Welcome to Tesla Motors Club
Discuss Tesla's Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y, Cybertruck, Roadster and More.
Register

Bioweapon Defense Mode a help for seasonal allergies

This site may earn commission on affiliate links.

napabill

Active Member
Supporting Member
One month later...

I used the aforementioned Fresno SuperCharger yesterday, and I saw some new hardware installed next to and above the place where the cabinets are...looked like a dome-type camera and a (maybe motion-activated?) light pointing into the enclosure. That's what I could see from where I was standing, didn't investigate further and there might be other stuff I didn't see.

As an unrelated aside, this weekend totally sucks for anybody with seasonal allergies in the Central Valley...everything's in bloom with winds around 20 mph. AH-CHOO! :(

Bruce.
If you had an MX the BioWeapon filter would be the answer. Really knocks down the pollen.
 
  • Like
Reactions: bmah
If you had an MX the BioWeapon filter would be the answer. Really knocks down the pollen.
This deserves to be in whatever thread it's supposed to be in, but I wanted to respond to this.

Ever since I read @napabill's comment, I've been dealing with pollen and people around me who react similarly to me, badly, and at the same time, wanted to know if he is correct. I did things to avoid exposure:
  • Sleep more (general health)
  • Avoid biodusty situations when I have a choice (stay away from blowers)
  • Usual nose maintenance (keep it as clear as possible, use cotton rags, twice even used a powerful antihistamine for a few nights)
  • Proper hydration (including, as I just learned last year, proper expungement of processed fluids; if you don't empty the output buffer(s), they fill, and the input buffers pause and no processing happens)
  • Most interesting for this thread, I religiously used Bioweapon Defense Mode in my Model S to cut down pollen.
I compare my results to people around me, and I'm about one quarter as affected by the pollens as they are. This could be age, general health, the other things I did to protect myself. But one thing stands out: none of them have Teslas, and I feel fine after a long drive with bioweapon on, and as soon as I get out of my car, I start to get the pollen reactions. Granted, my pollen reactions are far muted, because they are cumulative and I avoid the problems as much as possible, but I think the car has helped significantly. It is by no means a cure all; I still have to manage my pollen intake and reactions. But, I think I'm way improved compared to what I would have been.

I have been wanting to put these filters in my home as well. I know such filters are made, but they seem expensive, however, ought to be worth it.
 
Last edited:
One thing I'm confused on, doesn't the system always use the 'large filter' if you have it? Do you have to enable 'BDM'? I would think recirculate would do the same thing for allergy and smell prevention (and smell is more the charcoal, of course), unless the filter is used only when you are in that 'mode', which seems sort of restrictive (need to run the fan at high power, etc....).
 
I've found that smells sometimes still penetrate the cabin even with Bioweapon Defense Mode on, possibly more than with simple internal air circulation... is that what others are finding too?
 
I've found that smells sometimes still penetrate the cabin even with Bioweapon Defense Mode on, possibly more than with simple internal air circulation... is that what others are finding too?
Yes (Model S, but it's the same system in the Model X so should be same answer).

So, therefore, either there are some types of leaks, and/or the filters don't catch everything (well, physically, those are both just the same concept, but from a different point of view; either the leak is in the filter or external to the filter). This is why I was curious if that bioweapon mode kept pollen down. I would also like to know more, such as when it keeps pollen down even when the Bioweapon mode isn't on (does it or not? and what settings?), and what other toxens are reduced or kept down and in which modes. Obviously, if smell is getting in, there are limitations of some sort, and obviously, if so many of us are experiencing better reaction toward pollen environments outside the car with the bioweapon mode on, then it does something helpful in some modes, and yet it doesn't do everything in all modes (of course), so I'd like to know where the middle boundaries are.

If there are leaks, what types of leaks are they? Is it a filter tightness of fit issue, or some sort of ducting leaks, or ducting valve leaks, or valve settings, or cabin leaks? Is air backdrawing in the exhaust area? Do certain types of undercover failures offer more air intake than others (such as that black diaper in the back of the car)?
One thing I'm confused on, doesn't the system always use the 'large filter' if you have it? Do you have to enable 'BDM'? I would think recirculate would do the same thing for allergy and smell prevention (and smell is more the charcoal, of course), unless the filter is used only when you are in that 'mode', which seems sort of restrictive (need to run the fan at high power, etc....).
Often asked, and rarely answered, and I don't know if anybody knows.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: boaterva
This deserves to be in whatever thread it's supposed to be in, but I wanted to respond to this.

Ever since I read @napabill's comment, I've been dealing with pollen and people around me who react similarly to me, badly, and at the same time, wanted to know if he is correct. I did things to avoid exposure:
  • Sleep more (general health)
  • Avoid biodusty situations when I have a choice (stay away from blowers)
  • Usual nose maintenance (keep it as clear as possible, use cotton rags, twice even used a powerful antihistamine for a few nights)
  • Proper hydration (including, as I just learned last year, proper expungement of processed fluids; if you don't empty the output buffer(s), they fill, and the input buffers pause and no processing happens)
  • Most interesting for this thread, I religiously used Bioweapon Defense Mode in my Model S to cut down pollen.
I compare my results to people around me, and I'm about one quarter as affected by the pollens as they are. This could be age, general health, the other things I did to protect myself. But one thing stands out: none of them have Teslas, and I feel fine after a long drive with bioweapon on, and as soon as I get out of my car, I start to get the pollen reactions. Granted, my pollen reactions are far muted, because they are cumulative and I avoid the problems as much as possible, but I think the car has helped significantly. It is by no means a cure all; I still have to manage my pollen intake and reactions. But, I think I'm way improved compared to what I would have been.

I have been wanting to put these filters in my home as well. I know such filters are made, but they seem expensive, however, ought to be worth it.

The following link will take you to an excellent source allergy related products, and the filter portrayed is excellent. I have the same model in my home.

Thanks for your thoughts and observations.

Scannerman

IQAir HealthPro and HealthPro Plus Air Purifiers | AllergyBuyersClub