An air purifier is a device or an equipment that purifies the surrounding air. There are some frequently asked questions about air purifiers. For example, how do they work? Also, if they purify? These questions have a much simpler answer. Air purifiers purify the air by simply trapping the harmful contaminations present in the air. Common contaminations are dust, mold, mites, spores, chemicals, odors and airborne toxins. However, the trapping mechanism depends on the technology used by an air purifier and how much adaptability a device has in terms of trapping. Your indoor air quality has many more pollutants than outside and since we spent most of our time indoors. The exposure of air quality puts you in potential health and safety risks for several ailments. Using an air purifier in your home or office creates a healthy and clean air for you. This way you can have cleaner air to breathe. Best air purifiers use sophisticated technologies to perform at their optimum level. Let us go into more details about how they work and what features they possess.
Once you have a better understanding then you can purchase a quality air purifier for your home.
Following are some important features of the air purifiers:
Function- How Do They Work?
The mechanism of an air purifier consists of filters or multiple filters with fans that suck harmful air and circulates it. As the air moves through the filters, dust and contaminations remain trapped and clean air then released in the living space. Air filters usually made of paper, fiber, fiberglass, or mesh and require a constant replacement to work on optimum point and maintain efficiency.
The idea means that with the cost of a whole air purifier system, you need to consider operating costs and filter costs. This indicates that along with operating costs of running a filter constantly, you need to take filter replacement in focus also. To garner the benefits of healthy and clean air, this is a small investment to make.
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Performance- How Do They Perform?
The most common filters in the market have the usual design that filters dust and other small bacteria and particles. However, they do not capture gases or volatile organic compounds, as it requires an absorbent like activated carbon filters. The Environmental Protection Agency or EPA warns that to receive an optimum level of functionality, the filters need replacements every three months, at least. While many air purifiers generally filter our dust and pollen, they are not very good at removing gases. These harmful gases like VOC and radon can emerge from paint or adhesives and circulate in the air without being visible. A basic air purifier may also not filter allergens in the flooring or furniture. The location, installation, flow rate and the operating time all vary the effectiveness of the purifier.
Similarly, the air-conditioning also affects the operation of any purifier. Normal air filters easily filter out pollen, spores or dry dust. And advanced filters like humidifiers or dehumidifiers help in capturing other contaminations like molds. Activated carbon filters help in capturing smoke and other pollutants in the air that makes a cleaner breathing space for you.
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Purifiers According to Specific Needs
- Allergies
In case you have allergies, you need to go for an air purifier designed for relieving allergies. Choose a purifier that has multiple filters like HEPA purifiers that remove indoor allergens.
- Asthma
If you have chemical pollutants or doors trigger asthma or the symptoms. It would help if you considered purchasing a filter that has capabilities of trapping gases and odors or asthma air purifier. These purifiers contain added odor and chemical removal aspects along with HEPA to remove allergens.
- Smoke
Smoke air purifiers can remove fireplace sooth, ash, and smoke. Smoke can cause respiratory conditions and unpleasant odors indoors so such purifiers prove advantageous here.
- Chemical Sensitivities
If you have chemical sensitivities, then you should consider a model that has multiple chemical sensitivities. These devices contain an even more advanced version of chemical and odor filtration. Often manufactured with materials that do not allow the gas to pass through and aggravate your symptoms.
- Pets
Pets usually shed hair that creates micro dander in the air and cause respiratory problems. Normal models of air purifiers can easily remove these dander and hair to give you clean air.
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Types of Air Purifiers
- Ozone Generators
These purifiers are very effective in trapping strong odors. It is usually used by hotels to trap smoke odors. The downside is that the room, which has such installation, remains unused for almost 24 hours. Ozone generators release a high level of ozone that is a respiratory irritant.
- HEPA Air Purifiers
The HEPA purifiers can trap 99% of airborne contaminations that may measure up to 0.3 microns. The technology used in HEPA purifiers prevents bacteria trapped to multiply and spread in the filter. Purchases need to remain aware as retailers claim a true HEPA filter but instead sell a HEPA-blend filter.
- Ultraviolet Light Air Purifiers
These purifiers use the radiations from UV rays to eliminate particles like dust and bacteria. Those particles that pass through these purifiers get trapped and killed instantly. Unlike the typical filter, that only collects the passing particles. The purpose of the UV mechanism is to alter the DNA of the microorganism to destroy it or prevent replication completely.
- Electrostatic Purifiers
These purifiers use electrostatic plates that charge incoming particles with a negative electric charge to collect them. These purifiers have high maintenance due to the presence of plates that may overrun with particles. However, this purification choice has mostly disappeared from home use due to the presence of ozone as a by-product.
- Activate Carbon Purifiers
A porous form of carbon called activated carbon has an increased surface area due to excessive heating. The surface area of normally activated carbon measures up to 500m2. While an activated carbon filter may not trap dust and pollen effectively, it can trap odors and harmful gases present indoors.
Conclusion
Having clean air to breathe is a blessing. With the introduction of air purifiers, now we have a choice to make our surrounding air clean. This will not only help us in leading a healthy life but it will also prevent us from getting sick frequently. However, just like having pollutants outside, our indoors also have their version of pollutants present. These contaminations remain airborne and cause respiratory issues with the household. To protect you and your family from the harmful effects of indoor pollution, an air purifier is the best option. With numerous benefits mentioned above, you can now decide which type of air purifier will be best for you to purchase for your home. No matter which device or model you purchase, your end goal remains the same. That is to provide clean air for yourself and the ones you love. Therefore, buy the purifier according to your need and budget.
