How to hack your air purifier for uninterrupted, planned obsolescence-free use

[boingboing]

Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2024/02/04/how-to-hack-your-air-purifier-for-uninterrupted-planned-obsolescence-free-use.html

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[sqlrob]

@boingboing

learn to code

That makes it look harder than it is. Install an app, enter some numbers from the app into a web page, type in the numbers it spits out in the middle of another set of numbers

[TheUnwiseBard]

Or you can tape a 20x20 furnace filter (pick a high MERV for cleaner air) to a box fan and get just as good a result as dedicated air filters for 1/10th the price, and be able to replace the filter at any hardware store.

Here is an engineer testing various filters with wood smoke https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDZ9yUdM2wA

[jaded]

This story is less about ways to filter air and more about being duped by a seemingly innocent product into entering into a locked in subscription model, and triumphing over the enshittifier’s machine by simply waving your cell phone over the crippled filter.

It should serve as a warning that subscription products in general, and Xiaomi products in particular, are sleazy scams, and are best avoided altogether.

[mPwalters]

Here’s the thing for me: I’m with TheUnwiseBard in that hooking up a 20x20 filter to a box fan (or making a box with five sides filters and the sixth a box fan) makes the most sense overall.

On the other hand, for esthetics, I would love something more svelte or attractive. Presuming the filters get full, my goal would be to replace within something more affordable and, more likely, available in a decade.