Air Purifier Guide

Air is not just something you need to survive, it is one of the components on which your very life depends. However, as time passes, the air that has sustained life for so long is turning toxic – the transformation initiated by rapid development coupled with neglect by people.

Today pollutants abound in the air and are constantly putting the health and lives of people in danger. These pollutants weaken the body, making people more susceptible to diseases and causing premature aging, among other things.

Other than that, pollutants generally make living quite uncomfortable. There are some types of pollutants that make the air unpleasant to smell and generally reduce the amount of comfort you feel in any environment. A lot of studies have shown strong connections between stress and rapid aging. When you are stressed, your body becomes more susceptible to damage.

But how can you avoid stress if you can’t even find comfort in your own home?

In order to prevent these pollutants from damaging your health, you need to make sure that the air you breathe is as pure as possible. But how do you do this? Do you wear a gas mask for the rest of your life?

Before you start thinking about sealing doors and windows and making sure that your home remains free of air from the outside, you should know that this won’t actually help you breathe cleaner air. In fact, experts estimate that air inside a home can be up to 5 times dirtier than outside air. So what’s the solution?

The answer lies in the purchase and proper use of an air purifier. An air purifier is a device that is designed to eliminate pollutants from the air. In order to pick an air purifier that works, you must first be well acquainted with the various problems that plague the air today.

Know the Problem

There are actually various types of pollutants and irritants that put your health in danger by mixing with the air that you take into your lungs. In turn, each of these pollutant types needs a specific method to remove it from the air. Knowing what pollutants may be in your air will enable you to determine what you need to do in order to remove these pollutants.

Generally, airborne pollutants are classified into these types:

a.  Airborne Particles – these are the near-visible items that, while not really mixing with the air you breathe, float in with every breath you take. Airborne particles include dust, hair particles, pollen, mold, among others. These are actually the most common causes of asthma attacks and allergic reactions, which is why filtering these particles out can be so important.

Think about it – spending summer and spring without sneezing and without taking medication!  Airborne particles can be easily filtered from the air you breathe with the right air purifier. It is recommended that you use a HEPA air purifier if particles are your problem.

b. Odors and Gases – As mentioned before, there are certain household odors that just reduce the amount of comfort you feel in your own home. These smells actually encourage most people to get air purifiers as they are commonly the most noticeable of all air impurities. Removal of odors is through adsorption –a chemical process through which smells are removed from the air and are instead made to stick to a specific material. One such material is activated charcoal.

c. Volatile Compounds – these are gases produced by the evaporation of certain household materials. These include alcohol, disinfectants, adhesives and other materials. Volatile compounds produce strong smells that leave your place smelling less like a home and more like a hospital.

These compounds also present danger to your health as they are chemicals that will affect your body. Some chemicals can cause mild irritation, while others can cause serious damage to your lungs and skin. Volatile compounds also trigger allergic reaction that could be quite serious. This is the reason why they should be removed from the air that enters your lungs.

d. Micro-Organisms – airborne viruses, bacteria and other organisms are some of the most feared of contaminants. With the proliferation of airborne diseases today, a lot of people are naturally worried about their health.

Getting an air purifier is just one of the precautionary measures that one may take in order to ensure that these micro-organisms do not invade the home. Micro-organisms cause a variety of diseases and, once they have infected a person, start a chain reaction of contagion that could affect whole communities.

These are just some of the problems that could be solved by an air purifier. As you can see, an air purifier won’t just help you become more comfortable, it may even save your life! But just knowing what you need to protect yourself against is not enough to help you buy an air purifier. You should also learn about the different types of Air Purifiers available out there.

Types of Air Purifiers

Finding the right air purifier type is important in order to eliminate any contaminants in the air properly and effectively. A consumer today actually has a lot of options to choose from when it comes to selecting the right air purifier.

In order to find the right one, you need to consider how each type of air purifier works, as well as the pros and cons of each one:

a. HEPA Filters

High Efficiency Particulate Air Filters are arguably the best-known Air Filter type in the world today. As the name suggests, these purifiers are designed to remove floating particles from the air. However, these filters do it with efficiency, working to remove as much as 99.97% of particles from the air.

Just think about how much pollen, dust and particulates that percentage can refer to! HEPA filters can also remove particles as small as 0.3 microns in size.

HEPA Purifiers work by circulating the air and trapping any particles in the filter. It is often the case today that HEPA filters are used in conjunction with another filter which removes the larger particles. These purifiers also do not produce any harmful byproducts.

The only disadvantage to this type of air purifier is that you have to periodically change or clean the filter in order to keep it working.

b. Ion Generators

Ion Generators are second in popularity to HEPA filters when it comes to air purifier systems. It seems people just like the “futuristic” idea of using ionized particles to help clean the air.

Ion purifiers also tend to be noiseless and thus, won’t disturb you when in use. Ion air purifiers work by electrically charging the air, making particles “sticky”.

Because of this, the particles that contaminate the air stop floating and stick to the purifier instead. Think about how static electricity makes paper and plastic cling to different surfaces and you’ll have an idea of how Ion generators work.

Ion generators produce minimal noise and that’s only if you get a fan-type ion generator. Fan-type Ion air purifiers are much more effective at purifying the air in a single area. However, these produce a bit of noise and consume more power. Ion purifiers without fans are practically noiseless, but these tend to be a bit slow and can cause dust spots to develop around the area of the purifier.

c. Activated Charcoal

It should come as no surprise that Activated Charcoal is also used in air purifiers. After all, you see activated charcoal being used in water purifiers and even in packages and refrigerators to keep the air fresh.

Activated charcoal is great in that it adsorbs smells and some contaminants. For those who do not know what adsorption means, think of activated charcoal as a magnet, attracting smell and contaminants and then causing these contaminants to cling to its surface.

d. Ultraviolet Germicidal Irradiation

The use of light to disinfect air and kill germs is not a new concept. As a matter of fact, people have long seen sunlight as a great way to remove the musty smell that a house accumulates after a long period of being uninhabited.

There are actually two methods by which light is used to purify the air and UV Germicidal Irradiation is only one of them.In this method, the air is sucked in through the use of a fan and then exposed to ultraviolet radiation to kill any microorganisms. This gets rid of germs and other biological contaminants.

e. Photocatalytic Oxidation

Oxidation is a chemical reaction through which organic materials are broken down. When used as a method of air purification, oxidation helps remove smell, leaving your air truly clean. It also breaks down bacteria and other micro organisms that could otherwise pose a threat to your health. Through the use of radiation, a Photocatalytic purifier accelerates the oxidation process, instantly killing microorganisms and removing smell.

Photocatalytic oxidation is a relatively new concept in air purification, since the applications of ultraviolet radiation in cleaning the air are still being explored. However, the concept of oxidation itself is not.

f. Ozone Purifiers

Ozone purifiers also work through oxidation. Unlike most air purifiers which work by gradually cleaning air, Ozone purifiers actually work by shocking the air into being purified. Ozone purifiers introduce ozone gas into an area. Ozone is a great catalyst for oxidation, and can therefore be used to quickly purify air in a specific area.

However, Ozone can only be used in unoccupied rooms as it is quite a dangerous gas. Ozone purifiers, however, are the best (and sometimes only) way to remove certain specific stenches from a room.

g. Charged Media Filters

Charged media filters pretty much work in the same way as HEPA filters, trapping particles that float in the air. However, charged media filters use fiber filters, making them more effective, albeit a bit slower. Charged media filters are able to filter particles as small as 0.1 microns, which pretty much means that this type of air purifier will help you get more particles out. There are a few charged media filters out there that do produce ozone, so you need to be cautious about which brand and model you pick.

Other Factors to Consider

Of course, when purchasing an air purifier, it is not enough to only have the mere knowledge about the different types of purifiers. After all, even if you already have a specific type of purifier in mind, you’d still be facing a lot of choices. In order to help you narrow it down, here are some of the other factors you need to keep in mind:

a. Price – of course, you should always consider your budget when making any purchase. This will not just help you save a lot of money, but will also help you limit your choices to what you can actually afford. The price of an air purifier unit is frequently the deciding factor for a lot of people when it comes to purchasing.

b. Coverage – Each air purifier can only be used to purify a specific room area. In purchasing n air purifier, you need to make sure that you keep in mind where exactly you plan to use that purifier. This will help you make sure that the purifier works effectively.

The coverage of an air purifier is usually indicated in a sticker on the purifier itself. You may also ask the seller with regards to this bit of information.

c. Air Changes Per Hour – You need to know just how effective your air purifier is. One of the ways to check this is by knowing its ACH. The number of Air Changes per Hour is actually standardized –meaning you’ll be able to make sure that whatever number is claimed by a specific model is no advertising ploy.

d. CADR – The Clean Air Delivery Rate is another important number that you should take note of. This is standardized by the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers and basically indicates both the amount of air purified and just how well it is purified.

e. Energy Efficiency – you need to learn about how much power the air purifier will consume. After all, you will be paying for the electricity that the appliance consumes, right?

To make sure that you get great value for your money, don’t just take a look at the energy consumption, but also at the amount of work that the air purifier can do. Make sure that the amount of electricity it consumes is reasonable when you consider the amount of air it purifies and how fast the machine does its work.

f. Pollution Output – As said before, there are certain types of Air purifiers that give off Ozone. This gas is not just hazardous to your health, but also to the environment. Make sure that the machine you purchase will either produce zero Ozone, or it will at least produce the gas within the safety levels recommended by the government.

Conclusion

Purchasing an air purifier, especially today, is quite important when you consider that the air is considerably more polluted. With each breath you take, you gain both life and the substances that could shorten that life.

Although there are a lot of different air purifier types out there, it will actually be pretty easy to select the perfect one as long as you realize that your personal needs and experience have to guide you.

Do your research, gather as much information as possible and this will ultimately help you find the air purifier that meets your standards.