Beat the Air Pollution

As winter is coming, it’s also the time that smog days are here. There are lots of reasons that cause air pollution especially in the winter due to in China, they burn coal or diesel for the public heating.

At Home

An air purifier might be the first thing you bought while you moved to Beijing. Nowadays that more and more brands are producing air purifier but how to chose the one that reaches your requirement?

 
1. Blueair

Well, it is definitely very familiar for you. Air enthusiast Blueair ‘combines Swedish innovation with functional aesthetics’, which is either referring to the product itself or the large photo of a very Swedish-looking child on its homepage. Either way, the entry-level Blueair 203, the flagship air purifier, is a quiet and effective device and comes at the mid-tier price of RMB 3590.

Price: Starts from RMB 3590; For filters start from RMB 428

Website or Tmall (Chinese only) or in store.   https://blueaircn.tmall.com/category.htm?spm=a1z10.1-b-s.w5001-15992410379.3.bfba744zKLYqr&search=y&scene=taobao_shop

2. Xiaomi

Aside from manufacturing the dopest and cheapest smartphones on the market, Xiaomi done made a fantastic air purifier at a very competitive price. The screen of Xiaomi Air Purifier Pro can show you how bad the air quality is with three kinds of light: green, orange, red. Feeling hazy? Take shelter with smart remote controls and real-time air monitoring. That way you will always know what outdoor vs indoor air quality is like, and switch to High-speed mode on a hazy day. Set timer schedules to learn your wake up and sleep patterns, and schedule a power off when you leave home. That’s not all, built-in temperature and humidity sensors also give you more information about your environment.
Use your phone as a remote to power on, power off, and switch modes (available for iOS and Android), which tells you the air quality inside your home by the sensor in the filter and outside your house. It also tells you when to change the filter. The replacement filters are only RMB149 – 159 for more function.

Price: RMB 599 for Xiaomi Air Purifier 2 or RMB1499 for Mi Air Purifier Pro.

Website or Tmall (Chinese only) https://detail.tmall.com/item.htm?spm=a1z10.1-b-s.w5003-17286048356.1.4aa4751caVMG0b&id=524539785138&skuId=3122547493585&scene=taobao_shop

3. Origins OxyBox

You might have a laser egg at your home to check the air quality. It claimed that in less than 45 minutes the OxyBox can deliver air cleaner than the air at the Rhone Glacier in Switzerland. The OxyBox pushes through over 350m3 of clean air every hour.

Price: RMB 4499; RMB 970/filter

Website https://www.kaiterra.cn/cn/main-page-2/
or WeChat https://wap.youzan.com/v2/showcase/homepage?alias=15x3t8ao&sf=wx_menu&redirect_count=1

4. IQ Air

Engineered and built at the family factory in Switzerland, each IQAir air purifier is the perfect example of Swiss precision-engineering, superior craftsmanship, and continuous research and development. Each IQAir air purifier is individually tested and certified before it leaves the factory and arrives with a Certificate of Performance so that you will know the exact effectiveness of your particular unit. In addition, all IQAir air cleaners are certified ozone-free by the International Association of Air Cleaner Manufacturers (IAACM).

Price: Start from RMB 11988

Website https://www.iqair.cn/cn
 or Tmall (Chinese only) https://iqairaura.tmall.com/category-1318170972.htm?spm=a1z10.1-b-s.w14362278-17306957421.4.64999a813qtGMd&search=y&catName=%BC%D2%D3%C3&scene=taobao_shop#bd

Something Green

Despite all these air purifiers, plants can also help to reduce some indoor air pollution such as Formaldehyde which usually contains in the paint.

Here are six kinds of plants that you can get it very easily.

 
1. Peace Lily(和平百合)

Water: Plenty, every three days.

Price: RMB80 for the size shown. The narrower the leaves, the pricier the plant.

2. English Ivy

Water: Once a week.

Price: RMB60 for the size shown, but prices can vary wildly depending on the size and your bargaining skills.

3. Variegated Snake Plant

Water: Every two weeks

Price: RMB20 for a plant.

4. Red-edged Dracaena

Water: Every ten-12 days

Price: From RMB80

5. Flamingo Lily

Although it’s poisonous

Water: Every three days

Price: RMB70

6. Devil’s Ivy

Devil’s Ivy is the most common and highly recommended plant for house use. What’s more, it is very easy to plant, either in the water or earth.

Water: Every five days

Price: RMB20

Here are the locations that you can get these plants in good bargains.

* Laitai flower market (莱太花卉)

9, Maizidian W Road, Chaoyang朝阳区麦子店西路9号

 
*Liangma flower market (亮马花卉)

It’s a bit smaller than Laitai flower market, but you can get most

13, 1F, B8, East 3rd Ring N Road, Chaoyang朝阳区东三环北路乙8号1层13号

 
*Sunhe flower market (孙河花卉市场)

South of Sunhe Bridge, Jingshun Rd, Shunyi京顺路孙河大桥南

Outdoor

Smog cannot stop us to go out or go to work but how to protect ourselves from it harming our health?

All you need is an air pollution mask!

1. 3M

Of course, we all knew 3M and it did have really good air pollution masks. Since more and more Chinese people start to care about their health, 3M’s masks sold out very fast which cause some fake 3M products are in the market. It is better to buy it in the store than online. Usually can be worn for one time and the filter cannot be changed.

Price: RMB 24.9/3 pieces

2. Totobobo

A poor face seal is a poor protection. Totobobo makes sure that the mask is fitting and sealing your unique face. It has the filter on two sides and it can be changed, depends on different types of the filter, the prices are RMB 128/198/235 for 10 pairs.

Price: RMB 208

Website http://totobobo.com/
Or Tmall (Chinese only) https://totobobo.tmall.com/

3. Vogmask

Vogmask was established in the State. It uses a microfibre filtration fabric to filter the air and can be washed and worn for around 200 hours before the whole mask needs to be replaced. Which means you don’t need to buy filters! The only disadvantage is the ear straps can’t be pulled tighter or loosen which makes some polluted air can sneak in around the outsides. It’s available in different sizes aimed at adults, teenagers, and children.

Price: RMB 255

Website http://www.vogmaskchina.com/en/
Or Tmall (Chinese only) https://vogmask.tmall.com/search.htm?spm=a220m.1000858.1000725.8.456aba1cbV3xiH&user_number_id=2195514826&rn=86fc9497ddd4e73bcd0574aa88a34f08&keyword=vogmask

4. id mask

It is different from the usual, it is a silicon-sealed plastic mask. The appearance of the mask looks like a gas-mask in a mini version which is particularly good for sporty types and good thing is that the straps go behind your head not pulling your ears. It has 3 colors: black, pink and transparent! At least now we can see each other’s face even with the mask on. There’re filters on two side of the mask. First, it starts white and turns grey when they have collected enough dirt, so it’s easy to know when to change them. The disadvantage of id mask is that it’s a little bit pricey. You need to keep buying the filters (RMB129 / 2 sets, 4 pieces of filters) and is not easy for people who wear glasses due to it rises pretty high up the nose.

Price: RMB299/399

Website http://en.idmask.com.cn/
Or WeChat 

Apps

1. Air Matters

Providing real-time Air Quality Index & Allergy Pollen & Weather Data, as well as Protection Recommendations and Forecast. It can also connect with your own air purifier or air monitoring devices, control the air purifier remotely, compare indoor air quality with outdoor and get health advices.

Available for iOS and Android

Website  https://air-matters.com/

2. AirVisual

See an invisible threat before it arrives! AirVisual is the first and only app to provide forecast air quality and weather data for more than 5,000 cities around the world. No advertising – just all of the air pollution information you want, in one place.

Available for iOS and Android

Website https://www.airvisual.com/