They tell me I’m the ideal subject to test the effectiveness of this air purifier called Intellipure that was recently launched in the Philippines. I thought I had outgrown my childhood asthma, but the air we breathe must be so polluted that I often find myself short of breath. Today, I’m nursing a severe case of the sniffles and dry cough. As I walk into this purified room, where Intellipure air purifiers have been strategically installed, I can say that my lungs noticed the difference straightaway -- from the stale air outside, laden with all sorts of toxic pollutants, I’m suddenly breathing crisp, fresh, invigorating air inside the Intellipure office and my lungs couldn’t be happier.
Then we meet the man who brought Intellipure to the Philippines -- Capt. Nikos “Nick” Gitsis, pilot and co-founder of SEAIR, and currently president of the Greek Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines and Dornier Technology. He happily shares why he just had to fly home this breathtaking idea to Manila.
Smog gets in your eyes
“Every time I would take off or land my aircraft 25 years ago, I would notice thick gray and yellowish haze hanging over Manila, Cebu, and the surrounding areas,” Nick relates. “I learned later that the haze came from the ultrafine particulate smog in the air and other volatile organic compound (VOC) pollutants. As it got progressively worse, it truly disturbed me, particularly when I had children because this was the air they would be breathing. I didn’t want my children (or my wife and I) to develop respiratory ailments brought on by what has been called the silent killer.”
Nick and Trina recount their long journey to finding the best air purifier for their family, “We were always buying air purifiers from abroad because we couldn’t find good ones here. Even in the US, what was primarily available were HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) purifiers, which don’t really eliminate all the harmful particles. We kept looking for a better, long-term solution until, at long last, we found Intellipure and its sister company Healthway!”
Trina confesses, “We started using it last year and I realized that all this time, we would have been sleeping better. My two daughters sleep together in one room and I noticed that if one of them has a cold, the other one does not catch it.”
Did you know that indoor air pollution can be 100 times higher than outdoor pollution?
Not to worry! Vinny Lobdell, Intellipure USA president, says, “Our company is focused on delivering a true solution to your indoor air quality needs. The Intellipure Ultrafine Series line of purification systems are the only air cleaners proven to capture all three pollutant categories, including ultrafine particles, which are now linked to heart disease, stroke, cancer, infertility, dementia, and many other health risks.”
Nick discloses, “Intellipure’s filtering capacity is a formidable defense against indoor air pollutants. The secret is its patented DFS (Disinfectant Filtration System) technology developed through a US military grant combating germ warfare. The Intellipure machines capture and destroy 99.99 percent of all particles, down to 0.007 micron in size -- 40 times better than HEPA, the current medical standard filter in the Philippines. This includes viruses, molds, and bacteria.”
FYI, DFS technology is now being used in many hospitals in the US and around the world as well as other commercial and residential markets requiring its stringent application.
You are what you breathe
They say you are what you eat. Shouldn’t we say, you are what you breathe? After all, says Dr. Vicki Belo, we only eat three to five times a day, but we breathe 16 times per minute. “Or about 23,000 times a day,” Cristalle Belo-Pitt affirms.
Doc Vicki adds, “The air we breathe goes into our bloodstream, our heart, and every organ, including the skin, the largest organ of the body.”
Belo Clinics’ new tagline could very well be: Breathe pure air and get Belofied.
The Belo Clinics will be the first Certified Pure Wellness clinics in Asia, with the first location to open at Bonifacio Global City, to raise the standard of indoor hygiene and bring client comfort and peace of mind to a whole new level.
According to the World Health Organization, 3.8 million people die prematurely every year of illnesses attributable to household air pollution.
“If you’re outside and inhaling the air, it’s like smoking two packs of cigarettes a day,” Nick compares. “You don’t even have to be a smoker and you can have this impact to your lungs.”
Did you know that in an air sampling, it was found that the air pollution in Baguio is worse than Manila? And to think that some people go to Baguio just to breathe fresh air!
“Even in classrooms that are air-conditioned, if the air is not treated, you don’t know what goes inside the aircon,” Trina points out. “Don’t think that if it’s cool, it’s already clean.”
Intellipure boasts a range of products (portable machines fetch from P47,000 to P89,000) for commercial to home and office use. Then there’s the commercial service solution targeted at hotels, serviced residences, and other establishments who want their clients to enjoy an ultra-clean room environment or healthy indoor spaces. Intellipure can be customized to fit the specific needs of call centers, schools, day care centers, cooking areas and, yes, even smoking and highly polluted areas.
Pure air, Pure wellness
The Pure Wellness solution is a seven-step proprietary treatment that completely addresses indoor environment quality for various vertical markets such as hotels, casinos (where you can inhale cigarette smoke as soon as you enter), office spaces, clinics, spas, fitness centers, and residential areas.
This Pure Room is now offered at Marriott Hotels, Hilton, Ritz Carlton, and Westin Hotels all over North America and Asia.
Nick assures everyone, “While our technology may be the best on the market, our pricing is very competitive compared to other air purifier machines in the Philippines. And it’s economical to use -- on sleep mode, it consumes one watt per hour and is designed for those with allergies and bad asthma. Some clients using CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) machines report being able to sleep even without their CPAPs.”
Ah, to breathe pure air is, indeed, pure, unadulterated bliss!