The Melanie Avalon Biohacking Podcast Episode #326 - Helen Christoni

TRANSCRIPT

Helen Christoni
polluted indoor air looks like being congested, having a sore throat, feeling run down or like your resistance is down. Dementia has been linked to poor air pollution.

Now we're worried about microplastics in our air and we know that the whole conversation going on with microplastics, not just in water, also in the air we breathe. Purified air is foundational and all the other great stuff that you're doing to really increase your longevity. You're fighting an uphill battle if you're not sure of finding your air at home.

Melanie Avalon
Welcome to the Melanie Avalon biohacking podcast, where we meet the world's top experts to explore the secrets of health, mindset, longevity, and so much more. Are you ready to take charge of your existence and biohack your life? This show is for you. Please keep in mind, we're not dispensing medical advice and are not responsible for any outcomes you may experience from implementing the tactics lying herein.

So friends, are you ready to join me? Let's do this. Welcome back to the Melanie Avalon biohacking podcast friends. Today's episode is so invaluable. It could truly change your life when it comes to optimizing your environment. As we talk about, and as you'll soon hear, I cannot express enough, the importance of removing the toxins from your air and your water. Definitely check out air doctor and awkward true products. I am obsessed with their quality, with what they're doing, with their mission, and all the things, and you can get a major discount when you go to Melanie Avalon.com slash air doctor. All the things will be there. I personally have an air doctor unit from the 3000 series and the shower head, which Helen sent me and I am loving. Oh my goodness. It has completely changed my shower habits. These products can radically change your health. I am so grateful for them and I'm so grateful for all the information that Helen shared on today's show. We talk about what's really in your air and water, everything from BOCs to dust to heavy metals, to mold, the role of the size of particles and how air doctor stands apart when it comes to that. What you need to know about HEPA and carbon filters. The importance of when you change your filters, whether or not you should use ionizing air filters, including the role of ozone, the problems with fluoride in our water, a shocking compound, similar to chlorine. That's not chlorine that's in so much of our water. And which most water filters do not address how to clean your living space, including how to vacuum and dust, the two areas in your house or apartment that you should focus on and so much more.

So again, get a major discount on these products when you go to melanieavilon.com slash air doctor. And then these show notes for today's episode will be at melanieavilon.com slash air water. Those show notes will have a full transcript as well as links to everything that we talked about. So definitely check that out. I can't wait to hear what you guys think. Definitely let me know in my Facebook group, I have biohackers, intermittent fasting, plus real foods, plus life comments, something you learned or something that resonated with you on the pinned post to enter to win something that I love and then check out my Instagram, find the Friday announcement post and again, comments there to enter to win something that I love. All right. I think that's all the things without, without further ado, please enjoy this wonderful conversation with the senior vice president of ideal living, Helen Christoni. Hi friends. Welcome back to the show.

Melanie Avalon
I am so incredibly excited about the conversation I'm about to have. Oh my goodness. This is a topic I am personally so obsessed with, so passionate about. And I know you guys are as well, because when I was asking for questions for today's show, I just got inundated with so many very actually specific questions about what we're going to talk about.

And that is the role of clean air and clean water, basically, you know, what we are living in 24 seven and putting into our bodies for a large portion of that time as well. And I am here with honestly, one of the best people to talk about this subject. So the backstory on today's conversation, clean air has been really important to me for a very, very long time. And I have historically tried a lot of different air filters. And when I came across air doctor, it was quite a, it was quite a few years ago now. I was just really, really impressed with the technology. I was impressed with their mission-based approach to everything. I dive deep into the science of their filters. And that was very impressive as well. And I'm sure we'll talk about that in today's episode. And one thing I really liked about air doctor was they communicated a lot, their mission to make clean air affordable to everybody. So I just, I really appreciate the model and everything about it. And then air doctor actually came and sponsored some shows on the intermittent fasting podcast. And that's where I also learned about their Aqua true, which is their water purification system, which is equally impressive and amazing. And then somewhere in the timeline of all of this, I actually met Helen Crestoni, who is the senior vice president of air doctor and ideal living. The, the parent company of all of this, I met her at the scene, their booth and her doing all the things at the different conferences and such. And I just knew I had to have her on this show to do a deep, deep dive into all of this topic. You know, what do people need to be concerned about? What do they need to be looking for in purification systems and just all the things. So Helen, I've really been looking forward to this for a long time. Thank you so much for what you do. And thank you for being here.

Helen Christoni
Melanie, I'm really excited to finally be here on the show with you and I'm really excited to talk to you and your audience about all things air and water as well.

Melanie Avalon
To start things off your personal story. I'm really curious.

So like I mentioned I've been Trying to think when I really first got really obsessed with cleaner and water I think it's when I started feeling not well and I got really focused on toxins in our world And what was I exposing myself to and I was like, I just have to clean all the things How about for you were you when did this first come on your radar in your career history? What you know what led you to this position with ideal living today just what happened there?

Helen Christoni
Well, it's interesting. I started working with Peter Spiegel, who's the founder and CEO of Air Doctor and I delivered like 23 years ago, a very long time ago. And I was a part of his product development team. And we have been in the air purification space for that long. And so right in the very beginning of my career, I was introduced to the importance of clean air.

And then I took a, I went into the beauty business for some time. I left, I delivered, I went into the beauty business where I like to say I was a big part of the problem. I ended up getting pretty sick. I had my own issues with my own toxic burden. I quite young got severe osteoporosis. I had some hormonal challenges early in my 40s. And it really made me look at my own toxic burden. And so of course I called Peter and I was like, Peter, you know, I have, you know, I'm 40 something years old. I have severe osteoporosis. I have all these health issues going on. I was literally breaking. My bones were breaking. And he was like, the first thing you need to do is purify your air and purify your water. And then a few short years after I decided to really pivot into health and wellness. And these products made such a massive impact on my own health that I decided to come on board. And now I'm senior vice president of the company.

Melanie Avalon
Oh my goodness, amazing. So okay, so it's interesting when you were on the product development side before having your health challenges and your epiphanies, were you developing like filters?

Helen Christoni
Yeah, I mean, we were working in the air purification space back then, and I was working in, on the product development of the actual air filters. It was prior to Aquachute, the water company, but yeah, we were working on air filtration, supplement development, all kinds of stuff.

And so, you know, I had this in my background and then, you know, I mean, I did about a decade in beauty and really kind of lost sight. I mean, I was that girl, right? I was missing non-fat latte, sugar-free, everything. I mean, I was like a walking billboard of toxicity. And although I thought I was like fit and healthy and I'm a runner and I work out and I do all the things, I was definitely like caught up in the kind of low like non-fat, skinny everything mentality. And it really wreaked havoc on my health. And so, you know, it's so interesting that I really made a big pivot. And when I started having these health issues, like many people that are listening to your podcast, I'm sure, I had to take a good, close look at my health and really start changing the way I ate, changing the way I moved, changing the way I breathe, changing the way I drank, and I really started detoxing.

And the benefits have been, you know, now I've been living this clean lifestyle now for like, you know, eight or nine years and really feel remarkable. So yeah, I love it. I love what I do. I love educating on pure air and pure water. I really, really am excited to talk to your listeners about it today.

Melanie Avalon
Yeah, so what I find so interesting about it is, you know, so you were in the science you were, you know, probably, I mean, clearly aware of the things in the air if you're working on technology to filter them out. And yet it took, you know, it took a personal experience, you know, an awareness kind of like I was saying for me, I had to, it took me becoming sick as well to become aware of the actual toxins in the air.

Like I it's like I knew I would I knew they were there, I guess before, but I didn't really feel it. And so air, I'm just my question. And for example, yesterday, I went over to a friend's house. And I get so aware, because in my apartment, I have all these air filters. And I'm like, very much, you know, concerned with the quality of the air. And I am I'm so now aware when the air is is not up to par with things. So I guess the question is, when it comes to air, for example, how intuitive can we be with the quality of our air? Like if the air feels like it, you know, if we're not noticing any certain smells, like what is actually in the air? Because we can't see it. How intuitive can we be? How easy is it to detect if something is off? Well, I think

Helen Christoni
First of all, like we take breathing air for granted, you know, and unfortunately it's sometimes too late when you start noticing that, you know, your body is really being compromised by a toxic burden. But I think like everybody runs around, we're breathing, we're not thinking about it.

And I myself too, like when I'm staying in a hotel and you know, you can just tell that the air stale and or if there's like artificial fragrance, one great thing about air doctor, which I'm sure you love and appreciate is it really lets you understand the behavior in your home that's creating air pollution within your home. Like I always like to make a joke like when I blow dry my hair, my air doctor kicks on, she goes red, she's mad. You know, it's because all these volatile organic compounds are going into the air. And basically everything, especially today that we're bringing into our households are polluting our air in some way. And super important to be purifying your air. And I always say like another way that you can kind of tell if you're tuned into it, if the air is polluted is if you just don't feel well. You know, sometimes, you know, being around polluted indoor air looks like being congested, having a sore throat, feeling run down or like your resistance is down. And some of these things can be just from us breathing contaminated air, and we just feel kind of like we're sick and under the weather. And so, and I always kind of love to draw the traveling line. You know, when you're like in a hotel and you're on, you know, you're away for business and you're like, oh, my resistance is down. It could very well be just that air quality in the room is horrible. And it's just wreaking havoc on your health.

Melanie Avalon
that point with a traveling, I think if I had unlimited time and resources and could just like develop a new app and go take on Uber, I think there should be like an Uber or a Lyft filter or an app that does this where you can select no. You know how people have in their cars like the fragrances, like the air things? I can't do it.

I literally cannot take Ubers and Lifts because I am just worried that it's going to smell like those artificial fragrances. I can't handle it.

Helen Christoni
I mean, I can't handle it either and I'm with you and I love this conversation and I really think that that is one of the pure things. There is any artificial fragrance in your environment, especially a confined space like a car and when it's not your idea, that is really, really unhealthy air.

Artificial fragrance is filled with phthalates that wreak havoc on women's hormones. I mean, they're known hormone disruptors and so, you know, it really does affect us and it's super important, I'm with you, that if you're in that lift or Uber, roll down the windows. Start moving the air in there because the last thing you want to be is like trapped in an Uber with the little Christmas tree hanging from the rearview mirror that's just packed with all kinds of artificial stuff.

Melanie Avalon
Yeah, I've literally like gotten out of an Uber before like, like it started going and I was like, actually, I'm going to get another Uber. Also, this is a random fun fact. I was reading a book the other day and I was talking about the history of the word priority and how now, like for the longest time, it was always singular, like we only had one priority. But now we have so many priorities.

Reason I'm saying that is when I go to the car dealership, my one priority, they'll give me the list of everything to do to the car and that change the air filter is usually not high on their priority list. And I'm like, you can do that. That's the one thing I want to do from like everything. So yes, I love this conversation as well. And speaking to the, I like what you said about how air doctor shows you how you're living in your home and your habits, because so I keep mine on, I have mine in my kitchen area and I keep it on the like the quiet modes and the auto mode. So it's very quiet, like it's on right now and you can't even hear it. I don't podcast in the kitchen, but I'm in an apartment. So it's not that far away. So it's very silent, but it does have this auto mode and it'll kick on if you know, something happens that is creating these compounds in the air. And so if I'm like cooking a steak or something on my George Foreman grill, like it turns on and I'm like, okay, it knows, which really makes me rethink my, you know, high heat cooking habits occasionally.

So diving more into what those compounds actually are in the air. We talked about things like phthalates and fragrances, which are endocrine disruptors. And you mentioned VOCs. So what are the different things that can be in the air? And then I can ask you, cause I got some listener questions about wanting to know if the filters can remove certain things, but just in general, like what all do we need to be aware of?

Helen Christoni
So you have two kind of different things. Let's say, I mean, AirDoctor has triple filtration technology. And so I'll walk you guys through what that means. We have our Ultra HEPA filter. And it's called Ultra HEPA because it removes particulates down to 0.003 microns. And I'm going to tell you why that's important. Like, if you go on Amazon and you pick up a cheap HEPA filter, that's only going to remove particulate matter down to 0.3 microns. And so any particulate matter smaller than 2.5 is small enough to break the blood barrier and really travel into all your vital organs. And so it's really important when we're talking about air purification, when we're thinking about mold and pet dander and viruses and all these things, that you're purifying your air with an Ultra HEPA filter down to 0.003 microns. So you can really protect your health.

And you're not basically inhaling all of these particulate matter that can wreak havoc in your lungs, your heart health. Even dementia has been linked to poor air pollution. Now we're worried about microplastics in our air. And we know that the whole conversation going on with microplastics, not just in water, also in the air we breathe. And so that's particulate matter. So these are the big particulates that are going through the air. And really important, you're purifying down to 0.003 microns. Then you have volatile organic compounds. These are gaseous type contaminants, things that are off-gassed from our gas stoves, things that are being off-gassed from cleaning materials. And like for instance, like we just had these horrible fires here in the city of Los Angeles six months ago. And you know, benzene, like things from these fires that we had, they live on. They travel and they adhere. These volatile organic compounds, they adhere to surfaces in our homes. They get trapped in our homes. And they can live in homes for years. And so volatile organic compounds are really, really, really can be disruptive for our health. And that's the stuff that you can't really see.

And so super important when you're looking for an air purifier that you get one, like AirDoctor has, it's a thick, heavy carbon filter to address these gaseous type volatile organic compounds. And then lastly, the big stuff, right? Like we have a pre-filter on our unit that picks up things like hair, dust, pet dander, you know, large mold spores, things like that. So I mean, we've got a lot of bad stuff as I go through this list going around in our hair. And when people in our air and when people are immune taxed and they have health issues, if they have asthma, if they have allergies, kids, please purify the air in their room. You know, it's more important than ever now that we're all purifying our air.

Melanie Avalon
Oh my goodness this is funny you literally quoted the exact phrase from a listener because he said she said will they help with dust and pet stuff what you just said. She said we have two dogs and need to dust our living room furniture at least twice a week and then judy said what's the best kind of air purifier for allergies to dust mites which you just mentioned.

And then you didn't mention mold which Teresa said can any of them actually remove mold from the air can we zoom in on mold a little bit because I think that's one that seems particularly insidious to people and I think people are very curious and intrigued about if air purifiers can actually you know remove it.

Helen Christoni
It's really interesting because most mold spores are pretty big, and they're usually from 0.1 microns to as big as 10 microns in size. Because air doctor, we remove particles down to 0.003 microns. We absolutely remove mold. Now, if you have a big mold problem in your home, you've got black mold, if you've had a leak, you need to remediate that because black mold can beat deadly. I think that it's important to really kind of understand what's going in our home. 75% of homes here in the United States have some sort of mold, and not everybody needs to go in and remediate. I think it's really important that if you're concerned about mold, immediately get an air purifier. Don't wait because mold can really affect different people differently, and it can actually cause some people who are a little more sensitive to get very, very sick.

So yes, air doctor removes mold particles down to 0.003 microns. Funny, I always say that, listen to your air doctor. When it is stuck on orange or it takes a while to change back to blue, for those listening, we have a light sensor in the air doctor. When the air is clean, it's blue, and then when it gets kind of mad, and if the air is polluted, it'll turn red, and then it'll go back down to orange when it's almost done and then it'll turn blue again. If your air doctor is stuck on orange or red, really important that we're checking out what's going on in our environment. I have a great friend of mine. Her air doctor was under an HVAC duct, and it was orange, orange, orange, and she had heard me do a podcast, and so she was nervous, and she went and she checked the HVAC duct, and it had mold in it. And she needed to get that remediated, and the air doctor was picking it up. So I always like to say, please pay attention when your air doctor is cranky. It's really trying to tell you something.

Melanie Avalon
I've wondered this for so long just in general about replacing filters and air purifiers because the filter will have a timeline for how long it's you know good working the expiration date on these filters so for how long it's supposed to be in there. At the end is it essentially not working anymore and what I mean by that is should I actually be because this is me trying to like you know go above and beyond should I actually be replacing the filters before they need to be replaced.

Helen Christoni
think, you know, as a standard, we recommend that you replace the carbon filter every six months and the ultrahepa filter every year. But it's all also very dependent on your environment at home. You know, like if you have a really old home and a lot of dust and dog and dander and all the things, and you just think the filters look like they really need to be replaced, you can you can replace them a little earlier.

I mean, a really great example of this, and it's so interesting that you bring that up. It's been, it's been exactly six months since the fires here in Los Angeles. And I put new filters, I put a new ultrahepa filter and a new carbon filter in my machine. And I actually changed my filters this morning. And my ultrahepa filter is so black because I'm so close to the fire. So I mean, like, you know, I think the machine will tell you when it thinks it needs the filters to be changed. But when there's extreme circumstances, like wildfire smoke, or for instance, if there's like a chemical spill, you might want to change your filters a little more often. And so like I changed my ultrahepa filters out just because it's an unusual circumstance with those huge city fires, right.

And so I think the rule is carbon every six months, ultrahepa every year for most of our machines. But look, it just depends on your environment.

Melanie Avalon
And for listeners you don't have to remember because it tells you when to replace them so when it tells you when to replace it is that just based on the amount of time that's passed or does it also sense the filters as well this filter status.

Helen Christoni
What happens with the machines is when the filters really start getting full, I was at my friend's house, unfortunately they lost a home in Altadena and they were living in Altadena. And I mean, this is what got me to change my filters today.

I popped open, let me back up. I looked at their air doctor and it was taking a very long time to go through its cycle. I was like, what is going on with your air doctor, right? Because I'd just given it to them six months ago after these fires, because they were living right in the middle of this toxic soup, right? After in this post fire environment. And what will happen is like, if there's a natural disaster or something happens that you need to change the filter a little earlier, your air doctor will just have a hard time. It really takes a while to filter through the air and go through that filter cycle. But for the most part, I think the rule of thumb is outside of a complete disaster like that. The machines are really like, we tested and pressure tested so many, so many units. And we now have an app on some of our machines. So you can really kind of clue into what's going on in your home when you need to change your filters. But I think six months is the year is pretty safe.

Melanie Avalon
Gotcha. Okay, and also yeah sending so much love still to everybody in Los Angeles I mean it was really really horrifying everything that happened now some other some other questions This is just fun for me because I get to ask all these questions I have does air What is the role?

So if you have a unit in a room And you don't have a fan going in the room does air naturally circulate like will it filter all of the air or will it just Filter the air right around it Yeah

Helen Christoni
You cannot purify air through walls. So I always like to say when you select an air doctor for your house, you want to have one where you sleep and where you gather. And so those are kind of the two places. And so it's really important that we are purifying the air where we sleep because we spend about 80% of the time in our homes in bed.

And it really enables the body to detox and reduce inflammation and do all the things that we do when we're sleeping. But so, you know, the air doctor has something called KDAR, which is Clean Air Delivery Rate. And it actually moves the air in a room four to five times an hour. So you need to move the air to clean the air. And that's one of the reasons that air doctors work so well is because it's actively, you do not need to have a fan. Air doctor will circulate the air in the room four to five times an hour, you know, depending on the unit size and the room size to really clean the air in the room. That's why when you come home to your house with an air doctor in it, it's like your air is fresh because it's been circulating the air in the room while you've been gone.

Melanie Avalon
Yeah, how does that work because you know you don't feel like a suction feeling of air into the unit.

Helen Christoni
It's on the sides, right? So on the sides of the units we have the intake and there is a fan in there that's pulling in and it's pulling in the air, it's purifying the air and it's like pushing out over the top of the unit.

It's called clean air delivery rate. Comes in through the sides and then the contaminated air comes in through the sides of the machine and then it comes, purified air comes out through the top.

Melanie Avalon
Awesome and I like what you said that's good to emphasize that because I think people especially if people have you know big house lots of you know big family can be a little bit overwhelming how am I gonna. You know address my whole house but it's nice that you can you know like I said earlier with the priority where you sleep and where you gather that's that's a really great way to start i'm probably over kill so many units in my apartment.

One more other ingredient David wanted to know I don't know if you've been asked this before he wanted to know if it removes nano heavy metals or nano tech you've been asked that before.

Helen Christoni
As it relates to nanotech, I can really just speak to particle size, so it moves down to .003 microns.

But I can, you know, what I'll do for David is I'll ask my engineering team, because I have not been asked that, and I will circle back to you and we'll put it in the show notes.

Melanie Avalon
Oh, hey, awesome. Thank you so much. Yeah, my audience is really great. They always bring in some questions that

Helen Christoni
I mean, I want to know now, too, if we remove nano attack. I mean, nano is a pretty small particle, but so is 0.003, so I will question my engineer.

Melanie Avalon
Awesome. Thank you.

So David, check out the show notes for the answer to that. And then another question. So some of the air purification systems out there, not air doctor, will do a lot of literature on how they like kill things in the air rather than just capture things in the air. So I'm wondering what is the role of capturing these particles into a filter versus actually killing them with whatever technology some other filters have.

Helen Christoni
Well, some some filters have UV lights in them which have been known in some cases to kill Contaminants in the air. Like I said, our company has been in the air purification space for 20 plus years and so we've been doing this for a long time and So I don't think there's anything wrong with with air purifiers that have our air cleaners that have Ultraviolet but what we really wanted to do with air docker was really create a medical-grade air purifier that Addressed, you know particulate matter that we're breathing down to point zero zero three microns And so, you know, you can you can zap some Contaminants in the air, but these are actual particles, you know So we really want to make sure that we're capturing These particles in the air and that we're also putting the air through this this carbon filter this VOC Carbon filter it's really important because these gases who knows if ultraviolet it can really handle a lot of the stuff That's in the air these days, you know, so I think that if people have an ultraviolet light I think it's an extra layer of of protection.

It's just not how we built our

Melanie Avalon
machines. Okay and another sort of related question, this is an interesting one because people ask on both sides of the equation so some there's like the role of ozone some people like Madia wanted to know if there was a recommendations for those with ozone but then I was reading about recommendations to avoid ones with ozone.

What is the role of ozone in air filters?

Helen Christoni
So we have a built-in ionizer in AirDoctor that you can either use or not because some people really love to have these negative ions in the air that really replicate this kind of like out in the forest environment. It's an optional feature.

Some people, it doesn't really generate a measurable amount of ozone enough for where some people would be concerned, but we have it in there. Some people like it to your point. Some people don't, and so it just kind of depends on preference. Do you use it on yours? You know, I don't use it on mine, to be honest with you, because I just stick it in auto mode and I go, but a lot of people really love that negative ion. So I think it just, you know, it's kind of like when we start talking about water, it's like remineralized or not, right? Like, you know, people have a preference. So I like to compare it to, like, do you like mineral water or non-mineral water? I think it's really preference. And we made it so you can turn it on or off just for that point.

Melanie Avalon
Awesome. Yeah, I also I'm getting flashbacks to I feel like there was like a really popular time with the ionizing like hair dryers and straighteners and there was like that whole thing, which I guess mine. I think mine still has that option. But okay, gotcha.

And then oh, this is another just like me question. Every time I change the filter in my air doctor, something I have like a miniature little stress moment about is I think about how clearly these particles are microscopic and tiny and we can't see them. So I assume that a lot of them, like there could be a lot in a small amount of space that I don't even see. So when I when I'm changing the filter, I'm like, oh my goodness, am I releasing? Like I do it so slowly. And then I very slowly drop it into the box with a new one. And then I take it outside. But I get worried about am I re releasing a lot of stuff in the air when I'm changing it.

Thanks for watching.

Helen Christoni
Melanie it's so funny because I literally this morning did the exact same thing like I changed both units in my house and I use the box and I put it back in the box so like I use my air doctor filter box I pull out the new filters I get already so I could like surgically take them out and put them in and so I am completely with you I and the answer is yes you know when you're changing the filters on an air purifier you are like putting some of those contaminants back into the air when the air doctors closed sealed but when you're changing the filters you are opening it up and so it's really important that I always love to tell people to like change it outside but also the any 8020 rule right like be careful you either wear gloves make sure to either put it in an airtight plastic bag or back in the box and get rid of it and you know you've seen your filters I mean we pull some really disgusting stuff out of the air with our machines and so I think better be safe than sorry when you're changing your filters like really pay attention don't get that stuff all over you like be very careful when you're doing the filter change and also your air doctor when you when you put the new filters and typically mine cycles on and it'll go ahead and it'll repurify the air in the room so you really like once it's all sealed up and doing its thing again it will go ahead and purify anything that you're released into the air I also love changing them

Melanie Avalon
outside. Awesome. That's so funny. We're the same.

I feel like I have, I feel like there's like a list of random skills that you don't know are possible to have. And I feel like the skill I now have is the skill of changing the filter. Like I can like put it into the box. It doesn't even like touch anything. It's like a whole moment when I'm changing it. And I also think, you know, especially people might think that they, oh, it's not really a big deal that they might not have a problem with their air. The first time like Helen was saying that you, you know, see the filter to change it, you're like, Whoa, it's it's mind blowing to think all of that was in the air. It's just mind blowing to me.

Helen Christoni
Yeah, and we see some really like here at the company we have I mean, of course, everyone's tagging us on social social media. And I think that's one of the reasons that air doctor is so popular.

People love to show their dirt. And so, you know, with social when we when we started being really active on social media, like people love to share their dirt and their filter changes. And I mean, we have seen some thick, hairy filters in our day. So, like, and you either have a filter, or you are a filter. And so that's very important to know. And I think it's also very satisfying when you see that how well air doctor is pulling the contaminants out of your air. And so when you change it when you go in every six months, like I did today, I'm like, wow, you know, like, I would be breathing this stuff while I'm sleeping. And it's not pure if I'm breathing that stuff. And so really, I always say, please, like, if you have young kids at home, please, please purify their air. We've got so much horrible stuff in our environment these days. And really important that we're really creating a safe place for our kids and for ourselves. And then also, like for biohackers listening, you know, I mean, we are trying so hard to optimize our health and longevity. Purified air is foundational. And so, you know, all the other great stuff that you're doing, you know, to really increase your longevity, you're fighting an uphill battle if you're not purifying your air at home.

Melanie Avalon
I cannot agree more. And actually another, like a non-negotiable for me when looking for apartments has been hardwood floors, not carpet.

And so a quick question about just cleaning habits in general for people who do and do not have air purifiers, like vacuuming versus dusting versus using like wet cloths, like dry versus wet dusting, like what are the best habits people can do in their environment just like for free, like that they can do to help minimize the stuff in the apartment.

Helen Christoni
It's shocking how much people actually should be vacuuming. You should really be vacuuming your house like every other day if you have carpet. It's bananas. I mean, who's gonna vacuum their house every other day?

But I mean, that's really kind of like the level of clean you have to do because carpets, you're correct. They're just like a breeding ground of contaminants. Everything gets trapped in there. You can't get them out. And so I always like to say, you know, dust, vacuum, and then go back around and with like a wet type of, you know, seal the deal type of thing. And if you do have carpet at home, you have to vacuum much more than you think you do. Also.

Melanie Avalon
So because I pretty regularly have my apartment cleaned, I'm like, and like I said, there were no carpets. I actually had carpet in the bedroom and I had them replace it, which was game changer.

But I've noticed like the tops of surfaces for, like if I'm like getting something out of the cabinet, I'll see the top of the kitchen cabinets. I'm like, oh, there's like, you know, a lot of stuff up here. How dangerous is that stuff that's kind of just settled, you know, in high areas? Like, is it actually moving or is it kind of just sitting there so it's not a problem?

Helen Christoni
I think it really depends. And the answer is we really don't know, right? Like I was at a, I went and I listened to a doctor speak that studies air quality and after post fires here in Los Angeles and she kind of bent my brain when it relates to volatile organic compounds. So for instance, the contaminants from fire can travel up to a thousand miles and they can be found on the surfaces of homes post fire several years. And so these toxins can really, can really stick around for a long time. It's definitely one of the concerns we have here in the Los Angeles area, of course, after these massive fires.

But I mean, there's so many areas like for instance, like East Palestine, Ohio, when they had the huge, the train derailment. I mean, those contaminants that were released, it affected the air quality in 12 states here in the United States. So, I think it's important that we're mindful. We make sure that we're, like we're keeping our environments clean and we're purifying the air because it's really important that we're moving the air. You have to move the air to clean the air. You know, and if you're in an environment and unfortunately, you know, since I've been, you know, in my role here at Air Doctor and Aqua True, I mean, well over 100 million people here in America have been affected by some sort of disaster that has created a hazardous air quality situation for them. So I think it's kind of a not if but when conversation because we're just living in this time. You know, things happen, cities burn, trains derail. There's huge fires that contaminate our air, not just outside, but it gets trapped in our home. And that's why, that's what makes indoor air quality so important. Like once air gets into our home, it's basically trapped in a box. And so making sure that you're circulating it, moving it, and in your immediate environment, the air is purified, it's so, so, so important.

Melanie Avalon
So actually, I'm glad you said that because to that point, I'm just thinking about how I was asking you earlier about the circulation of the air, you know within the environment within the apartment or the home and is it all you know being Circulated through through the unit one of the most mind-blowing facts I ever learned And I like this is like so mind-blowing to me that I have fact-checked it so many times to make sure that it's actually true but Apparently because the earth is a closed system Every breath we take likely contains a molecule from every human that is ever breathed as well which is like Mind-blowing to me because of the nature of the I just the science of the numbers and how things circulate And so if that means that every breath you take has, you know molecules from every other human that's ever lived breathing Yes I am guessing these these Particulate matters and these toxins and these problematic things are moving, you know everywhere Shocking really really it really is and it's kind of also like and this might be a good segue to the the water side of things My interviewed Matt Simon He has a book called a poison like none other or no other and it was all about micro plastics and that just completely I don't it was such a paradigm shift for me I could never look at the world the same way and he was talking about how microplastics For example are found like they're found everywhere.

They're at the bottom of the ocean. They're at the top of Mount Everest And so I know people are concerned with them in water Although I guess they're an air as well. Does air doctor remove the microplastics?

Helen Christoni
Yes, it does. And they are in an air as well. And so it's something that, you know, people don't wear. We're breathing microplastics all day long, but the one place where it really causes the most damage is when you're drinking them with water.

But I think to your point about like, you know, being on the earth with all these people and and how we're we're inhaling all this stuff. I think it's important that we remember that our bodies were built to be these amazing detoxers, you know, and so, you know, when you're looking at ways to shore up your health foundation, and, you know, just put yourself in an environment where your body can do its job, the job that it was meant to do by detoxing all these contaminants. That's why I always say pure air and pure water is really foundational because if you like set your life up to where your body can really detox from the, you know, toxic burden, then it gets outside or inside or wherever we are, you're setting yourself up for success. Yeah, I love it.

Melanie Avalon
that. And I would assume, I don't know, I'd be curious if you know, I would assume with like the detoxification processes in our body, like when we're eating things, I'm assuming we evolved to, you know, I'm, well, I know we evolved to have a, you know, a good detox system for that. And we know that, you know, 80% of the immune system is in the gut. So clearly, like our bodies are expecting, you know, problematic stuff to come in through food.

And I know we would detox as well, what we breathe, but I'm, I would assume that maybe we didn't quite evolve as many, you know, like, I feel like in the past, we have so much more air pollution today that we didn't have when we were evolving compared to preparing for food to be, you know, toxins. Does that make sense? Like, I feel like we probably need to put a very conscious effort into cleaning our air, because I don't know that our bodies are accustomed to just breathing toxic air all the time.

Helen Christoni
We are not and nor nor toxic water. And so I think that's why like so when you're when you're sleeping And why I stress why it's so important to have an air doctor in your bedroom That is when your body when you're breathing when you're sleeping you're detoxing down to a cellular level right and you're breathing oxygen into your cells to Really kind of reset for the next day And so we're not meant to be detoxing all the things that we have in our environment today I mean, it's really gotten a little crazy and the the pollution has become such that That and the man-made chemicals are so harmful that it's very important that we we take This kind of these decisions into our own hands And we make sure that we're in a as purified an environment as possible So we we don't have things like myself like I had, you know, severe osteoporosis is the age of 40 I broke my left hip.

I broke my right hip. I broke my ribs. I mean I was like falling apart And so, you know and people you know They you know young girls are you know, starting puberty earlier and earlier women are you know Starting menopause earlier and earlier and a lot of this is from all the endocrine disruption which can absolutely be correlated to you know contaminated Air and then also you have, you know, dementia is on the rise Alzheimer's is on the rise and you know, there's direct links between indoor air pollution and These degenerative diseases as it relates to heart health brain health, etc So, you know I think I think it's so important that we empower ourselves and we do things at home And you know when you have an air doctor at home and you sleep and you go to a hotel you're like, oh gosh Like it's disgusting.

Like I I want to go home Right. So and it happens so frequently like once you once you sleep and you're in this cleaner environment You really realize it when you're not so

Melanie Avalon
literally giving giving air doctors to people for as gifts is one of my favorite things to do. So like I get my therapist, for example, because we have our sessions and you know, this relatively small, small room and the air quality is just not the best. So for like, I think for her birthday for Christmas, I was like, Merry Christmas, here's an air purifier. Not me being selfish at all here.

Like for Christmas presents, I just think they make really wonderful gifts for people.

Helen Christoni
So, funny story, my husband is always like, you know, we have cameras on the house and he's like, why is someone rolling an air doctor out of our house into their car? Like, because I'm always like, come get it, you know, like there's a fire near your house. I mean, I'm really, I'm a big giver of air doctors for everybody who knows me. We'll let you know.

But I think it's really important that it's a great gift. And like here when we had the fires in Los Angeles, we put 20,000 units into the community here. Like I said, it's something that people should just have because you never know when you're going to need one. And when you need one, it's really hard to get them.

Melanie Avalon
Mm-hmm. Wow. I love that. Yeah. Yeah, it's definitely definitely one of my favorite gifts to give.

So the water side of things What is like how an agilis is that to the air? Is it similar the types of toxins in water? Is it different types of toxins? What should we need to what should we think about there? And then for example, I saw okay again It was it was a headline so I didn't and actually didn't read the study But it was saying like a recent finding was finding that there was actually more plastic and glass Bottles than plastic bottles and I was like, oh my goodness. I don't even know what to do anymore. So stuff in water What do we need to be aware of?

Helen Christoni
Well, I mean, I think primarily water is very, very complex. We really want to make sure that we are purifying our water at home, because then you have the control over what you're drinking, to your point. We know that plastic bottles, they're a non-starter. There was recently a study put out, I believe it was by Harvard, that if you just stop drinking out of plastic, you can reduce your microplastic exposure by 80%, which is very, very, I mean, that's powerful. So for everybody out there listening, please just stop with single-use plastic.

And just by doing that, you are going to make a big difference in your health and how much microplastics you're exposed to. In addition to that, some of these companies that are putting water in glass bottles or drinks in glass bottles, they may not be filtering their water through reverse osmosis. So maybe they're not addressing the source water. So the gold standard to water purification is reverse osmosis. I also really like distillation. I think that's a good option, too. But RO, you're really sure that you've pulled all these contaminants out of the water. And today, one of our biggest concerns in water is forever chemicals, because forever chemicals are called forever for a reason, because it is nearly impossible to remove them. So I mean, we have a slew of bad stuff in our water. And at AquaTrue, our mission at Air Doctor and AquaTrue is that we believe that everybody has the right to pure air and pure water backed by science. And so our AquaTrue company, which is a sister company to Air Doctor, we're certified to remove 84 contaminants to NSF standards. And so we really spend the money on the testing to make sure that for your filter life, you can really depend on our AquaTrue units.

Melanie Avalon
Yeah, so to that point, yeah, because now I'm thinking more about the glass thing. I wish I had actually read the article because I was assuming like, oh, well, maybe it's plastic contamination from the production process.

Yeah. Like you're saying it could be that, because I do drink a lot of like glass bottled water where they say it comes, you know, pure directly from the source. So I don't know if they're actually filtering that water.

Helen Christoni
It's just, you know. Unfortunately, you know, water filtration is very complex and filtered water isn't necessarily enough.

You know, you want to make sure it's reverse osmosis filtered water. The question comes in always is about the minerals, you know, and the truth is, is that we're not getting a lot of our minerals, especially from our tap water at home, you know, and you're only getting so much in your water. People get most of their minerals from food.

Also, remineralization, and it's become so popular now, I think that minerals are very specific. People are getting really tuned in to what they need. And so, yeah. So, it's really, really important that I just think you can bottle your own water at home and you should, because that way you just

Melanie Avalon
I was going to go there and ask about the removing of minerals, the remineralization. Sounds like if you have to err on the side of unpurified water and taking in the contaminants but taking in, you know, a small amount of minerals with it, like you'd be much better off to have just pure water and like you said, get minerals from food.

Helen Christoni
for sure. I mean, for everyone that's listening, I always like to say this, everyone should go to EWG.org if you're not driving and run your water report for your zip code. I can tell you that mine has 17 contaminants that are over the health safety guidelines that cause cancer. And so, I think that it's really important that people educate themselves on the quality of water in municipality and that they really understand what's coming out of their tab because it is mind-bending.

I was in Orlando a few months ago for a conference and I was running people's water reports at the table and I was chatting with these women and there was a woman. I ran her water report and her arsenic was a thousand times over the health guidelines in Orlando, Florida, the home of Disney World, right? And she was like, I'm going to die. So, we gave her an opportunity to make sure she was okay, but people just don't realize what is going on in these PFAS and these forever chemicals, they build up in your body. So, super important, go to EWG.org, EWG.org, run your zip and find out what's coming through your tab, really important.

Melanie Avalon
I love that. I love the EWG for everything, food, skincare. I actually didn't realize you could check it for water. That's amazing.

I'm going to check mine. It's also, it's wild to me that we have fluoride in the water. Like I just, I don't know. It's just crazy to me like who, and because you mentioned earlier, the word like rights, like, like everybody having rights to clean air and clean water and with the water, it's something where I'm like, I didn't sign up to have fluoride put into my water. Like I feel like that, I don't know. I feel like it goes against constitutional rights to me.

Helen Christoni
Let's talk about it. And I'll just really go there. No one should expect that the government is really doing a good job of delivering pure water to your tap. It's potable. In most cases, it's free from bacteria and virus. But that's about it.

And in 2023, there was a bipartisan bill passed to really address the water issues we have here in the United States. And what happens is, you know, so many lawsuits, there were all these lawsuits by private sector against the United States government. These bills just get held up in lobbying lawsuits and nothing happens. And even if it were to have gone, this big infrastructure bill, had it gone through, I wouldn't have seen it been completed in my lifetime. We have over 12 million lead waterways still here in the United States of America. And so when you think about like just the massive undertaking it is to deal with all that, it gets a little, you know, it's pretty mind bending. And then also the road traveled, you know, you can have like, let's say a municipality is doing reverse osmosis. So they are removing fluoride or not adding it to it. You know, I mean, fluoride is a known carcinogen. There's no reason it should be in our water supply. And the only way to get rid of it is with a reverse osmosis water purifier, like aquitros, very hard to remove. And so, but the road traveled to our homes is filled with all kinds of, you know, pesticides, industrial runoff, you've got, you know, we're finding antidepressants in our water supply, antibiotics, you know, rocket fuel. I mean, it's really, our water is in really, it's a pretty dire situation. So for everyone listening, please, please cook and drink purified water at home because people think when they cook, everybody, like we've been grown up, we go to the sink, we fill up a pot or a tea kettle, we put it on the stove, but contaminants do not boil out. So really important that people realize.

Melanie Avalon
actually so to that point so the different units for aqua true that you have what all can we address with the cooking water the sink water what about people what about like when people take showers

Helen Christoni
I'm super really proud of this actually and if there's a little bit of a difference between Drinking water and the water that you shower in because it like it kind of rinses off Like you're not ingesting so much water when you're in the shower, but the same time Skin is our biggest organ, right? So We just launched a new shower head here at aqua true. We have been working on this shower head for years and years Oh my goodness. I'm so excited Oh my gosh, I didn't I'll send you one Yeah, we literally launched it like last week.

This is breaking news here for people listening to the podcast So here's the thing about shower filters Most shower filters that on their market today, they remove chlorine but they don't address Chloramines and so chloramines are used in 40% of our water supplied It's like a chlorine alternative and it's chlorine mixed with ammonia Very difficult to remove and so when we were making this shower head because we're like, you know, the pure water people We know all about chlorine chloramines all the things, right? So we set out to create a shower head that made sure to remove Chloramines cuz guess what like here in Los Angeles if you're listening to this and if you live in Los Angeles And you have a shower filter We use chloramines here in the city of Los Angeles to disinfect the water and your chlorine shower filter isn't gonna work for you People just don't know that and so I'm really I'm so excited to educate about this and so you really when you're looking at shower filters, you want to make sure that you're removing chlorine chloramine heavy metals and That there is some tested to NSF standards involved and also it's one of these things like with any type of water filter Whether it's for your shower at home. You want to make sure you're on top of your filter changes So for instance, like, you know pitcher filters, first of all, that's a single filter but if you do not change a pitcher filter filter on time, you're super dosing your water with contaminants and People don't realize that and it's the same thing like with your fridge filter when it goes out like you can taste it right you can taste the ice and So that's like super dosed ice So really important that people who use pitcher or fridge filter at home and our shower filters that were we're on top of our filter Changes at aqua to we have a four stage full reverse osmosis system That really like it's it's a very beautiful peace of mind system We have one that goes on the counter called our aqua to craft. It's got a glass pitcher. It's so beautiful It's really super easy. And then we have a little bit bigger version We have an under sync version and we're just introducing our showerhead, which is really going to be a game changer in this in this category I'm so excited

Melanie Avalon
Oh my goodness, okay. So I did not know that about the chlorine versus the, what did you call it?

Helen Christoni
Chloramines and they're like, I mean when you think about it, it's like Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco I mean I could go on and on of all these places that uses chloramines. Nobody knows this stuff And so I mean that's my role here, right?

My role here is to just educate and make sure you know what's in your water and what are they even putting in it at the municipality. You can ask your water district. Typically they send out like a quarterly report Really read it. Know what's happening. Know what's coming out of your tap, out of your shower Because knowledge is power and if we learn about this stuff we can really take steps to live in a healthier environment.

Melanie Avalon
Yeah, I love this. And so to clarify, when you're talking about the importance of changing your water filters, are you saying that if you don't change it, it's actually going to be more contaminated than not even using the filter?

Helen Christoni
Yeah, it leeches. You know, they leech, they super dose. And so it's pretty, you know, with our aqua tree units, we have a light on the water purifiers that lets you know and we have and we give you on our under sink filter, we give you some benchmarks on when to change them. But this is something you really need to pay attention to.

So if you're filtering your water, if you have a shower filter, just make sure to stay on top of your filter changes really important.

Melanie Avalon
Okay, that's such an actionable insight that I'm gonna change my habits because I feel like I've been very, well, hey, I'm very excited. I'm gonna start using the Aqua true shower filter, but the one I've been using before, I mean, I don't know. I was very lax and changing it.

So, holy, okay, that's really good to know. We're gonna change our habits there. The under sync version, is that something if you live in an apartment you can install or can you really only do that if you own a house?

Helen Christoni
I think it depends on the relationship you have with your landlord. A lot of landlords are like, yeah, go ahead. You know, you can do like an under sink air gap. If you have a dishwasher, there's ways to install it. It's about a, like a couple hundred dollar installation.

If you call a task rabbit, I have the under sink in my own home. And I really think it makes it very easy for me to cook and do everything with my, with my water, because it's really, I have the spicker right there and I'm using purified water all the time. Also, that's one of the reasons we came out with our AquaChu carafe. If you have a small footprint, if someone's at college, if you have an RV or a small apartment, or if there's just a single person, you just, you know, fill the tap water up and it'll just, it's just like making a pot of coffee, but you're literally purifying your water.

Melanie Avalon
What are your thoughts? Do you get the alkaline version or not?

Helen Christoni
So I like to, I cook so much with my purified water, I don't do the alkaline version. I do the plain carbon version. And then I remineralize my water with like, I'm a big fan of beam minerals, or like my favorite, I use beam minerals. At Aquachoo, we have some other minerals too that you can add to your water and drops. But a lot of people really love, so let's talk about it.

Our water purifier, Aquachoo, has three filters. So the first one is a carbon filter. The second one is our reverse osmosis filter. And then our third one is our VOC carbon. And then you can also have a pH carbon. And so you can pick if you want to remineralize your water, raise the pH and make it alkaline. Or if you just want like a standard purified kind of like coconut carbon filter. So I like the really like I'm not a fan of mineral water. So I like it really pure and kind of crisp tasting. But some people really love mineral water and love the high pH love alkaline water. And for people that really love alkaline water, it is a very cost effective way to get alkaline water.

Melanie Avalon
water at home. Amazing, amazing, okay.

And then I'm trying to see, okay, we talked about the microplastics. Deborah wanted to know, and you mentioned earlier heavy metals a little bit. She said, I'm interested in water filters that filter out aluminum. The only one I'm aware of that does that is Brita. So does this filter out aluminum and all the things?

Helen Christoni
Yes, we do. Aquachute does filter out heavy metals. Okay, perfect.

Melanie Avalon
Oh, so earlier when you were saying that people could look on the EWG for what's actually in their water, what about when it actually comes to testing their own water? So Pamela said, where can I get an affordable water test to see if my filter is actually working?

So can people test their own water?

Helen Christoni
You can, I mean, you can go to any hardware store, Lowe's, Home Depot, even online on Amazon, you can get water testing kits and you send them in to test your water. Depending on the type of water purifier you have, you can also get a TDS sweeter.

That's not necessarily super accurate because they're small things, that's not a total dissolved solid that might pop out. So my recommendation is just to pick one up from a reputable hardware store.

Melanie Avalon
Awesome I didn't okay I've actually yeah I haven't done that I guess I I drink a lot of like I just go buy bottled glass water because I liked the idea of you know getting it straight from the source and getting the minerals although now I'm thinking more about these you know ever problematic compounds that are in our environment and I'm rethinking things a little bit.

Helen Christoni
Yeah, I mean, I think that like if you're out and you want to like, I still think that glass is a better option than plastic, like if you have to drink water, like the last thing anybody wants is for us to all be dehydrated. So, you know, like practice the 80-20 rule there.

But once you start bottling your own water at home, it's kind of like purifying your air. It's a game changer. And it really like what we do here at Ida Living is we with our brands Air Doctor and Aquachoo is we take the guesswork at purifying your air and purifying your water. You know, there is a lot of bogus claims in water purification. And so really make sure like when you're looking at water purifiers that people post their actual results because people will say, Oh, you know, it removes this it might only remove, let's say, I don't know, lead for 10 gallons, not for the life of the filters. And so there's a lot of brands out there that make some very disingenuous claims. And so knowledge is power, look at the data sheets on on companies websites, and if they're not posting it, then I personally wouldn't buy from that company.

Melanie Avalon
It's a big barrier for me, and it's what I was touching on a little bit. But so like air, I'm like totally there.

I'm like all the air purifiers, like get the air doctor, clean the air. And then with the water, I am just, I am so, like, I don't wanna say scared, but so, I see the tap water and I'm like, there's so much in there that is just so bad that I've always historically felt safer getting like I said, this like straight from the source and glass bottles water. So this is like an in real time, me realizing that, oh, like these filters can actually take the stuff out of the water. Like it's hard for me to believe that it actually can take the stuff out.

Helen Christoni
Well, I think the thing is, is like, you know, like at Aqua 2, we have quadruple filtration. So it's not like just like a pitcher filter, you know, you have your phase one filter, which is pulling big things out like rest and sediment. And then you go through a carbon filter that's removing lead, chlorine, chloramines, and then you have the reverse osmosis filter. So what reverse osmosis means is there's a reverse osmosis membrane, and the purified water goes through and the contaminated water stays back, right? And then we go through our fourth filter, which is the carbon BOC that is actually like removing things like drug residue, the forever chemicals, all the things. And so that there's actually contaminated water that's left behind in your Aqua 2 that you throw out. That's the poisonous water, and you do not want to be drinking that water.

And so we're actually like separating the pure water from the contaminated water. And you can see that that water, it smells, it's disgusting. And some people, you know, it's like a small amount of wastewater when you go through the purification process. And some people are like, oh, you know, you're wasting water. Really, that's poisonous water. Like no one needs to be ingesting that water, right? So like once you see how the machine works, I'm going to send you one so you can try it. You'll be like, oh my gosh, like there's a pure water and there's a contaminated water. Like you can almost see for yourself.

Melanie Avalon
Wow, okay, yeah, I'm having paradigm shifts here. What about for the shower water where it's going through so fast? Is there wastewater there?

Helen Christoni
I mean, yeah, look, unless you have a whole house, reverse osmosis, water system, you're gonna have some contaminants coming through your shower. I mean, it just is what it is.

And it's a different, there's so much water, it's such high pressure, that filters can only do so much. But I think that removing the chlorine and the chloramines, they're major disinfectant, and so they're not gonna be harming your skin, they're not gonna be harming your hair. And then also, these heavy metals, we don't want them coming in through our skin. So that's where the technology is right now for shower, right, and these shower filters. That, and also the same thing, you wanna make sure that things were being tested to NSF certifications. We actually like resurrected the chloramine testing, because it was so important to us to make sure that chloramines were being discussed in this conversation, because these shower filters just aren't working for so many people, if their water is being treated with chloramines. And so, like I said, knowledge is power, something's better than nothing, right? And if you're really looking for like a whole house, you wanna make sure you're showering in complete purified water, RO at the house level is the way to go. But I really think that we've developed something so beautiful with our AquaChu shower filter that's really dressing a lot of skin and hair concern.

Melanie Avalon
I am I am so excited about this shower filter. It's it's crazy and then also you have one Well, was there anything else you want to touch on with the water and the air?

Helen Christoni
I think one of the things with our shower filter just to talk about it because it just came out. I'm so excited because this is one of my babies and I've been working on it for so long with the team or we're so excited to launch this is that you don't necessarily you're not necessarily sacrificing pressure.

And we have four different shower settings and so you can have regular massage mist like the jet stream and so it really works. You can go in and adjust it, which I think it's very satisfying to me and also it's pretty affordable like we've really tried it, you know, like we like what we do here at air doctor and aqua to we really try to make these products, we try to make a superior product that's backed by science and that is super affordable for people. So I'm just really proud of the work we've done.

Melanie Avalon
two comments there well three comments again congratulations this is so exciting too so is it an actual shower head

Helen Christoni
Yeah, it's a shower head and so you just you just you just screw it on and Then you can change the filters. I believe you have to change the filters every 90 days I love mine Like I just started using mine and it's like like immediately I could tell the difference like the second I got in the shower I was like, wow game changing

Melanie Avalon
Oh my goodness, I am so excited, so, so excited.

Okay, and then the third thing, I'm glad you mentioned the affordable piece because I was actually gonna circle back to that, which, like I said, when I first was exposed to, no pun intended, you do, Air Doctor, I really was impressed with what you guys were saying about having, you know, in part the mission, making this affordable for everybody. That's not something I've seen in any other air purification, water purification brand, but you guys actually talk about that, like the importance of making it affordable for people, you know, really bringing this into people's lives. Has that been difficult to do, like to balance making things affordable and still having this, you know, really high tech?

Helen Christoni
Yeah, I mean, I think like a lot of development goes into these products. And like I was mentioning at the beginning of this podcast, you know, we've been in the space in the air purification space for over 20 years. And what happened was is we were selling to all the big box retailers and they kept squeezing the quality out of the units. And, you know, Peter Spiegel, our founder here just didn't want to do that anymore.

You know, so he, he sold one of his air purification businesses, but he held on to air doctor because that's the one that he made for himself. He suffered from allergies. He has a hum in Austin, you know, Cedar fever, the whole thing. And he wanted to really put out something that was medical grade that he could provide his friends, which are some of the after most health experts, you know, in the, in the country still. And, you know, we, we, he held on to air doctrine. So he'll, here we are. And the science going into making it's, it's, it's science. And it's also relationships and just our breath of manufacturing and engineering that really allows us to provide such a quality product for this price. And we are very intentional in this. Like we really, like our mission drives everything. We'd like to be first on the ground. Like we're always trying to help, whether it was Maui, our fires here at home, Flint, Michigan. I mean, we're constantly, how can we help? What do you need? And so pure air and pure water for all is really our mission. And what gets us out of bed every day.

Melanie Avalon
That's so incredible. Yeah, you can really really tell when a company has heart and you know, really value behind their mission. And you guys have that. So I'm just so grateful.

And then one third leg. When did you launch aroma true?

Helen Christoni
Oh gosh, we launched Aromatru like three years ago. I think about three years ago and we, oh, so this is like, I mean, should I do a little teaser with you right now? I'm gonna do a teaser just for you, Melanie. So we made this cute little baby Aromatru device that you can actually put on your air doctors. You guys look for it. This holiday season, it is the cutest thing.

There's just a little Aromatherapy device that goes right on your air doctors. You will die, I love it. Aromatru, the company was created for people that really wanted waterless Aromatherapy. And you basically can directly use Aromatherapy from the bottle and you can mix and match your blends, whether you like lavender or tea tree or peppermint. You can really kind of like set your Aromatru to any mood, you can use it with any oil. We recommend like Aromatru of course is USDA certified organic. It's very important that we're using organic oils in our Aromatherapy devices. So it's a pretty fun device.

Melanie Avalon
Awesome, awesome, awesome. Okay, well, I think listeners are, if they're like, okay, I'm just giddy right now because I'm like, oh my goodness, I gotta get the shower filter, I gotta try this water purification. I already love my air doctor unit and actually I probably need to order some more filters. So for listeners, discounts for you on all the things. I cannot recommend enough cleaning up your air, cleaning up your water.

This is like so, so important to me and I can't think of a better company than, you know, Ida Living and Air Doctor and Aqua True to do this. So you can go to airdoctor.com slash Melanie Avalon and that will have all the information you guys need to get a discount on all the things. So definitely check that out. Again, that is airdoctor.com slash Melanie Avalon. Wow, Helen, thank you so much. Ever since when I met you at, you know, the Unimonia conference, I was like, oh, like she really knows what she's talking about and I can't wait to have her on the show and dive deep into all the things and I just really, I really appreciate everything that you're doing. Was there anything else you wanted to share with listeners about, you know, things that you would like to educate on or share about the company?

Helen Christoni
Yeah, I mean, if anybody has any questions, you can always reach out to me. You can find me at HelenCristone, or you can message us at Air Doctor, Aqua True, or on all the socials, and we're always available to answer your questions.

Melanie Avalon
Awesome, awesome, awesome. So as a brief reminder, listeners go to airdoctor.com slash Melanie Avalon. That's where you can get all these things with a discount.

And Helen, thank you so much for your time and all that you're doing. And the last question that I ask every single guest on this show, and it's just because I am so obsessed with the importance of mindset and everything. So what is something that you're grateful for?

Helen Christoni
I'm grateful for my family and just being able to wake up every day truly.

Melanie Avalon
Hmm. I love it. I love it so much. Thank you, Helen. You are the best. Love to have you back on in the future and just thank you for everything that you do.

Helen Christoni
All right, Melanie, have a beautiful day and thank you to everyone listening. You too.

Melanie Avalon
Bye bye.

Thank you so much for listening to the Melanie Avalon biohacking podcast for more information and resources You can check out my book what when wine as well as my supplement line Avalon X Please visit Melanie Avalon calm to learn more about today's guests and always feel free to contact me at contact at Melanie Avalon calm and always remember you got this