscore.com/en-ca/blogs/ti…
Since PM2.5 particles of any type are so small, "PM2.5 can pass through the lung–gas–blood barrier and the 'gut–microbial–brain' axis to cause systemic oxidative stress and inflammation, or directly enter brain tissue via the olfactory nerve" ( ). 21/ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/P…
This could impact your body differently than just drinking the water with the same content that is normally safe to drink. 22/
“These particles are so small that they can evade our filtration system in the upper airway and penetrate deep into our respiratory tract,” explained Lau. “Upon doing so, they also send chemical species associated with them into our bodies." ( ) 23/ualberta.ca/science/news/2…
People are also asking which PM monitors I use? I have been using air quality monitors by @IndianaTux, a Canadian company. The Model E, G, and X offer PM sensors in them. 24/co2.click
Their Model E and G are indoor monitors that measure PM and their X is an outdoor monitor for PM. The feature I like the best is that they can take measurements every minute and upload the data via WiFi so you can see what is going on in your space over time. 25/ Graph showing indoor particulate matter (PM) levels on the 2nd floor of a house as outdoor wildfire smoke PM levels increased and how indoor levels went down when switching the HVAC system to recirculate air through the HVAC filter and not bring in new outdoor air.
If you are interested in learning more, this thread shows some examples of how their Model X and E work and what their online portal looks like ( … ). Model G uses the same PM sensor as Model E-Lite but uses a non-colour display and is cheaper. 26/
As for more affordable options, I cannot vouch for how accurate they are or how well they work since I have never used them but IKEA sells couple of lower cost options ranging from $13 to $50 which do not have the data saved online ( ). 27/ikea.com/ca/en/cat/air-…
The $50 IKEA Vindstyrka Indoor Air Quality Monitor has been reviewed here ( ). 28/breathesafeair.com/ikea-vindstyrk…
The $13 IKEA Vindriktning Air Quality Monitor has been reviewed here ( ). 29/breathesafeair.com/ikea-vindriktn…
Some people have asked if boiling water will "purify" the water to remove minerals. Boiling water may kill bacteria but it will not remove the mineral content and may make it even more concentrated afterwards ( ). 30/mytapscore.com/en-ca/blogs/ti…
Does the PM from tap water in ultrasonic humidifiers impact people differently than outdoor PM pollution? This study takes a looks at what happens in the lungs of mice using different types of water ( ). 31/
@SaltyPeach51 Their Model E and G are indoor monitors that measure PM and their X is an outdoor monitor for PM. The feature I like the best is that they can take measurements every minute and upload the data via WiFi so you can see what is going on in the space over time. Graph showing indoor particulate matter (PM) levels on the 2nd floor of a house as outdoor wildfire smoke PM levels increased and how indoor levels went down when switching the HVAC system to recirculate air through the HVAC filter and not bring in new outdoor air.
@SaltyPeach51 If you are interested in learning more, this thread shows some examples of how their Model X and E work and what their online portal looks like ( ). Model G uses the same PM sensor as Model E-Lite but uses a non-colour display and is cheaper.
@SaltyPeach51 I cannot vouch for how accurate they are or how well they work since I have never used them but IKEA sells couple of lower cost options ranging from $13 to $50 which do not have the data saved online ( ).ikea.com/ca/en/cat/air-…
@SaltyPeach51 The $50 IKEA Vindstyrka Indoor Air Quality Monitor Review ( ).breathesafeair.com/ikea-vindstyrk…
@SaltyPeach51 The $13 IKEA Vindriktning Air Quality Monitor Review ( ).breathesafeair.com/ikea-vindriktn…
@spittykitty543 Since the particles are so small, "PM2.5 can pass through the lung–gas–blood barrier and the 'gut–microbial–brain' axis to cause systemic oxidative stress and inflammation, or directly enter brain tissue via the olfactory nerve" ( ). 2/ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/P…
@spittykitty543 “These particles are so small that they can evade our filtration system in the upper airway and penetrate deep into our respiratory tract,” explained Lau. “Upon doing so, they also send chemical species associated with them into our bodies." ( ) 3/ualberta.ca/science/news/2…

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
　

Keep Current with Jeff Gilchrist

Jeff Gilchrist Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @jeffgilchrist

Jeff Gilchrist Profile picture
Jan 6
#Ottawa, #Ontario, #Canada Virus Update:

Ottawa updated its #respiratory #virus data again after a break for the holidays, respiratory related ED visits are up especially in kids 0-3, then 4-11 and age 80+. 🧵1/ A line graph showing the number of respiratory-related emergency department (ED) visits per 100,000 population by week, from September 1, 2023, to November 1, 2024, across different age groups. Six lines represent the age groups: Age 0-3 (purple), Age 4-11 (blue), Age 12-17 (green), Age 18-54 (yellow), Age 55-79 (red), and Age 80+ (orange). The Age 0-3 group shows the highest number of visits, peaking around 1000 visits per 100,000 population, while other age groups generally have rates below 250 visits per 100,000 population. The graph exhibits seasonal fluctuations, with peaks in the wint...
Quite a mixture of different viruses testing positive in the lab right now so people can pick up a variety of bugs in the air. 2/ A stacked area chart displaying the percentage of positive tests for various viruses over time, from October 1, 2022, to December 22, 2024. The x-axis represents weeks within this period, while the y-axis represents the percentage, cumulatively stacked to 100%. The chart features the following viruses, each depicted in a distinct color: COVID-19 (red), Entero/Rhinovirus (yellow), Seasonal human coronavirus (blue), RSV (green), Parainfluenza (purple), Influenza B (light blue), Influenza A (light green), Human metapneumovirus (pink), and Adenovirus (dark blue). COVID-19 maintains a high posit...
New hospitalizations also jumped a lot in the last two reporting weeks, not just due to #RSV but a big spike in #COVID as well.

Follow the latest updates here ( ). 3/ covid.gilchrist.ca/Ottawa.htmlThe bar chart shows the number of new hospitalizations per week in Ottawa from August 27, 2023, to December 22, 2024. The y-axis represents the number of patients, ranging from 0 to 100. The x-axis represents the weeks. The bars are color-coded: blue for COVID-19, purple for Influenza, and teal for RSV. The chart shows fluctuations in hospitalizations, with peaks around late 2023 and early 2024, and another peak towards the end of 2024.
A line graph displaying the percentage of patients hospitalized due to COVID-19, Influenza, or RSV over time, from September 1, 2023, to December 22, 2024. The x-axis represents weeks within this period, and the y-axis shows percentages from 0% to 100%. The graph has three colored lines: blue for COVID-19, purple for Influenza, and teal for RSV. COVID-19 consistently shows the highest percentage of hospitalizations, with fluctuations throughout the period.
Read 4 tweets
Jeff Gilchrist Profile picture
Dec 24, 2024
#Variant update for #Ontario, #Canada (to Dec 10, 2024)

The KP.3.1.1 #DeFLuQE variant has finally been surpassed with XEC now in top place above 20% while the other 5 (MC.* and XEC.* descendants) remain < 7%. Graph tools by @Mike_Honey_ 🧵1/ A line graph showing the lineage frequency of the top 7 COVID-19 genomes in Ontario, Canada, up to December 10, 2024. The graph includes data from 4,928 sequenced genomes. The x-axis represents dates from October 27 to December 08, while the y-axis represents lineage frequency percentages from 0% to 35%. Different colored lines represent different genome lineages: KP.3.1.1 (blue), MC.1 (green), MC.13 (purple), MC.16 (pink), MC.24 (orange), XEC (brown), and XEC.8 (yellow). Below the main graph, there is a bar chart showing the number of samples (n) collected each day, ranging from 0 to 200 s...
XEC is a combination of KP.3.3 and KS.1.1 that recombined together. MC.1 is a direct descendant of KP.3.1.1 with one spike mutation at T571I. To learn more about how variant naming works, you can read this article I wrote with @paulseaman31 ( ). 2/docs.google.com/document/d/1q0…
This Sankey graph shows the proportion of variants from PCR test genomic sequencing in Ontario since October 27, 2024. You can follow the lineage backwards to see where a variant is a descendant from. 3/ The Sankey diagram visually displays the evolution and distribution of sequenced genomes in Ontario, Canada, up to December 10, 2024. The diagram uses colored bars and curved lines to show the flow and relationships between different genome variants over time. Each variant is labeled, such as "XEC," "BA.2," "BA.2.86," "JN.1," "KP.3," and various sub-variants. These bars and lines illustrate the transitions and derivations from one variant to another. The total number of sequenced genomes depicted is 4,928. This visualization helps to underst...
Read 16 tweets
Jeff Gilchrist Profile picture
Dec 22, 2024
Population rate vs raw numbers

This is a good example of why it is useful to understand the importance of population *rate* and not just look at raw numbers. The first graph shows raw numbers and the second graph population rate. 🧵1/ #ED #Respiratory #Virus #Population #Ottawa Chart of Respiratory Related ED Visits by Week and Age (Ottawa, ON, Canada) with raw numbers
Chart of Respiratory Related ED Visits by Week and Age (Ottawa, ON, Canada) with population rate per 100K
Ottawa Public Health makes only the raw data available for All causes and respiratory-related emergency department visits to Ottawa hospitals by age group and week ( ). 2/open.ottawa.ca/datasets/ottaw…
If I take the data and plot all the ages together, you can at least see all of the age groups at the same time but it is just the raw numbers. 3/
Read 12 tweets
Jeff Gilchrist Profile picture
Dec 17, 2024
This is amazing, not only a lower cost CPC for measuring mask fit and ultrafine particles in a room, but also a new probe to measure fit of a respirator without destroying it, check out the video from @OpenAeros and @masknerd to see how it works ( ). 🧵1/ Woman wearing N95 head band respirator inserting new probe design in side of respirator so you don't have to puncture the front, the new OpenAeros OpenCPC machine operating on the table showing the ultrafine particle levels and Aaron Collins (@masknerd) holding the new blue probe against his face to show what it looks like.
@masknerd also demonstrates how you can use OpenCPC to measure how well an air cleaner is filtering particles when you insert the probe into the output vent where particles dropped to 6.4/cm^3 from the regular 700-800/cm^3 for the room. 2/ Aaron Collins (@masknerd) holding the OpenCPC probe inside the fins of a portable air cleaner to measure particle concentration showing it has dropped significantly.
When Aaron Collins moves the probe to a couple of feet in front of the portable air cleaner, levels go back up to 785/cm^3 which is the same as the room concentration indicating this type is filtering the air but doesn't create a "clean bubble" in front of it. 3/ Aaron Collins (@masknerd) holding the OpenCPC probe a couple of feet in front of a portable air cleaner to measure particle concentration, showing it has gone back up to room concentrations.
Read 6 tweets
Jeff Gilchrist Profile picture
Nov 10, 2024
COVID-19: Stats, Guides, Articles, Calculators

COVID-19 guides, useful info, stats, calculators & 600+ scientific articles: covid.gilchrist.ca

Ottawa, Canada weekly stats: covid.gilchrist.ca/Ottawa.html

Ontario, Canada weekly stats: covid.gilchrist.ca/Ontario.html

🧵1/ Graph of COVID-19 wastewater levels in Ottawa, Ontario, measured from Sept. 1, 2021. Weekly stats available at ( http://covid.gilchrist.ca/Ottawa.html )
Sankey graph (height of each bar is # of sequences for that variant) showing top variants and their lineages over the past 6 weeks from PCR test genomic sequencing in Ontario, Canada. Visualization tool was created by @Mike_Honey_ ( https://app.powerbi.com/view?r=eyJrIjoiNzE5YzczODItMDQzMS00M2EzLWFjNWYtMjg3OTY3NTNhZDM3IiwidCI6ImRjMWYwNGY1LWMxZTUtNDQyOS1hODEyLTU3OTNiZTQ1YmY5ZCIsImMiOjEwfQ%3D%3D&pageName=ReportSection32240d6b62ba73667e98 )
A sample of some threads listed on the website ( covid.gilchrist.ca ):

How do variant designations work and relate to our immunity ( x.com/jeffgilchrist/… )? 2/
Why should we care about a virus with a "99.8% survival rate" ( )? 3/
Read 16 tweets
Jeff Gilchrist Profile picture
Nov 10, 2024
#Variant update for #Ontario, #Canada (to Oct 29, 2024)

The KP.3.1.1 #DeFLuQE variant is having some competition from XEC and MC.1 now. Graph tools by @Mike_Honey_ 🧵1/ Graph of top 7 COVID variants from PCR test genomic sequencing in Ontario, Canada. Visualization tool was created by @Mike_Honey_ ( https://app.powerbi.com/view?r=eyJrIjoiNzE5YzczODItMDQzMS00M2EzLWFjNWYtMjg3OTY3NTNhZDM3IiwidCI6ImRjMWYwNGY1LWMxZTUtNDQyOS1hODEyLTU3OTNiZTQ1YmY5ZCIsImMiOjEwfQ%3D%3D )
XEC is a combination of KP.3.3 and KS.1.1 that recombined together. MC.1 is a direct descendant of KP.3.1.1 with one spike mutation at T571I. To learn more about how variant naming works, you can read this article I wrote with @paulseaman31 ( ). 2/docs.google.com/document/d/1q0…
This Sankey graph shows the proportion of variants from PCR test genomic sequencing in Ontario since September 15, 2024. You can follow the lineage backwards to see where a variant is a descendant from. 3/ Sankey graph (height of each bar is # of sequences for that variant) showing top variants and their lineages over the past 6 weeks from PCR test genomic sequencing in Ontario, Canada. Visualization tool was created by @Mike_Honey_ ( https://app.powerbi.com/view?r=eyJrIjoiNzE5YzczODItMDQzMS00M2EzLWFjNWYtMjg3OTY3NTNhZDM3IiwidCI6ImRjMWYwNGY1LWMxZTUtNDQyOS1hODEyLTU3OTNiZTQ1YmY5ZCIsImMiOjEwfQ%3D%3D&pageName=ReportSection32240d6b62ba73667e98 )
Read 9 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!

This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us!

Send Email!

:(