Let the Good Times Roll and the Clean Air Flow: How to Keep Your Air Clean This Thanksgiving
With Thanksgiving just around the corner and the months of indoor gatherings beginning to set in for most people, now is a good time to consider how you are going to keep your indoor air quality clean and safe. Although it may not be the most exciting aspect of Thanksgiving, the fact of the matter is that because air pollution generally worsens as the temperature drops, air quality is a top concern, especially for large gatherings with people of all ages. On top of the colder air, the furious bout of indoor cooking that Thanksgiving usually entails only jeopardizes your air quality more.
Thankfully, by pairing a Coway air purifier with a few simple tricks, you can keep your family and friends safe inside, whether you are serving up a feast are huddling around a fireplace. However, matching your air purifier to your space, and adapting broad air filtration strategies is critical to keeping the air clean. In this blog, we cover everything you need to have in your toolbox, and everything you need to know to get clean indoor air circulating in time for Thanksgiving.
Why Thanksgiving Can Be An Air Quality Challenge
The combination of the cooler air and increased, prolonged indoor cooking make Thanksgiving a hotspot for air quality issues. Unfortunately, the same issues hold true for the rest of the winter holidays. However, once you know where the air quality threats come from, mitigating their presence only takes a few simple steps. ,
Indoor Cooking
Cooking up a storm is a fan-favorite Thanksgiving activity for many. However, there are air quality risks associated with the type of heat you use, and what you are cooking. For example, cooking with gas may release carbon monoxide, while cooking over a wood fireplace can release harmful levels of wood smoke. Cooking with oils and fats at high temperatures can also release unwanted odors and smoke.
Poor Ventilation
Even if you cook with a vent in the kitchen, a high concentration of family and friends in other rooms of the house can present challenges there as well. As people pack into shared spaces to celebrate, the risk of exchanging germs with one another rises. If you don’t increase your ventilation system, even if only by using a fan and opening a window, you won’t get the ventilation you need. Indoor spaces without proper ventilation can have 100 times more fine particles than what is considered healthy according to the World Health Organization.
Cold Weather
Because cold air is more dense than warm air, it moves slower and tends to trap airborne particles more securely than warm air. Because of this, air pollution levels tend to be higher in the winter than in the summer. Cold weather also increases the average moisture in the air, which can contribute to winter mold. These conditions only exacerbate the challenge of keeping your air clean for Thanksgiving, and the rest of your gatherings to follow.
How to Keep Your Air Clean for Thanksgiving
Invest in a Coway Air Purifier
Regardless of what type of space you have, or whether you have an HVAC unit installed, you can invest in an Airmega Coway air purifier for Thanksgiving. Aside from offering great filtration speeds and capacity, you can take your Coway purifier to where the crowd is the source of smoke or whatever the pollutant may be. Although this may not be the most ideal tactic for everyday use, especially if you use a larger unit such as the Airmega 400, it can work wonders during the holidays and large indoor gatherings. Also, consider getting a unit with a carbon filter, like the Airmega Icon, that will actively help reduce cooking odors and other smells.
Clean Your Space
Getting rid of excess dust and other pollutants ahead of when people arrive is a great strategy to mitigate the chance of it getting all kicked up when someone inevitably goes looking for an extra chair, or something of that nature. Take care to avoid chemical-based cleaners because these can also decrease indoor air quality. Even if you can’t do a deep clean, a good dusting with a microfiber cloth can go a long way.
Cook With Ventilation
Not only can ventilation, either from a cooking hood, air purifier, fan, or some combination of the three, help with removing pollutants, it can also eliminate unwanted odors. Odors from cooking and cooking smoke can have an unwanted impact on the air quality, not to mention people's appetites. Using a combination of the tools at your disposal is the best way to ensure good results.
Take Control of Your Air Quality This Thanksgiving
Nothing expresses your gratitude for your friends and family like putting in the effort to keep them safe. Investing in an air purifier is the easiest, most comprehensive solution for air quality problems associated with large indoor gatherings. Perhaps most importantly, a good air purifier will let you breathe easy, relax, and focus on the meal!
Will Briskin (he/him) is a tool and high-end product reviewer with a focus on all things related to woodworking, design, and furniture. He began woodworking at a young age, and he’s been testing new tools and design ideas ever since. His passion for improving his craft has equipped him with the ability to recognize quality products in a variety of fields. When investigating products for BestReviews, Will draws on his experience as an academic research assistant and many hours spent honing his attention to detail in a professional furniture design and manufacturing studio. This allows him to write with authority on multiple subjects.
Sources:
California Air Resource Board - Indoor Air Pollution From Cooking
Accuweather - Why Air Pollution is Worse in Winter
EPA - The Inside Story: A guide to Indoor Air Quality
World Health Organization - Household Air Pollution
Disclaimers
1Coway air purifiers have been proven to trap dust, pollen, dander, viruses and bacteria in the air based on KCL (Korea Conformity Laboratories) testing.They have been tested in a 30㎥ size chamber according to the Korea Air Cleaning Association standard (SPS-KACA 002-132:2022 Modified) to measure the 0.01㎛ size of particle removal rate. It was tested on maximum airflow speed in normal room temperature and humidity conditions. The performance may vary in the actual living environment of customers.
→ Tested with Airmega Aim, 100, 150, 160, AP-1216L, AP-1512HH, AP-1512HHS, 200M, Icon, IconS, 230, 240, 250, 250 Art, 250S, 300, 300S, 400, 400S, ProX
299.97% of viruses, bacteria, fungi and pollen were verified to be removed from the air for Coway air purifiers which have Green True HEPA™ filter applied based on the Japan Food Research Laboratories(JFRL) testing according to JEM 1467 standard.
→ Tested with Coway Airmega AP-1512HH, AP-1512HHS, 250, 250 Art, 250S, 300, 300S, 400, 400S
→ All tested by JFRL and received above result within below time.
All tested by JFRL and received above result within below time.
- Virus: Tested with Escherichia coli phage ΦX174 NBRC 103405, 60 minutes
- Bacteria: Tested with Staphylococcus epidermidis NBRC 12993, 60 minutes
- Fungi/Mold: Tested with Penicillium citrinum NBRC 6352, 60 minutes
- Pollen: Tested with Cedar Pollen extract, 60 minutes
3Aerosol test conducted in a Biosafety level 3 laboratory with two Coway air purifier models, Coway Airmega 250 and 400 for removal of SARS-CoV-2 Aerosol by US based MRI Global, a not-for-profit laboratory and partner of US Department of Defense. The test was conducted in a 13.1ft3 chamber. Virus was aerosolized for 15 minutes and the product was turned on high for 2 minutes. Result showed each product effectively removed over 99.98% of the SARS-CoV-2 in 2 minutes. This is a result from a laboratory experiment condition and result may vary in different conditions. This result does not imply it kills SARS-CoV-2 or prevents the transmission of Covid-19. Coway Airmega 250S and 400S are identical to the tested models and has equal performance with an additional mobile connectivity function.
4The concentration of ammonia, acetaldehyde and acetic acid were proven to be removed within 30 minutes by FCG Research Institute, Inc. Human Life Science Lab. It is not a demonstration result in the actual use space. Not all odors and gases may be supported. → Tested with Coway Airmega 150, 160, AP-1512HH, AP-1512HHS, 400, 400S
5The coverage area of the air purifier is based on an area where the air cleaner can make two air changes per hour (ACPH). An air change per hour translates to how many times an air purifier can clean an area, assuming the height of a ceiling to be 8 ft, in one hour. Therefore ** means two air changes per hour means that the cleaner can clean the area once every 30 minutes and * means air changes per hour means that the air purifier can clean the area once every 60 minutes.
10Terms and conditions apply. Discounts, including promotions, coupons, bundle discount and subscription discount, cannot be stacked on top of other coupons. During promotional periods, discount codes will not be able to be applied to orders. Promo codes may apply to products only—filters, accessories, and new products within 3 months of the release date are not included.
