The world we live in today has more contaminants than ever before. We have to live with an ever increasing level of pollution, mainly from exhaust fumes, factories, and other industrial activities.
This does not mean that we are safe from the dirty air once we step inside our home. In fact, indoor air has been shown to be 2 – 5 times as polluted as the outside air. Pollen, dust, pet dander, viruses, and bacteria all contribute to the contaminated air that we breathe every day.
An air purifier is one of the best ways to clean the air inside your home. Air purifiers are designed to clean the air by passing it through a series of fine filters and then releasing it back into the room.
They come in all different shapes and sizes; some are designed for single room usage while others are made for cleaning the air of the whole house.
Having clean air is one of the best ways that you can improve your health. Read on and find out 5 ways that air purifiers can help you to be healthy.
1. Allergies
Allergies are becoming more common, and affect a lot more people than they used to. One of the most common allergies is having an allergic reaction to grass and tree pollen.
This is more commonly known as hay fever and mostly occurs in the summer. Other common allergies include dust mite allergy and allergies to pet hair and dander.
Read More about Which air purifier is the best for pet dander and allergies?
Air purifiers are an essential tool in the fight against allergies. Because the allergy-causing particles are too small to be seen, it is impossible to remove them with normal cleaning procedures.
Cleaning methods such as dusting and vacuuming will only displace the particles and will aggravate allergies even more.
Almost all air purifiers contain a HEPA filter, which is designed to catch 99.97% of all particles down to 0.3 microns in size. This is more than enough to capture all of those tiny particles that cause so much discomfort.
2. Viruses
As mentioned above, HEPA filters capture particles down to a size of 0.3 microns. The problem is that some viruses and bacteria in the air are smaller than this, rendering the filter ineffective.
The good news is that there are other technologies in air purifiers that can eliminate cold and flu viruses, and other bacteria from the air. Ultraviolet lights are used in some air cleaning systems, to kill germs, viruses, and bacteria.
The effectiveness of these types of purifiers has not yet been proven, as the particles have to be in contact with the UV light for a prolonged period of time, and this is something that is hard to measure.
Electrostatic air purifiers are also effective at removing bacteria and germs from the air. They work by using opposing charges that cause particles to stick together.
This makes them heavier, which in turn makes them fall out of the air, usually into a designated collection area. Once the particles are out of the air it is easier to filter them. It is worth noting that this method does not kill the viruses, it merely removes them from the air.
One of the leading manufacturers of air purifiers, IQAir, claims they have produced the most effective air purifier filter in the world. The HyperHEPA filter is 100 times more effective than standard HEPA filters and will capture 99.5% of every particle, including cold and flu viruses.
3. Smoke
Cigarette or cigar smoke is one of the main reasons why people buy air purifiers. Whether you live with a smoker and wish to get rid of the smell, or a neighbor’s smoke is finding its way into your home, an air purifier is a good way to deal with this problem.
Cigarette smoke is not the only type of smoke you have to deal with. You may live in an area where there are frequent forest or bushfires, and the smoke from this can be deadly. There is also the smoke that comes from cooking, or from an indoor wood burning fire.
Smoke particles are extremely hazardous for your health, especially the type that comes from burning wood. These particles can be breathed into the lungs and very small ones can even enter the bloodstream, causing serious problems.
For an air purifier to be effective at capturing smoke particles, it has to have a charcoal based activated carbon filter. These are special filters that are treated with oxygen to open up millions of tiny pores in them.
This enables the filters to be effective at capturing tiny particles such as smoke and even odors. The thicker the carbon filter, the more chance it has of catching particles and odors. Cheaper air purifiers with thin carbon filters are ineffective at removing smoke because of how thin they are.
4. Mold
Common molds that are found in the house can be a trigger for allergies and asthma. An air purifier can help with mold, and a standard HEPA filter is effective at capturing mold spores.
Removing mold spores from the air is only masking the problem, and you should find the reason for the mold in the first place, which is usually damp conditions.
An air purifier that doubles as a dehumidifier is a wise choice, as it will not only remove the mold spores from the air but also help with the damp problem by drying out the air.
5. Chemicals
Chemical Sensitivity is a condition that affects a great number of people, while not much is known about it. It can be caused by a wide range of things, from smoke to perfume, and exhaust fumes to paint fumes.
An air purifier greatly helps people in this situation because of the way it cleans the air. The more filters in an air purifier, the more effective it will be at removing all different kinds of contaminants.
An air purifier with an activated carbon filter will be the most effective at removing chemical substances out of the air.
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