One thing that remains a constant in Beijing is the need for good air filters in the home. For the past couple of years, we have been using Blue Air filters in our Wangjing apartment. At the very least, I figure we are getting a good night’s sleep, even if the air we breathe all day at school and work is questionable. Although I had bought replacement filters by various means in the past, I recently happened upon the Torana Clean Air Center (yes, it is the same Torana that also sells fabulous hand-woven Tibetan Carpets), a company that delivers Blue Air filters.
The short of it is that their delivery service was quick to respond to my email and they arrived within 10 minutes of the agreed upon delivery time. Although Torana will gladly accept cash payment, they can also accept credit cards (extremely convenient) and there is no additional fee for delivery. Having lugged boxes of filters home before, it was great to have the filters delivered to my door with a smile. They even offered to assist me with installing the new filters. Although I do speak some Chinese, it was nice that they spoke English too.
I asked the owner, Chris Buckley, how he got started selling Blue Air filters alongside his carpets and he explained that although he has been in the Tibetan rug business for the past ten years, he used to work for a multinational before that and had some involvement with air purification systems, so it was a natural progression from choking in Beijing air to selling purifiers four years ago. Personally, I’m glad he did.
You can find all the necessary contact information and pricing at www.toranacleanair.com, or simply email chris@toranahouse.com
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Photography: www.chrislay.com
Blog: www.beijing-kids.com/blog/beijingkids/Christopher-Lay
