Everything You Need To Know About Air Purifiers

Living with poor air quality is detrimental to both your respiratory system and your comfort. However, you might not be able to discern the severity of the problem unless you own an air purifier. For those who are unfamiliar with air purifiers, they are cleaning devices that improve your indoor air quality by eliminating pollutants from your internal atmosphere.

Air purifiers help you breathe easier because you won’t have to deal with toxic allergens or pathogens in your airways. If you would like to learn more about these devices, here is your guide on everything you need to know about air purifiers.

How Air Purifiers Work

Air purifiers remove pollutants from the air by taking in all the indoor air and pushing it through a filter. The filters in these machines are strong enough to gather vast amounts of these pathogens, and then the machine pushes air back into a room after it cleans it.

There are numerous different types of air purifiers, and some of these machines specialize in removing particular substances such as pet dander or mold. In addition to cleaning the air, purifiers help make a room smell better by filtering out unpleasant odors such as smoke.

Signs That You Need an Air Purifier

Breathing in airborne pathogens can lead to many health ailments, but if you don’t know which symptoms to look out for, then you may not seek treatment. If you experience fatigue, random headaches, dizziness, or a runny nose when you’re in your home, it could be a sign of poor indoor air quality. Other symptoms include a sore or itchy throat and watering eyes.

If you frequently find yourself having difficulty breathing, you could be developing a respiratory disease such as asthma. Whether you are a tenant or homeowner, toxic substances such as pesticides, asbestos, radon, and lead could be emanating from within the confines of your home. Substances such as these, as well as pet dander, smoke, mold, dust, and carbon monoxide, could be causing your distress.

The Benefits of Using an Air Purifier

You can benefit from using an air purifier in a few ways. First, air purifiers reduce the risk of you suffering from a host of ailments, from minor infections to seasonal allergies and asthma. Air purifiers can even help reduce the risk of some serious respiratory illnesses such as lung cancer.

This happens because air purifiers can filter out carcinogenic agents such as smoke and noxious odors from a room. Also, if you have undetected mold spores growing in your home or excessive dust accumulation, air purifiers can eliminate these toxic substances.

Air Purifiers Keep You Safe

Although you might be hesitant to add technology to your home that interacts with air, you can rest assured that air purifiers are completely safe. No technology can eliminate indoor air pollution completely, but air purifiers are one of the most effective devices for this purpose. If you want to increase the effectiveness of your air purifier, you will want to do two things: clean or replace the filters on a consistent basis, and position the air purifier correctly in your home.

To maximize the number of pathogens your purifier ingests, make sure to put it in the dustiest room in your home. Usually, this is the room where you spend most of your time—but large, open areas will also gather loads of airborne pathogens. Different types of air filters require separate procedures, but as long as you clean or replace the filter every five to ten months, you will know that your air purifier is working efficiently.

The Difference Between an Air Purifier and a Dehumidifier

You may have heard of a dehumidifier, which is different from an air purifier. Although they both clean air, dehumidifiers differ from air purifiers in a few ways. In terms of their working mechanisms, air purifiers work by separating pollutants from clean air with a filter, while dehumidifiers work by removing moisture from the air.

Vapor often contains substances that irritate our respiratory systems, which is why a dehumidifier can improve air quality. The noise level of a working air purifier ranges from soft to loud, while dehumidifiers are typically on the noisier end of the spectrum.

Common Types of Air Purifiers

If you are looking for an air purifier to help you deal with a respiratory ailment, then you need to know which types of purifiers are available. The first type is the most common: filter purifiers, also known as HEPA air purifiers. These units possess a High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filter, which is a term designated by the US government for the most effective type of air filter.

Filter purifiers might also use an Ultra-Low Penetration Air filter (ULPA) which is even smaller and more effective than a HEPA filter. If you want to browse different types of AC filters online, be sure to look out for these terms to help you find what you need. Another type of air purifier is an ozone generator, which converts pure oxygen (O2) into ozone (O3) to help remove stenches and odors.

Before the advent of ozone generators, people used ionizing purifiers. These models use a small but powerful field of electricity to attach to particles with opposite electrical charges and separate them from the air.

Finally, there are UV air purifiers, which use ultraviolet light to kill the bacteria and germs in the air. Even though UV air purifiers don’t remove dirt, dust, and other allergens from the air, they sterilize the air with ultraviolet radiation. Nonetheless, if you are going to use this type, be sure to combine it with another type of air purifier so you can obtain the cleanest air possible.

Overall, air purifiers can benefit your household for countless different reasons. Whether you need to deal with allergies or just want cleaner air, purifiers can help you achieve both outcomes. After learning everything you need to know about air purifiers, you can now make the most informed decision when you want to purchase an air purifier for your home.