How Foobot Can Improve The Air Quality Of Your Home

I have mentioned several times in previous posts that we suffer from allergies and asthma at home. Bella has eczema and suffers from asthma which has even resulted in her having to stay at the hospital after an attack. Her eczema has ups and downs and when it is up, it can really flare up a lot. Little Sienna also sometimes has some minor issues with her breathing. I can’t say she has asthma as she is still too litte for that but she uses an inhaler sometimes. When she has a cough she suffers even more. I also have allergy problems. I did an allergy test which came with very generic results but basically, I need to take antihistamines every day so I can have a normal life! It is frustrating!

Getting to know the air condition of our home is something that I was always interested in exploring more as I am a believer that if we can improve the air we breathe at home it will help us with our allergies and eczema at home. Luckily, we were contacted by Airboxlab who are the creators of the FooBot Air Quality Monitor. They asked us if we wanted to try out a sample to monitor the air quality in our home and see how we can improve it. I said straight away “YES PLEASE“. I needed so desperately to find a solution to our constant allergies so I was super keen to test this device at home.

Recent news from research conducted at Queen Mary University of London has highlighted how pollution can effect unborn babies as inhaled pollution particles can move from the lungs into the circulation and then to the placenta. Not only this, researchers from Kings College London calculated that one in 14 cases of dementia may be caused by air pollution having found an association between the neurodegenerative condition and exposure to nitrogen dioxide and microscopic particles known as PM2.5. How crazy is that?

ABOUT FOOBOT

Foobot was developed by its founder Jacques Touillonto in order to help his eldest child in his fight against asthma and help take steps to ensure the air quality in the home is the best it can possibly be.

Foobot is the first air quality monitor with sleek design and powerful tech giving you a clear and visual understanding of how good the air quality is in your home and the knowledge to take small steps to improve it; benefitting the whole family’s long term health.

Foobot can give users a detailed knowledge of something which is effectively invisible. By scanning the environment day and night and learning from users habits, Foobot will provide warnings and actionable advice to keep the air in the home fresh and pollution free. It constantly measures VOCs, PM2.5s, CO2, temperature and humidity, and logs them in five minute intervals to find the best solution for air quality needs.

It works alongside other smart home devices taking direct action if pollution levels exceed a set amount. Perfect for allergy or asthma sufferers, the elderly, children or those of you facing the daily smog filled commute to work.

HOW DOES IT WORK

Foobot uses internal sensors to check for pollution in the form of chemicals and particulate matter, which are up to five times more common indoors as a result of confinement and alerts you via its companion app and the LEDs on the device itself. The device is sensitive to:

• PM2.5s – Particulate matter smaller than 2.5 micrometres, like dust, pollen and pet dander
• VOCs – Volatile organic compounds, toxic gases like formaldehyde and ammonia. This sensor is also sensitive to carbon monoxide, a potentially dangerous gas.
• Carbon dioxide – Exhaled naturally from humans. Not itself harmful, but indicative of poor circulation. This is measured via datafrom other sensors.
• Humidity – Low humidity can cause irritation. Excessive humidity let mould and dust mites grow.
• Temperature – Mostly for comfort, but still important to optimise

MAIN FEATURES

• Light Output: Instant feedback on your indoor air quality.
• Knock Knock: Tap the device twice to get the latest data
• Multi-room: Monitor your entire living space.
• Community friendly: Share best practices and results with others.
• Actionable advices: Much more than simple monitoring
• Plug & Relief: Hassle-free setup & one step connection.
• Machine learning: More personalized advice over time.

SETTING UP THE DEVICE AND THE APP

As soon as our Foobot arrived we plugged it into a socket at home. Setting it up was very simple and straightforward. It will then record the pollutants while showing visible records via its LED display. The colour of its glow will help you to determine if the air you are breathing is clean or if it contains pollution.

You need to dowload the app in order to see the readings from the device. It will let you know what is going on in your home. You will receive a notification when there are any spikes. You can check every day what is causing any changes in the air quality of your home. This was very helpful so I was able to realise what was causing any problems.

TESTING FOOBOT

I normally wake up feeling my allergy at the top of its discomfort so I notice the numbers start increasing. We live in a flat in London so as you can imagine the air quality will never be the same as living in the countryside. During the night, at least in Winter, we sleep with the windows closed so all our breathing gets around the flat even more together with the heating on.

This is the opposite to how the house is during the rest of the day. Everybody goes to work and school. I work from home so it is only me at home and I tend to open windows so the figures decrease a lot during the day.

I also noticed that when Nick sprays his deodorant, the device turns red straight away. It is for sure very bad for us to breath that so I have to immediately open windows to clear out the air. I am in search of a new deorant that is still effective but won’t harm our air.

THINGS YOU CAN DO TO IMPROVE YOUR AIR AT HOME

• Use plants
• Check products’ composition before buying
• Use organic or low VOC paints and cleaning products
• Clean  your air ducts 1x per year
• Clean/change your filters in your home if you have some
• Give a good dusting 2/3x week
• Change filters in your vacuum cleaner and empty it out
• Turn on the exhaust fan while cooking
• Clean filters of exhaust fan
• Furniture made of solid wood instead of pressed wood
• Use natural cosmetics
• Electricity instead of gas for cooking
• Keep incense, scented candles for special occasions. Try using organic ones.
• Avoid drying clothes inside the house
• Optimizing your home’s Ventilation / HVAC system If the problem is more about PMs*, an air purifier will help

PRICE & WHERE TO BUY

Showing a red/orange glow which meas something is wrong. 

Foobot is available in the UK, Europe and the US for £179 and $199. If you would like to try FooBot you can get one from AMAZON.

OUR THOUGHTS

FootBot is definitely an expensive device and I will recommend you to get it if you or your family suffers from allergies or asthma. It is a great gadget that helps you identify the spikes in the air quality in your home so you can take some actions to improve that. During the time we have been testing Foobot I can definitely say that it has helped me to identify the issues quicker and helped to amend those issues straight away. Most of the time opening the window is what we needed to bring some fresh air to the house.

I know that you can do this on your own regardless during peak times in your home but having a notification telling me when this is happening before I even noticed it, so I can fix the problem is very helpful. I cannot say that I have reduced the intake of antihistamine I use every day or that Bella has stopped having asthma but certainly it has helped me to quickly refresh the air and improve the air quality inside our flat.

Do you worry about the air quality of your home?

*Disclosure: We received a FooBot to test at home for the purpose of this review. However, all thoughts and opinions are my own. Contain affiliate link

Thanks for stopping by,

Love you all ❤️

Franca  💋

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