Shanghai Indoor Air and Water Pollution and Solutions

According to the Environmental Protect Agency (EPA), the air inside homes can be two to five times more polluted than the air outside. What does that mean for us? It means that it’s even more risky to stay at home than to go outside. Continued exposure to pollutants will definitely do us no good so we need to make some urgent changes and there is definitely something we can do about it.

1.Health effects

Air pollution can affect our health in both the short-term and long-term.

The short-term effects include irritation to our eyes, nose and throat, and upper respiratory infections such as bronchitis支气管炎and pneumonia肺炎. Other symptoms can include headaches, nausea, and allergic reactions.

Long-term health effects can include chronic respiratory disease, lung cancer, heart disease, and even damage to the brain, nerves, liver, or kidneys. Continual exposure to air pollution affects the lungs of growing children and may aggravate medical conditions in the elderly.

Globally, there are over 2 million people dying prematurely because of air pollution.

Different groups of individuals are affected by air pollution in different ways. Some individuals are much more sensitive to pollutants than others. Young children and elderly people often suffer more from the effects of air pollution. People with health problems such as asthma, heart and lung disease may also suffer more when the air is polluted.

2.Sources of pollutants

Home air can contain a variety of contaminants and pollutants including mold spores, pollen, bacteria, dust mites, asbestos, radon decay products, and other particles and impurities.

Indoor pollution sources include oil, gas, wood, tobacco products, building materials and furnishings such as asbestos-containing insulation, household cleaning products, and lead-based paints that release gases or particles into the air.

Inadequate ventilation can increase indoor pollutant levels by not bringing in enough outdoor air to dilute emissions from indoor sources and by not carrying indoor air pollutants out of the home.

High temperature and humidity levels can also increase concentrations of some pollutants.

3. What are the solutions?

Control pollutant sources:

Eliminate the sources of pollution or reduce their emissions. Some sources, like those that contain asbestos, can be sealed or enclosed; others, like gas stoves, can be adjusted to decrease the amount of emissions.

Stop smoking or smoke outside. Stop over renovating the house.

In many cases, source control is also a more cost-efficient approach to protecting indoor air quality than other solutions.

Improve ventilation

It is particularly important to take this step while we are involved in short-term activities that can generate high levels of pollutants - for example, painting, or cooking.

Open windows and doors when the weather permits and run a window air conditioner with the vent control open as these actions increase the outdoor ventilation rate.
Turn on the fans in the bathroom to ventilate indoor air.

Use Air cleaners

The top 4 branded air purifiers are IQAir, Amway, BlueAir and AlenAir.

The size of particles is directly linked to their potential for causing health problems. Small particles less than 2.5 micron in diameter pose the greatest problems, because they can get deep into our lungs, and some may even get into our bloodstream.

Asbestos (石棉)：0.1 um
Radon: 0.01 um
Tobacco gas: 0.01-1 um
Bacteria: 0.2-1.1 um
Virus: <0.2 um
Varicella-zoster virus(水痘病毒)：0.173 um
Influenza A virus(甲流): 0.098 um
Coronavirus（冠状病毒SARS）:0.11 um
Coxsackievirus(手足口病毒):0.027 um

Filtration Precision of each branded purifier
IQAir: 0.003 um    
Amway: 0.009 um
BlueAir: 0.06 um   
AlenAir: 0.3 um

If with CADR Certificate issued by AHAM
IQAir: No
Amway: Yes
BlueAir: Yes
AlenAir: No

Certified CADR Range
Tobacco Smoke 10 to 450 CADR
Dust 10 to 400 CADR
Pollen 25 to 450 CADR

Green plants

For newly furnished houses, plants like Scindapsus aureus(绿萝)\ Sansevieria trifasciata Prain(虎皮兰)\ bracket plant吊兰are good

For houses with little natural light, plants in the herbs category like Scindapsus aureus(绿萝)\ evergreen万年青\Brazil巴西木are good.

For families with scent allergies, avoid chrysanthemum菊花\ fringed iris蝴蝶花 and any other plants with flowers

Living room: Scindapsus aureus(绿萝)\ Sansevieria trifasciata Prain(虎皮兰)\ Phlegmariurus carinatus(龙骨)\ 金钱树zamioculcas zamiifolia
Bedroom: bird-of paradise(天堂鸟、鹤望兰)\ 平安树Cinnamomum macrostoma Hay
Study Room: Echinopsis tubiflora (仙人球) \ asparagus (芦荟)\ Phlegmariurus carinatus (龙骨)
Bathroom: Hedera helix (常春藤)\ 薄荷Mint

Balcony: Sunflower (太阳花) \ Periwinkle（紫金花）\ Mint薄荷

It’s better not to put plants in the bedrooms of children.

Chlorophytum capense/ bracket plant (吊兰): Absorbs formaldehyde and releases oxygen in the day and gives out alexin during the night.

Hedera Helix (常青藤): Effectively gets rid of benzene, phenol (苯酚), oxyfluoride (氟化氧).

Scindapsus aureus (绿萝): Eliminates indoor chlorylene（三氯乙烯, sulfur chloride (氯化硫).

Sansevieria trifasciata Prain (虎皮兰): Absorbs formaldehyde and 80% of harmful indoor gases.

Phlegmariurus carinatus (龙骨): Reduces radiation from computers and absorbs formaldehyde and ether as well as other harmful gases.

Zamioculcas zamiifolia (金钱树): Releases negative ions, gives out oxygen at the same time as absorbing carbon dioxide and other harmful gases like benzene and formaldehyde

Bird-of paradise (天堂鸟、鹤望兰) : Removes odor and benzene.

Hedera helix (常春藤)\ 薄荷Mint: Removes odor and smell as well as moisture.

第二部分：水污染以及解决方案

1.Health effects of water pollution

According to the WHO, human aging, 80 percent of disease worldwide, 80 percent of cancer cases and 50 percent of child deaths are related to contaminated drinking water.

Research shows that cancer, calculous disease, cardiovascular diseases, diseases related to heavy metals, and many other infectious diseases can be linked to polluted water.

Many Shanghai residents have dry and brittle hair, rougher or itching skin, or worse skin allergies (red spots for example) and these can be related to the water quality here.

2.Causes of water pollution

Tap water sources can be seriously polluted.
Old plumbing is rusty and some of this rust dissolves into the water supply.
Water tanks on top of buildings are sometimes irregularly maintained.
Water is over chlorinated.

3.Healthy water solutions

Let the tap run for a few seconds before using the water.
Buy bottled water for drinking and cooking: One bottle can last about 3 days.
Use water filters: Choose one that is appropriate for your needs.

1. Spectrometer filter
2. Activated carbon filter
3. Ultra filtration filter with carbon or PP pre-filters
4. Electrolysis filter with carbon or PP pre-filters
5. RO filter with multi stages of pre and post filtration

Here is a list of particle sizes for common pollutants:

1. Normal particulates:50um
2. Bacteria:0.4-1um
3. Virus: 0.4－0.02um
4. Heavy metals: 0.005 um

The following filters are listed with their capabilities for filtration:

1. Spun Fiber: 1um
2. Activated Carbon: 0.15-60um
3. KDF: 0.22um
4. Micro filtration membrane: 0.1-1um
5. Ultra filtration membrane: 0.01um
6. Reverse Osmosis membrane: 0.0001um

Shanghai Greenwave Healthy Home Solutions
We are dedicated to one-stop healthy home solutions in China through the three basics of human life: clean air, quality food and pure water. We specialize in water filtration solutions and have been in this field for about 3 years. Over this time, we have brought healthy water to hundreds of expat and local families as well as some famous restaurants including El Willy and Masala Art.

We are currently the most often recommended brand for healthy water solutions within communities like Shanghai Mamas, Shanghai Expat, Shanghai Dolls, and the German Club. Our products can purify your drinking and cooking water, shower water, sink and bathtub tap water, kitchen cleaning water and laundry water. Our water filters include Premium/Alatai Drinking Water Purifier, ShowerBaby shower filter, WaterBaby faucet filter, Ozone Water Purifier, laundry filter as well as a few other customized water filters.