in si de ha lto n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, Ja nu ar y 20 ,2 02 2 | 18 Social media is abuzz with people taking up new lockdown hobbies like gardening, cooking and working out. Shiven Taneja took up a craft, and the community noticed. The 14-year-old began building what's called Cor- si-Rosenthal Filters (CRF), a type of do-it-your- self air purifier that's rela- tively easy and cheap to make. Anyone can make them in their home with- out special tools. Taneja has delivered three of these air purifier- s to the Canadian Fencing Academy (CFA) in Oak- ville, and he estimates he has made 30 or so since De- cember. "They (the fencing academy) were actually one of my first," Taneja said. "They DM'd me on Twitter and they said this is perfect (for our small fencing school.)" Kyle Foster, who co- owns the fencing academy with his wife, Lisa Huzel, says that safety was the reason why they bought the CRFs from Taneja. "My wife Lisa ... is a physician with a double specialty in respirology and critical care who has been dealing with COVID on the front line since the beginning of the pandem- ic," Foster said in an emailed statement. "She of course under- stands the importance of air flow and proper filtra- tion especially in enclosed areas (in the winter we can't open any doors and windows at the CFA)," he added. All one needs to make CRFs are between four and five MERV-13 commer- cial air filters, a box fan and copious amounts of duct tape. The point is to make the seals as airtight as possible so the box fan only draws air through the membrane of the filters. Taneja charges roughly $150 for one unit, which he says covers "the cost of materials." "Elderly people may not be able to build these be- cause, well, when I bought the materials and then I built it ... it's a lot of bend- ing down, and it might be really difficult for them," Taneja said. "So I thought I can just build it. And also, they might not be able to afford the HEPA filters." Depending on the qual- ity, HEPA filter air purifi- ers can range anywhere from hundreds of dollars to upwards of thousands. MERV, or Minimum Ef- ficiency Rating Values, is one of the rating systems for filters, ranging from MERV 1 to MERV 20. MERV 1 to MERV 4 are ca- pable of filtering out par- ticulates that are 10 mi- crons, or micrometres, small. MERV 17 to MERV 20 can handle particulates as small as 0.3 microns. The MERV 13, typical for CRFs, can trap particles between 0.3 and 1.0 microns in size. The COVID virus alone is roughly 0.12 microns in size. However, illness-car- rying particulates aero- solized by humans through coughing or sneezing can range be- tween 1 and 100 microns. Common allergens like pollen and cat allergens can be between 1 to 30 mi- crons. Taneja hopes to go into the STEM field and is deeply interested in ro- bots. He has joined his lo- cal FIRST Robotics team. TEEN BUILDS AIR PURIFIERS FOR LOCAL BUSINESS Shiven Taneja demonstrates how a Corsi-Rosenthal Filter works. Mansoor Tanweer/Metroland MANSOOR TANWEER mtanweer@metroland.com NEWS SHIVEN TANEJA ESTIMATES HE HAS MADE 30 OR SO SINCE DECEMBER 25+ Years Experience 100% Canadian Made Cabinetry Quality Craftsmanship • Custom Made Kitchen & Bathroom Cabinetry • Closet Systems • Entertainment Units • Basement Renovations • Full Renovations & More! Visit Our 6,000 sq.ft. Design Centre: Units 2-3, 333 Wyecroft Rd.,Oakville 905-844-3332 www.aromakitchens.ca info@aromakitchens.ca Create Your Dream Look