Top Quality Air Purifiers and Healthy Home Solutions that You Can Trust

To many people, new car smell is one of the simple pleasures in life. Getting into a fresh-off-the-line vehicle and smelling the odors of a brand new car may be enjoyable, but recent studies have shown that it's far from worth it. Unfortunately, the odor we all know as new car smell is the result of potentially toxic vapors. Here's what you need to know about the dark side of new car smell and what you can do about it.  

  What Exactly Is New Car Smell?

  To understand how the new car smell can have a negative impact on your health, we first need to examine what it really is. To manufacture your car's interior parts, automakers have to use a wide variety of different chemicals, many of which remain in the finished parts. While there's nothing inherently wrong with treatment chemicals locked in manufactured parts, these chemicals end up becoming airborne through a process known as outgassing. In outgassing, the parts inside your car slowly release the chemicals stored within them. This process can be accelerated by heat, which is why new car smell is often most intense on hot summer days.   Even under other circumstances, outgassing wouldn't be a huge problem. Because of how confined the space within a car is, however, VOCs produced by outgassing are allowed to build up in relatively high concentrations.  

How Toxic Does New Car Smell Have the Potential to Be?

  This is still something of a disputed question among experts. On one hand, the chemicals produced by offgassing in cars include several known toxins, such as BFRs, chlorine and even lead. While there's no doubt that these chemicals can be harmful, there's still some dispute as to whether the concentrations and exposure times that result from normal driving are enough to cause serious health complications.   One class of drivers who may want some added protection, though, are those who suffer from asthma or other respiratory conditions. While a healthy driver may not see any direct adverse effects from inhaling fumes outgassed by the interior of a car, the heightened sensitivity of people with existing respiratory conditions could take a relatively lower risk and turn it into a more severe one.  

  What Can You Do to Protect Yourself?

  If you're concerned about the effects of toxic outgassing in your car, there are a couple of things you can do about it. The first is simply to start your car and roll down your windows for a few minutes before you start driving. This will allow some of the VOCs that have built up in your car to escape, particularly on hot days. Keeping your windows down or at least cracked can also help you disperse gases as you drive.   For even better protection, though, you can put a small air purifier in your car to remove gases and odors. For this application, we recommend the Amaircare Roomaid VOC, which will offer compact and portable protection from VOCs. For more information about the Roomaid's capacities as a car air purifier, check out our other blog post on this air purifier!   Whether you choose to roll down your windows or use an air purifier for added protection, keep in mind that no solution will be immediate. You'll need to wait a few minutes for the levels of VOCs in your car start to go down in either event.   Have questions about the Amaircare Roomaid VOC or any of our other air purifiers? We're here to help! Feel free to contact us with your questions for answers and personalized product recommendations.

Locker rooms in schools and commercial gyms may not be the first place you'd expect to find an air purifier, but they are spaces in which some form of air cleaning technology should be used. Making use of an air purifier in a locker room can help keep the space healthier and more pleasant for those who use it. Here's what you need to know about air purifiers for locker rooms and the units we suggest.  

  Why Would You Need an Air Purifier in a Locker Room?

  There are two main reasons to use an air purifier in a locker room setting. The first of these is the fact that locker rooms are home to unpleasant odors that can make people less interested in coming to a gym. The second is the fact that bacteria, viruses and fungi are quite common in these environments. Removing these contaminants from the air can help your gym patrons stay healthy and ensure they can change and shower in a clean setting.   Related to this last point is the fact that the right air purifier can help to keep chemicals from building up in the air. For purposes of cleanliness, many gyms use strong chemical cleaners in their locker rooms. While this is necessary to get rid of potentially harmful bacteria, the fumes from these cleaners can build up and have a negative impact on people who suffer from asthma or other respiratory illnesses.  

  What Kind of Air Purifier is Best?

  For maximum effectiveness, you need three types of filtration in a locker room air purifier. A HEPA filter will help to eliminate particulate matter like dust and pollen, while a carbon filter will remove unpleasant odors and chemical fumes. The final type of filtration you'll need is a UV germicidal lamp. Intense UV light renders bacteria, viruses and mold spores neutral, preventing them from causing illnesses.   Some of our top air purifiers with all three of these features include:  

•   Field Controls TRIO (medical grade)
•   Airpura UV600 (covers up to 2,000 square feet, great for larger locker rooms)
•   AllerAir AirMedic Pro 6 Exec UV (three carbon filter options with up to 39 pounds of activated carbon available)

  Have questions about the right air purifiers for your gym locker room? We're here to help! Feel free to contact us for answers and product recommendations based on your needs. Also be sure to check out our business financing options to help your gym or workout center get the air purifier it needs on a reasonable monthly payment plan.

Sleep apnea is an increasingly common problem among American adults. As of 2014, at least 25 million adults in the United States suffered from this sleep disorder, and a growing body of evidence suggests that sleep apnea could increase risks for a variety of cardiovascular diseases. While there are likely many different factors that play into the increasing prevalence of sleep apnea, one contributor that has been identified is air pollution. Here's what you need to know about the link between air pollution and sleep apnea.  

  How Are the Two Connected?

  A recent study published by the American Thoracic Society shed considerable light on how higher levels of air pollution correlate to the incidence of sleep apnea. That study focused on two common pollutants, nitrogen dioxide and fine particulate matter (PM 2.5). Both of these pollutants are found in car exhaust and therefore have high exposure rates in urban areas.   In the study, researchers were able to draw a direct correlation between the concentration of these pollutants and rates of sleep apnea. Specifically, the study found that the risk of sleep apnea increased by 39 percent for every increase of 10 parts per billion of nitrogen dioxide, and an alarming 60 percent for every 5 micrograms per cubic meter of fine particulate matter in the air, both measured as yearly averages.   More research is still needed into the exact mechanism by which air pollution increases the risk of sleep apnea. Pollution is, however, known to cause respiratory irritation that may contribute to apnea, and it may also affect breathing during sleep by affecting the parts of the nervous system that regulate it.  

  Can an Air Purifier Help?

  Needless to say, air pollution is a massive and complex problem with no magic bullet solution. One thing you can do, though, is to use a high-quality air purifier to keep unwanted pollutants out of your home air. While you'll still be exposed to pollution outdoors and potentially at your place of work, you can at least control the quality of the air in your home. Some of our top models for removing common air pollutants include:  

•   IQAir GC Multigas
•   EnviroKlenz
•   Field Controls TRIO
•   Airpura I600

  Have questions about these air purifiers or any other units sold by US Air Purifiers? We're here to help! Feel free to contact us with your questions and we'll be happy to provide you with answers and personalized product recommendations for your unique needs.

One of the most common uses for air purifiers is to remove allergens from the air and keep allergic reactions under control. While you're probably aware of your own allergies and the causes for them, you may never have considered that your dog could also be suffering from allergic reactions. Here's what you need to know about the signs of allergies in dogs and how an air purifier can help both you and your four legged best friend breathe easier.  

  How Can You Tell if a Dog Is Having Allergic Reactions?

  There are many signs of allergies in dogs, but not all of them are necessarily easy to diagnose. One of the most obvious symptoms of skin allergies in canines is the presentation of "hot spots," areas of skin that your dog licks and scratches until they become inflamed and warm to the touch. Other fairly obvious indications that your dog could be having allergy problems include sneezing and coughing. Some signs, though, are less obvious and fit into what most people would describe as normal dog behavior. Scratching, licking of the paws and head shaking fall into this category. While all dogs exhibit these behaviors from time to time, they can be pretty good signs of allergies if they start to become excessive or extremely frequent.  

  What Can Dogs Be Allergic To?

  Interestingly, the allergens that affect dogs are roughly similar to the ones that affect humans. Pollen, dust and mold can all cause respiratory reactions. Some dogs also suffer from skin allergies that react to certain soaps and cleaning products. Dogs can also have allergic reactions to flea bites, which is another reason to be very vigilant for signs that your dog has picked up a flea infestation.  

  How an Air Purifier Can Help

  Just as in the case of humans, you can use an air purifier to eliminate allergens that affect your dog from your home air. By removing dust and pollen, you can help both your dog and yourself breathe easier and avoid allergies. Keep in mind that an air purifier can help allergies caused by airborne contaminants, but won't be effective against skin reactions to cleaners, shampoos or flea bites. The units we recommend for this use include:  

•   Airpura I600 with UV upgrade
•   Amaircare 3000 HEPA
•   Austin Air HealthMate

  Have questions about using an air purifier to keep airborne allergens out of your home? Feel free to contact us, and we'll be happy to answer your questions and supply you with personalized product recommendations tailored to your needs.

Using an air purifier is a great way to keep the air in your home healthy and clean. One common question people have about these machines, though, is specifically whether they can keep you from getting sick. To answer this question, we need to look at the features of different air purifiers and the causes of sickness. Here's what you need to know about air purifiers and how they may be able to help prevent you from getting sick the next time something is going around.  

  What Do Air Purifiers Really Do?

  When air is passed through a typical air purifier, it is forced through a filter that either consists of carbon or HEPA material. Carbon is used to remove odors, gases and VOCs from the air, while HEPA filters take out solid particulates like dust, pollen and mold spores. In many cases, these two types of filters are built into the same unit to provide broad spectrum protection from both gases and solids.  

  What About Bacteria and Viruses?

  The two main causes of contagious diseases are airborne bacteria and viruses. The problem, from an air purification perspective, is that these organisms are so tiny that even a HEPA filter doesn't catch most of them. So, while a normal air purifier will remove many of the potentially unhealthy contaminants from your home air, it doesn't have the ability to effectively target the root causes of sickness.  

  So, How Can an Air Purifier Keep You From Getting Sick?

  While HEPA and carbon filters can't target bacteria or viruses very effectively, some air purifiers are equipped with systems meant for this very application. The most common way for an air purifier to eliminate these contaminants is with a UV germicidal lamp. Intense UV light can neutralize bacteria and viruses by disrupting their unprotected DNA. For this reason, UV systems are often used in hospitals. These UV lamps are often added to air purifiers that already include HEPA and carbon filtration to expand their protection. A few examples of these multi-filter units with UV lamps include the Fields Controls TRIO, Airpura UV600 and AllerAir AirMedic Pro 6.   Another method of dealing with pathogens in the air is by subjecting them to intense heat. One air purifier brand, Airfree, has produced a line of models that pass air through a heated ceramic core, thus killing pathogens and eliminating pollen, mold spores and other solids. Be aware, though, that these air purifiers don't include carbon filters and so can't offer protection from gases.   Using either one of these systems, an air purifier can actually make you less likely to get a cold, flu or bacterial infection that's going around. Keep in mind, though, that the main benefit of an air purifier is the long-term health effect of breathing air that isn't contaminated or polluted. Even if you use an air purifier in the home, there's always a chance you'll catch something from someone at work or in public. Air purification with UV or the application of heat is a good way to reduce your chances of getting sick, but it will not absolutely guarantee that you won't.