Air Purifier or humidifier safe near PC ?

liz7 · 02 Dec 2014

Hey guys !! I hope this isn't a dumb question but this is like the only tech forum I know (you can suggest alternative forums as well ) I thought you guys might be able to help me .

I have this 2 year old super expensive PC at home rigged up by my brother . There is issue with air ventilation in our home and lot of static dust building up on my PC casing . A friend of mine asked me to use an humidifier or an air purifier to get rid of this problem . Air purifiers are expensive so I'm thinking of using a humidifier to solve the problem but when I check online I'm getting mixed responses . There are few users telling it solves dust problem but few others mentioning that it causes corrosion of motherboard and other internal components .

I'm confused

.. What do I do ??

Yard Dog · 02 Dec 2014

Hello Liz7 .. Welcome to SevenForums

Dust on outside of case is not that hard on computer.. just wipe if off.. however .. if dust is getting inside and building up on your hardware, that can be an issue. You can take off your case panel and use a can of air to blow dust out of fans and off motherboard . Sure some others here other ways to keep dust from getting in.. hope this helps..
As far as a humidifier.. not sure how that would effect insides of computer , would have to be pretty moist air.. for sure to get inside .

Layback Bear · 02 Dec 2014

The first thing I would do is make sure all intake fans on the computer have the proper filters.
My home at the present time has a humidity reading of 34% with no problems.
In the rainy spring it goes higher and I have no problems.
I do use a air purifier in my computer room just to keep the cigarette smoke out of the computers. I don't know if the smoke hurts my computers but I use the purifier anyway because I already own it.

Yard Dog · 02 Dec 2014

Ahh found it.. check this free site out . great free tips .. Lian Li Hates Cute Little Dust Bunnies, Equips All Cases with Washable Fan Filters | Maximum PC

Fantail · 02 Dec 2014

I have a Holmes dual fan dual filter unit. 3 speed has an ionizer of sorts. Used at work it helps out with the hyperosmia and dust plus with one carbon filter zaps its share of oders. If memory serves about 90$, chinamart has the filters.

Anak · 02 Dec 2014

Hi liz7, welcome to 7F! :)

First of all I'd like to ask you; What type of heating and air conditioning (AC) do you have in your home or apartment, and do you have any pets?

If you have a forced hot air furnace in your home check the filter for it and the AC. For the air conditioner, heat pump, or furnace air filter location, condition, problems, and repairs see: http://Air Filters for Heating and Air Conditioning Systems | inspectapedia.com the pictures shown in the link are worst case scenarios and they aren't working at all, but if you've never thought about them it would be a safe bet that they need replacement.
Also check and see if the furnace already has a humidifier, it may need some TLC to get it working again, most of the time the water supply nozzle gets blocked or corroded, it may even be turn off.

If you're in an apartment have the landlord or maintenance man check the filters and humidifier.

There are no filters or humidifiers if you have baseboard hot water or electric heat.

Air Purifiers are great, make sure if you get one that it is a HEPA style.

Humidifiers are usually only needed for the Winter Season, we keep our house around 50 to 55% you'll want to buy a relative humidity monitor so you can tell how much you need to run the humidifier.

Related Links
http://Minimum efficiency reporting value for air filters | en.wikipedia.org

For an idea on prices:
http://Air Purifiers HEPA | www.bestbuy.com

http://Humidifiers | www.bestbuy.com

http://Digital Humidity and Temperature Comfort Monitor | www.homedepot.com

seveneleven711 · 02 Dec 2014

Humidifiers increase the moisture content in the air and this will probably result in condensate deposition on your casing and eventually lead to corrosion which is more harmful than the static dust on the casing which can be removed easily using a filter. If you want to still get rid of the dust and save yourself the hassle of vacuuming then an air purifier is a better option. While humidifiers just raise the moisture content air purifiers can eliminate dust,virus and air borne contaminants which are few microns in size. Don't opt for the centralized ones or air purifiers with lot of filters they are pretty expensive and the maintenance cost can also be very high.

I use this room air purifier Go-Clair | Premium Air Purifiers with e2f technology. . Just cost me $159 . I actually got it in the first place because my pd recommended it to alleviate my Asthma condition but later I noticed that my room felt less dusty and the static cling on my PC casing and most of the electronic equipment was also gone . So I guess air purifiers are a safe bet .

liz7 · 12 Dec 2014

Anak said:

Hi liz7, welcome to 7F! :)

First of all I'd like to ask you; What type of heating and air conditioning (AC) do you have in your home or apartment, and do you have any pets?

......

Thank you so much for the detailed information . We have an HVAC expert coming home this weekend to solve the problem . I'm seriously considering room air purifiers . Few of them are reasonably priced as well.

liz7 · 12 Dec 2014

seveneleven711 said:

Humidifiers increase the moisture content in the air and this will probably result in condensate deposition...
I use this room air purifier Go-Clair | Premium Air Purifiers with e2f technology. . Just cost me $159 . I actually .. .

I just went through the link you shared as well . I just checked few room air purifiers similar to these . I heard most of these room air purifiers which cost less gets expensive in the long run as you have to keep changing the filters so I'm a bit skeptical .The one I'm considering costs $500 and has a permanent filter.

Anak · 12 Dec 2014

liz7 said:

Anak said:

Hi liz7, welcome to 7F! :)

First of all I'd like to ask you; What type of heating and air conditioning (AC) do you have in your home or apartment, and do you have any pets?

Thank you so much for the detailed information . We have an HVAC expert coming home this weekend to solve the problem . I'm seriously considering room air purifiers . Few of them are reasonably priced as well.

You're welcome.

If s/he's a good HVAC mechanic they'll want to inspect the Heating and cooling Ducts. Let them, new filters will help, but if your ducts are dirty, moldy they won't last long, and they may want to do a http://inspectapedia.com/sickhouse/HVAC_Dust_Study.htm.

As for price and length of time it can take anywhere from 2 to 6hours and the average cost is $850. It all depends on the types of services offered, the size of the system to be cleaned, system accessibility, climate region, and level of contamination." Duct Cleaning Costs | Average Price to Clean Ducts & Vents

liz7 said:

seveneleven711 said:

Humidifiers increase the moisture content in the air and this will probably result in condensate deposition...
I use this room air purifier Go-Clair | Premium Air Purifiers with e2f technology. . Just cost me $159 . I actually .. .

I just went through the link you shared as well . I just checked few room air purifiers similar to these . I heard most of these room air purifiers which cost less gets expensive in the long run as you have to keep changing the filters so I'm a bit skeptical .The one I'm considering costs $500 and has a permanent filter.

Adding extra air purifiers in different rooms would be a good adjunct to the main heating and cooling units, but check with the HVAC mechanic(s), you could get one installed in-line to the main cold air return duct coming back to your HVAC the downside is it only works when the heat or AC is on or running so, you may still want to get extra room purifiers.
Talk it over with the HVAC mechanic, with eyes on the subject s/he'd be better able to guide you.

Out of curiosity, do you have a link to that $500 purifier?