The promise of an air purifier is an enticing one: An appliance designed to cleanse the air in your home, getting rid of all the impurities including odors, smoke, dust, and pet dander. Given the fact that indoor air can have levels of certain pollutants up to five times higher than outdoor air , we get it. Air purifiers can indeed neutralize some of the threat posed by air pollution and by indoor activities. In reality, though, not all air purifiers necessarily live up to their marketing hype.
Air purifiers usually consist of a filter, or multiple filters, and a fan that sucks in and circulates air. As air moves through the filter, pollutants and particles are captured and the clean air is pushed back out into the living space. Typically, filters are made of paper, fiber often fiberglass , or mesh, and require regular replacement to maintain efficiency.
That means, in addition to the purchase price of an air purifier, you should also factor in operating costs and filter replacement costs. How frequently you will have to change filters varies based upon the purifier type and usage. Some filters are reusable and washable, but they require meticulous maintenance, so you don't usually find them on the most effective air purifiers. Reusable filters are generally good at removing larger particles from the air, like dust mites and pollen.
You'll also find UV ultraviolet light filters on the market, which often claim to destroy biological impurities like mold or bacteria, but many require higher wattage and greater exposure to be effective not to mention some bacteria is UV-resistant. Other air purifiers use ionizers to help attract particles like static — negative ions bond to dust and allergens and make them settle out of the air. If you're interested in buying an air cleaner that uses ionizers, make sure it does not produce dangerous levels of ozone , a gas made up of three oxygen atoms that is often marketed as helping break down pollutants, because ozone could be a lung irritant and further aggravate asthma conditions.
Usually the air purifiers with ozone will have that listed on packaging or in the marketing descriptions. This is due to the fact that there is the potential for introduction for unknown harmful consequences, coupled with additional energy usage and negligible or non-existent increase in purification.
That would require an adsorbent, like activated carbon. In fact, the Environmental Protection Agency EPA warns that the functionality of air purifiers is limited in terms of filtering out gases, and that you must frequently replace filters for optimal functionality, usually about every three or so months. Many air purifiers are good at filtering pollutant particles out of the air dust, smoke, pollen, etc.
Pollen, pet dander, and dust mites are among the most common airborne allergens. An air purifier may work in conjunction with a high-efficiency particulate air HEPA filter, the latter of which is best known to trap airborne allergens.
Like allergens, indoor mold particles can become especially dangerous for people with asthma and other lung conditions. Air purifiers may work to some degree, but filtration is far more effective in getting rid of mold in the air.
An air purifier with a HEPA filter would work best, along with reducing humidity levels in your home. Filter-equipped air purifiers may also remove smoke in the air, including smoke from landscape fires and tobacco smoke.
Smoking cessation is preferable over trying to filter out smoke-filled air. One study on air purifiers found that these devices did little to remove nicotine from indoor air. Not only may your home be a source of airborne allergens and mold, but it may also be a source of indoor toxins from cleaning products , personal care products, and more.
When these particles live in the air, they can become harmful to your body. Air purifiers may also trap indoor toxins, but the best way to get rid of toxins in your home is to reduce their usage in the first place. While medications for allergies and asthma can help alleviate symptoms and prevent reactions, air purifiers may help remove the source of your symptoms to begin with.
Always talk to your doctor before reducing or stopping any medications. While air purifiers can help clean up your indoor air space, they tend to work more effectively when combined with a filter. Otherwise, you might need multiple smaller or portable purifiers for each room. You can help prevent harmful particles from entering your indoor air space by doing the following:. Before investing money in an air purifier, you might consider conducting a home air quality test first to see if you need one.
Check out these air quality kits on Amazon to get started. There are multiple air purifiers available on Amazon and other vendors. Consider a few options to get started on your search:. You can also look for air purifiers and filters that are certified asthma and allergy friendly devices by the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America.
An allergist may also have specific recommendations tailored to your needs and lifestyle. Research shows that filtering the air can indeed help to remove harmful particles from indoor spaces, particularly allergens, smoke, and mold.
Still, air purifiers work best in conjunction with proper filtration and home cleaning techniques. We start with the need for every household to have a high indoor air quality.
Here is how an air purifier can gather all the indoor air to be purified:. To ensure that air is sucked from every corner of a room, an air purifier comes with a powerful fan. The speed of the fan can be controlled; an average air purifier will have 3 or even 4 fan speed settings. The fan represents an integral part of how an air purifier works.
Simply put, it works by sucking in the air, running it through the filters, and expelling clean air. Therefore there is a compromise between the maximum airflow and airflow-capacity of filters air purifier is using. Obviously, every filtration system has a maximum yield at a given airflow. Some special filters like the new Molekule filters or Airdog X5 filters have some special rules. The amount of air an air purifier can clean is measured by CADR ratings.
Here is an example of how to look at CADR. In a perfect world, we would get CFM clean air airflow, right? However, no filtration system is perfect. This also means running an air purifier on a maximum fan setting is not always the best choice.
There are a lot of examples where lower fan speed can produce a higher CADR. Here are two cases:. Not every air purifier is tested, by the way. In short, the airflow is a necessary condition for the air purifier to work properly. However, the essence of every purifier is its air filtration system.
0コメント