Thank you so much for taking the time to live your values and provide real care to our community!
People like you make this a safer place for everyone to live.
We have 5 CR-box Air Purifiers (smaller) and 5 Clean-Air Kit CR-box Air Purifiers (larger) available to borrow.
We also have 2 Aranet Carbon Dioxide measuring devices to borrow.
We track reservations in our Google Calendar that you can find here. Please check this calendar BEFORE making a request to see if we have available the supplies you're looking to borrow.
Items can be picked up and returned at First Unitarian Universalist of Syracuse located at 109 Waring Rd, Syracuse, NY at ttimes scheduled with bloc members. Please provide contact information you will check regularly to coordinate with us ahead of time.
We kindly request that you give us at least 1 to 2 weeks' notice before the requested pickup date. If this is not possible, please also email the bloc at hello@BetterBreathingBloc.com to make sure we can fulfill your request. If you make your request with less than one week's notice, we're sorry but we can make no guarantee that your request can be fulfilled. Our members volunteer their time to coordinate with those making requests, and sometimes our members are not able to make changes to their plans without at least a week of notice.
This Lending Library is possible in part with a grant from
the NY Convention of Universalists, donations from a network of mask
blocs, and monetary and volunteer contributions from the Central New York community.
Important Notes:
On Air Purifiers:
- Free to borrow for personal or public use for up to 1 week at a time, depending on availability regarding prior reservation. Extended (more than 1 week) use may be available on a case by case basis ~ please ask!
- Our purifiers have short cords. You may need extension cords and/or power strips to properly distribute them around the space(s).
- All purifiers need to have at least 1 foot of clear and open space all around to work properly, and at least 4 feet in front of the side with the fans.
- Most air purifiers do not remove carbon dioxide from the air ~ they only clean the air of particulates, and some purifiers (including our purifiers) have filters fine enough to remove viruses and bacteria, as well as smoke.
- We have two kinds of air purifiers:
1. Corsi-Rosenthal (CR) Boxes made with computer fans and MERV13 furnace filters (smaller & lighter)
- better suited for smaller spaces with fewer people
- very quiet
- has a handle on the top for easier carrying
2. Clean-Air Kit brand CR Boxes (very large)
- better suited to larger spaces with more people
- one of these can filter as much air as two of the smaller CR Boxes
- a little louder, but still quieter than most HEPA filters while filtering much more air
- has a handle on the top for easier carrying
- Because they are very expensive to replace, we require a $20 cash deposit when borrowing our Clean-Air Kit large air purifiers. This deposit will be returned to you when you return the air purifiers.
On Aranet Carbon Dioxide Monitors:
- Because the monitors are very expensive, we require a $20 cash deposit when borrowing an Aranet monitor. This deposit will be returned to you when you return the Aranet monitor.
Why is Carbon Dioxide important?- The more people in a space, the more Carbon Dioxide (CO2) will be
exhaled into the space if there is not constant fresh outside air being
introduced. This is true even when people are wearing respirator masks.
- High CO2 levels (over 1000) can cause disorientation and even harm for prolonged periods of time.
What is the Aranet monitor used for?
- Carbon Dioxide (CO2) can be used to monitor how much ventilation (fresh outside air) a space has and is often used as a metric for understanding the air quality of an inside room.
- Lower numbers (300-600) are healthier, Higher numbers (800 and above) are more harmful
- In a space where most/all people are not wearing masks and the air is not being purified, it can also be a metric for how much potential there is for each unfiltered inhaled breath to carry viruses and bacteria, and thus how likely a person is to catch airborne illnesses from others exhaling into the air.
- Additionally, the SARS-CoV2 virus persists in the air longer in spaces where there are higher CO2 concentrations.
- In a space where most/all people are wearing masks and the air is being purified, it is still important for making sure the CO2 levels stay within healthy ranges, especially for those who are not able to mask as they rely on air purifiers and air quality monitoring to protect them.
What can you do to keep the CO2 numbers low:
- Some HVAC systems provide fresh outside air while they run and can keep the CO2 numbers low (around 400-600). Many do not and, especially at events with lots of people filling a space, the CO2 numbers will climb over time.
To help increase ventilation and reduce CO2: - Open windows and doors
- Put fans into windows on one side of the space to push air out, and have other windows open to allow fresh air to enter
- Turning an HVAC system to run continuously (even with no heat or air conditioning) such as a "Fan" setting (though not all HVAC systems bring in fresh outside air, so do not depend on this method only)
