![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
So, how do I feel about the QingPing, now that I've had it for over 2 months? I'm still happy with it. I trust the PM2.5 and CO2 sensors. Less sure about the VOC, which seems to shoot up and down for unclear reasons... and if it's accurate, this house is eeeeeeh. It reads particularly high over night in my bedroom: closed windows, placed between newish foam mattress and the wall for charging.
We recently had a week of bad air, in a way worse than Mexico City, where the PM comes from cars so gets better overnight, while this was just a blob of woodsmoke or something. So I got to experience the juggle of balancing low PM (close windows, run purifier) vs. low CO2 or VOC (open windows). The purifier -- Honeywell 50250 -- is actually powerful enough to make a dent even with the window open, like levels might be 30 mcg outside and 10 by my bed.
Last night I pan-fried some ribeye steak. I aimed for a good sear, so I had the pan on near-maximum heat. (Gas stove.) I got a lot of browning, but also kitchen PM levels in the 200s. After airing it down to 60, I pan-fried some potatoes, on lower heat, and at first that was stable, but I went away to read for a bit and let the potatoes blacken somewhat, and PM shot to the 400s. I went in masked, loaded a plate, and took it away to eat.
Tonight I pan-fried a pork chop. Given that I want a higher ratio of cooked interior to crust, I stuck to medium heat, and that helped a lot; PM didn't go above 17 even after the formerly brisk breeze outside died down. Then I made some popcorn in a saucepan, and things were mostly good until the end: the price of waiting for recalcitrant kernels to pop is risking browning or burning the ones that already have. I think PM passed 100, certainly passed 44.
A kitchen with a proper vent would help, though that's largely exporting the problem outside. I'm now wondering what _happens_ to particulates in the long run. Does anything actually remove them from the environment?
We recently had a week of bad air, in a way worse than Mexico City, where the PM comes from cars so gets better overnight, while this was just a blob of woodsmoke or something. So I got to experience the juggle of balancing low PM (close windows, run purifier) vs. low CO2 or VOC (open windows). The purifier -- Honeywell 50250 -- is actually powerful enough to make a dent even with the window open, like levels might be 30 mcg outside and 10 by my bed.
Last night I pan-fried some ribeye steak. I aimed for a good sear, so I had the pan on near-maximum heat. (Gas stove.) I got a lot of browning, but also kitchen PM levels in the 200s. After airing it down to 60, I pan-fried some potatoes, on lower heat, and at first that was stable, but I went away to read for a bit and let the potatoes blacken somewhat, and PM shot to the 400s. I went in masked, loaded a plate, and took it away to eat.
Tonight I pan-fried a pork chop. Given that I want a higher ratio of cooked interior to crust, I stuck to medium heat, and that helped a lot; PM didn't go above 17 even after the formerly brisk breeze outside died down. Then I made some popcorn in a saucepan, and things were mostly good until the end: the price of waiting for recalcitrant kernels to pop is risking browning or burning the ones that already have. I think PM passed 100, certainly passed 44.
A kitchen with a proper vent would help, though that's largely exporting the problem outside. I'm now wondering what _happens_ to particulates in the long run. Does anything actually remove them from the environment?