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If you’re shopping for an air purifier, or thinking about finding one for your home, it’s good to know what kind of designs are most useful against certain kinds of air contaminants.
Different models have different features and functionality. They also handle different room sizes and rates of air handling. Sometimes the research can be daunting, or confusing.
Here, we will go over some of the questions that shoppers often have about their air purifier machines.
Air Purifiers for Mold
Everybody knows that mold damage can be devastating in terms of a building’s value.
But various kinds of mold can also contribute to health challenges like respiratory problems. It’s not just toxic black mold that makes people have allergic reactions; alternaria, which is often found in bathrooms, in showers, and on windowsills and damp walls, can be an allergen. A type of mold called aspergillus can cause a condition called “bronchopulmonary aspergillosis” or ABPA. Then there’s Cladosporium, something you may find in fabrics, carpets, on wood surfaces, or in HVAC vents.
Often when you smell the mold in the air, the problem has already advanced to a pretty severe state. Over time, untreated dampness and moisture can lead to the growth of mold spores inside of a building, and costly remediation might be necessary. That’s because mold can cause health issues and respiratory problems with long exposure.
In terms of human health, you can reduce mold spores in the air with a modern air purifier.
What you want is a model with a HEPA filter that will get rid of a significant number of mold spores that may be floating in the indoor air.
You can also add activated carbon to handle the odors that sometimes accompany mold, like a musty smell or the stronger smell of advanced mold activity.
In addition to using air purifiers, here are some other tips for containing and handling mold indoors:
Keep humidity below 50% with dehumidifiers.
Clean HVAC filters regularly.
Fix leaks and water damage quickly (within 24–48 hours)
This can help protect your health, and the health of your family. You want to control the existence of mold in your home, and make sure that your air is clean and breathable, all the time.
Air Purifiers for Pet Allergies and Other Allergens
Many millions of Americans suffer from pet allergies, or allergies to plant life.
Sometimes these allergens get in the indoor air and cause issues like lung irritation.
If someone in your home is coughing, sneezing, or complaining of itchy, eyes, nose or throat, they might have these kinds of allergic reactions to something in your indoor air.
In buying an air purifier to help with allergies, some of the same rules apply. The HEPA filter will remove quite a bit of allergen material, such as pet dander, from the air. That’s especially true if it has the appropriate cubic feet per minute or CFM air handling rate, and is rated for a certain number of air changes per hour for a square footage.
Pets and Activated Carbon
At the same time, if there is significant pet odor in the home, activated carbon can help reduce the smell by trapping molecules in its small pores.
All of this is very important for so many American households! Whether you rent or own your home, too much pet dander or allergen material in the air can trigger allergy episodes in the most vulnerable members of your family. Or if you are trying to remediate this problem in making a space safe for new renters, you also face this kind of challenge. Like other items, including cigar and cigarette smoke, pet-related allergens can really get ingrained in a living space, hiding in surface materials, and getting released into the air routinely.
Air Purifiers for Dust
What if you have dust settling in your home?
It might be from new renovations or construction activity, or it might be the kind of dust more commonly found in old homes. Either way, you can get rid of some of this sort of air contamination with an air purifier.
The HEPA filter is necessary here, too. The key is to have enough filtration power to remove the small particles.
In some cases, you can get a good result with an air purifier that has multi-stage filtration. You may have a pre-filter and main filter that both work together to catch different sizes of particles.
Take a look at these and other kinds of new technology.
The Lulay Team at USAirPurifiers is a family and veteran owned U.S. business, and we are truly here to help with your best interest in mind. Our team will help you to cleanse your indoor air, and get a better result with modern technology that fights air pollution where it lives – and where you live, too! Make an investment in your health and the health of your family, to breathe easier all day and all night.