Grimm74 Posted August 3, 2012 Share Posted August 3, 2012 I just wanted to share my story in hopes to help other folks. Ill try to make this as quick as possible. Moved to Charleston, SC in 2005. Started having major allergy issues. I have gone though countless allergy shots, meds, and two sinus surgeries. All of which has helped quite a lot, but I have to some extent have had an "unexplained" feeling of slight fatigue and a not very crisp feeling. Its hard to explain, but it also seemed to be a slight breathing problem. Tested time and time again for asthma. All negative, Doc says I do not have it. So hands up in the air. Ok that is my quick health back ground... Now I move on to my home. It did have a mold issue about 4 years ago. Contractor did not install the crawl space insulation correctly which it all sunk about 5 inches from the sub floor allowing for a nice little space for moist air to roll in and sit. They sealed up the crawl space and installed a dehumidifier. Great but for some crazy reason 4 years later our cabinets still smelled of mold. Not offensively so but slightly. We bleached and used other mold cleaners but it never went away. On top of this my HVAC system had a little bit of dirty sock syndrome. This is when the air comes out smelling like a dirty sock. Although a lot of HVAC contractors will state DSS is an unexplained event, my OCD(probably not a joke) research uncovered that it may relate to the fact that a lot of new AC coils today use recycled aluminum. From what I read this aluminum is more pores than virgin aluminum. Meaning it has spots where molds and the like can grow. Makes sense since it seemed to start after a replace one of my units and also replaced the coil in the other. Ok now to the point of all this and my infomercial. I contacted the HVAC folks to see about installing UV lamps in the system to kill the mold. UV lamps have mixed results on the issue but I was desperate. They stated they would rather install a unit called Guardian Air. There is another "brand" Air Knight I think, but they are completely identical even same manufacturer. It is not a traditional UV system. It uses UV light with specific metals that react to the humidity in the air creating airborne oxidizers. These oxidizers are literally attracted to molds, viruses, VOC's and much more. When this oxidizer contacts the mold it destroys them and the by product is Oxygen and hydrogen. Hospitals and government agencies use them for sterilization. Japan and China bought a ton of them for the bird flew...but that is enough you can look them up to see the details. Well I got two of the Guardian Air REME units and installed them myself. They work without a doubt. The health issues that I was having is completely gone, and my house smells very fresh and clean. It is crazy. On top of it we noticed the cabinets no longer had the moldy smell. It was amazing. my wife and I were in disbelief. My wife was somewhat skeptical of the whole thing but this sold her. There are a lot of great testimonials about kids with asthma and allergies. So if you are one of those Dads I would highly recommend doing it. I have to say though the HVAC company quoted me $1100 for ONE unit the "residential" version of the Guardian Air, but after reading the info on the REME version that was the one I wanted. The HVAC company said that was for commercial use and that they only sold the other unit. That is not true, the REME unit is for homes too. I decided to buy the more expensive unit on ebay for $450 total x2 $900 and installed it myself. It literally took just 15 minutes to install. All you do is drill a 3.25 inch hole in the duct, insert it and plug it into a wall socket. So if cost is an issue this route is the way to go. If you want more info let me know I am more than happy to answer any questions. Like I said I researched this very very well. Sorry to for such a long post I am just hoping this can help someone out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Dick Posted August 3, 2012 Share Posted August 3, 2012 My only concern would be the actual source of the problem. You are taking care of a symptom and not really solving the original issue. I would highly encourage you to have someone really check out the source of the smells. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evil_gop_liars Posted August 3, 2012 Share Posted August 3, 2012 wow.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimm74 Posted August 3, 2012 Author Share Posted August 3, 2012 My only concern would be the actual source of the problem. You are taking care of a symptom and not really solving the original issue. I would highly encourage you to have someone really check out the source of the smells. That has been done, and there were no more mold sources in the house. Even after a mold problem is remedied there can be a slight residual effect. There is also something called sick building syndrome which I suspect our house had which was not helped at all by the mold issues in the past. If there was a mold source in the house say from a leaky pipe this system would not be able to fix such a high level of concentration. It would help but certainly not fix the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuke'em ttg Posted August 3, 2012 Share Posted August 3, 2012 glad you were able to find help, an HVAC guy hung up on me a real leader of Dicks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Irish Doggy Posted August 3, 2012 Share Posted August 3, 2012 (edited) I just wanted to share my story in hopes to help other folks. Ill try to make this as quick as possible. Moved to Charleston, SC in 2005. Started having major allergy issues. I have gone though countless allergy shots, meds, and two sinus surgeries. All of which has helped quite a lot, but I have to some extent have had an "unexplained" feeling of slight fatigue and a not very crisp feeling. Its hard to explain, but it also seemed to be a slight breathing problem. Tested time and time again for asthma. All negative, Doc says I do not have it. So hands up in the air. Ok that is my quick health back ground... Had a similar experience over the last few years. Add in a chronic sinus infection that never really went away for 24+ months... Turns out I'm allergic to cow's milk but the tests gave false negatives, so we didn't figure it out for a looooong time. Glad things worked out for you. That sort of ongoing thing can really mess with a person's state of mind. Edited August 3, 2012 by The Irish Doggy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimm74 Posted August 3, 2012 Author Share Posted August 3, 2012 (edited) Had a similar experience over the last few years. Add in a chronic sinus infection that never really went away for 24+ months... Turns out I'm allergic to cow's milk but the tests gave false negatives, so we didn't figure it out for a looooong time. Glad things worked out for you. That sort of ongoing thing can really mess with a person's state of mind. Without a doubt...at times your really start to feel like you are going crazy. I too had lots of recurring sinus infections with very brief periods of relief...I mean brief...I could count days out of the year I felt ok. 24+ months I am pretty sure at times you literally go crazy. Congrats on nailing the issue. Its funny a lot of folks are not aware that food allergies can effect the sinuses. I suspect I might have a wheat allergy... Every time I have a wheat beer my nose drains a bit. Outside of that I do not eat much wheat. I have never been food tested for allergies, but have considered it. Since I no longer have sinuses it is not much of an issue. Edited August 3, 2012 by Grimm74 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Dick Posted August 3, 2012 Share Posted August 3, 2012 glad you were able to find help, an HVAC guy hung up on me a real leader of Dicks Oh shi.t, was that you? I think I remember you trying to call, and when I answered there was nothing there. I kept saying hello, hello...and nothing. Must have had a bad connection. Sorry about that; certainly not intentional. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuke'em ttg Posted August 3, 2012 Share Posted August 3, 2012 Oh shi.t, was that you? I think I remember you trying to call, and when I answered there was nothing there. I kept saying hello, hello...and nothing. Must have had a bad connection. Sorry about that; certainly not intentional. the phone slipped outta my hand and in the cheetoes, didn't sound like you were havin a good day Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimm74 Posted August 3, 2012 Author Share Posted August 3, 2012 (edited) Good times here. I hope you guys do not mind if I will repost this from time to time. Honestly It was a struggle at times and I really would hate for folks to go through what I did...even though this might easily not be the solution for them. I gain nothing by doing so... Chief Dick it seems you are in the hvac industry. Have you heard of what what is going on here? Edited August 3, 2012 by Grimm74 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scooby Posted August 4, 2012 Share Posted August 4, 2012 may not be related, but I have noticed the coughs/colds/pneumonia cases have been really bad this year in TX...even recently. We had no real winter, seems like the same season all year long with a cool spell or two. I'm not what you would call an allergy person, but mine were severe this year too. I think the lisinopril I was on for HBP (switched to Benicar) exacerbated the problem. Now my dry cough & hacking is all gone. Thank God!! Some of my friends and family had the same problems this year, not on HBP meds, just a bad dry cough that lasted what seemed like forever. Btw, I have a holistic-approach Great Aunt, she thinks America is experiencing poor air quality due to fallout from the Japanese tsunami of 2011...I laughed at first, but maybe she is right? lol! who knows? But this year has been bad in Texas for sure...Here's to much needed relief for all concerned. Glad things are looking up for you and your family now:)) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Dick Posted August 4, 2012 Share Posted August 4, 2012 Good times here. I hope you guys do not mind if I will repost this from time to time. Honestly It was a struggle at times and I really would hate for folks to go through what I did...even though this might easily not be the solution for them. I gain nothing by doing so... Chief Dick it seems you are in the hvac industry. Have you heard of what what is going on here? Yes I am. I sold for almost 5 years and never sold a device of what you used. And it was intentional. I don't believe in them because I haven't seen any evidence that they actually solve the problem. Now, in your case, it seems like you have done your due diligence and actually researched all the possibilities. (which makes you rare) But when I used to talk to customers, we always talked about how to solve the initial problem. Because in most cases, the product of which you use masks the other issues going on in the home. And I've been in so many houses that use some IAQ device that puts off so much ozone that you can damn near taste it. Which in a lot of cases is that "fresh smelling" sensation that homes feel when they install a cleaner like what you have. And people think it "works" because it's so different from what they are used to smelling. My experience tells me that the product you use is a band-aid, because it is not solving a problem. I've seen enough of these to know long term you may be doing more damage to the air in your home. But I'll also say: I'm not there. I haven't been in your home to see the issues. And clearly you have done your research. But I can tell you this: I would NEVER put one of those in my own home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimm74 Posted August 28, 2012 Author Share Posted August 28, 2012 Just read your reply. This unit is not an ozone generator and only produces ozone in the amount of any typical electrical device in your home like a computer. The unit still works well. Like I said before you(of course) are spot on about remedying the cause of the problem first and foremost which we did. Considering the number of mold issues in our home I can only suspect that there was a residual effect and also the dirty sock issue on the coils added to this. The dirty sock issue has been solved presumably with this device and small pockets of "residual" mold smells are now gone. I use to build homes so I am very comfortable with examining every square inch of my home including pulling back dry wall and siding to inspect the windows for any internal wall water leaks. The units I install produce ionized hydro peroxides. I would NEVER want an ozone generator in my home. I have a feeling this is somewhat of a newer product since they only started marketing them to the end user in 2010. I could be wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Square Posted August 29, 2012 Share Posted August 29, 2012 Glad to hear it worked out for you Grimm. I'd still move though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimm74 Posted August 29, 2012 Author Share Posted August 29, 2012 Glad to hear it worked out for you Grimm. I'd still move though. Got it. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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