AirpurifiersForTheHome.org

You work out, you eat right so you think you’re pretty healthy, right? Well, if you’re not doing anything about the quality of the air you breathe, you’re doing yourself a big disservice. That’s because the air you breathe is filled with impurities. These impurities are so small that they can’t be detected by sight, smell or even touch.

They are so small that you could be breathing them in right now and you’d never know it. You wouldn’t be aware of it until you come down with some kind of illness and only then after your doctor tells you that it’s the air in your home that’s making you sick. So, how do you get rid of these impurities so that you can finally get back to breathing healthier again? The answer is simple: get an air purifier for the home.

Finding The Best Air Purifier: Make The Air You Breathe Clean And Healthy

A home air purifier will take those impurities out of the air so that the air you breathe is clean and healthy. There are different types of home air purifiers and few two are built the same. Finding the best air purifier for you can be a daunting task. Some are ionic and some use a filter. The filter kind are generally less expensive. Their filters catch the impurities, taking them out of the air. The problem with the filter brand home air purifiers is that you have to change the filters often. If you don’t change the filters, the impurities build up and the home air purifier is no longer able to do its job.

The ionic home air purifiers work by using small ionic particles to combine with the impurities, thus making them heavier and taking them out of the air you breathe. These impurities can be anything from pet dander to dust to carpet fibers and more. These things, once breathed in, can cause health problems for you and your family. If you truly care about the health of you and your family, you’ll want to invest in a good home air purifier.

If you’re not sure what kind of home air purifier you should buy, ask your doctor to recommend one for you. If you want, check some consumer reports to see which brand stands up against the rest. Usually, as with most things, the more expensive the home air purifier, the better it is. This isn’t always the case, however. Look at the studies, listen to the word of mouth advertising and buy a home air purifier that suits your needs. Your family will thank you and you just might be able to avoid all the health problems that come with breathing in dirty air.

Getting started

photo credit: Horia Varlan

Before you buy an air purifier, try some simple, common-sense steps to reduce indoor air pollution. Begin by vacuuming often, banning smoking indoors, minimizing use of candles and wood fires, and using exhaust fans in kitchen, bath, and laundry areas. Test your home for radon gas, which can cause lung cancer (test kits cost about $15).

Air purifiers for the home can be really helpful, but there are also opinions that they don’t do much good and actually you could improve your indoor air quality with many simple things. However, best air purifiers certainly can improve the air quality of your home.

Top Tips:

1.    Don’t smoke indoors

2.    Vacuum often

3.    Minimize the use of candles and wood fire

4.    Don’t store chemicals, solvents, glues or pesticides in your house

5.    Maintain your heating equipment properly

Check an air purifier’s efficiency rating

If you are planning to purchase an air purifier for home, here are some guidelines you might want to follow. The Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers certifies most room models as part of a voluntary program that includes appropriate room size and maximum clean-air delivery rate (CADR), a measure of cleaning speed.

A CADR above 350 can be seen as  excellent and below 100 to be poor. It’s a good idea to purchase a model which is designed for an area bigger than yours for improved cleaning at a lower, quieter speed. Many whole-house filters list a minimum efficiency reporting value (MERV), developed by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers. The top performers usually  have a MERV higher than 10.

Basic Types Of Air Purifiers

The main air purifier types are room models which can be moved from room to room. Whole-house models are built into a forced-air heating or cooling system and they filter the air in the whole house.

Type 1: Room Air Purifiers

The modern home often has air that is less clean than the air around it. Pollutants come into the home through the doors and windows, getting trapped in fabrics, bedding and carpets. Particulates and gasses from the home itself permeate the air and cigarette smoke gets into everything.
Mold, bacteria and mildew can breed in a humid environment. Pet dander, dust and dust mites are found in most homes and many of the furnishings in the home can release gasses found in their components. It’s no wonder that about $250 million is spent on room air purifiers every year.

How Room Air Purifiers Work

Usually, a room air purifier works with a HEPA filter or an ionizing system. The high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter captures at least 99.97% of airborne particulates by definition. The HEPA designation reflects a standard set by the Department of Energy. A room air purifier with a HEPA filter works by circulating the air through a specially formulated fiber system to catch tiny particulates. This type of room air purifier is most recommended.

Even stricter is the ultra-low penetration air (ULPA). HEPA filters were used to catch radioactive particles during the development of the atomic bomb and are still used by the nuclear power industry. A room air purifier that uses an ionizer creates electrons and discharges them into the room’s air to attach to air molecules and form ions. The ions attach to particulates, making them more attractive to the filter.
A room air purifier that uses both an ionizer and a HEPA filter works better when the filter is fresh.

If the filter is not working well, the ionized particles are returned to the room where they can fall to the floor or become attached to positively charged surfaces. This can cause the filters in other appliances such as the vacuum or air conditioner to become dirty more quickly. A home with an above average amount of pollutants like pets and smoke can go through a HEPA filter more quickly.

Be sure that you become familiar with the operating manual and change the filter as often as suggested. Also remember that HEPA filters can come in different sizes and capacities. They only have to meet a particulate standard to have the name “HEPA.” Make sure that you know the limits of the HEPA filter in your room air purifier. With proper maintenance and attention, your room air purifier can make your home a healthier place for years to come.

Type 2: Whole House Air Purifier

Why Would a Whole House Air Purifier be Advantageous?

When you choose an air purifier, you should know why you are looking for one. Make a list of your needs so you would be able to seek the exact match to your requirements. If possible, do your preliminary research on the Internet, so you have a basic idea of what to look for and what the basics are that go into the machine for your home.

You will also learn from your research about the cost, specifications and warranty given for each of the models that you would prefer.

Why Choose A Whole House Air Purifier?

The greatest advantage of having a whole house air purifier is that you will have it out of your sight.  There are a lot of tiny particles in the air that pollute it and cause a lot of health problems for those who inhale it. These can be particularly awful for those who are suffering from asthma or other similar serious respiratory problems.

Some people prefer to have room air purifiers. However, individual installations often become too complicated. In this case the whole house air purifier can solve the problem easily with the same efficiency in the results. The whole house air purifiers work more or less like central air conditioners. These machines are much larger than room air purifiers and use powerful ionization systems (aided by oxidation systems) to purify the air.

They can be installed right on the ductwork which is connected to the furnace or even the centralized air conditioner. This would then work in unison and provide pure air to the whole house.

Some people feel that the installation of the whole house air purifier is too expensive. However, if you look into the overall cost that the installation of individual air purifiers would entail, you will realize that the fitting of a whole house air purifier is not that costly. Moreover, this is an investment which occurs once every 10-15 years recurring cost, since these sturdy machines last long even if you do not care for them. With care and proper servicing, they would last close to 20 years.

Once the whole house air purifier is fitted, you would not need to ever worry about the air of your house. You might, and rightly so, keep an eye on the filters which can be cleaned and changed from time to time. Other than that, these machines would not need too much attention.

Air Purifier Guide