An allergy relief air purifier can be a necessity if you suffer from allergic reactions to pollen, smoke or other irritants that may pollute the air in your home.
Common allergens found in homes are pollen, mold spores, mildew, pet dander and dust mites.
You might think these allergens can be controlled by maintaining a clean home but that’s not the case. An allergy relief air purifier will greatly aid in removing these small particulates from the air you breathe.
When you dust the furniture in your room, you are only moving the particles about and the act of dusting may disturb particles and increase the allergens floating in the air.
When you suffer from allergies it is the reaction to the allergen that is uncomfortable. If you breathe in the pollen or other particle, your own body’s defense mechanism creates a physical response to the allergen. You sneeze, your nasal passages become congested and your eyes may be watering and irritated.
Other common contaminants in the air you breathe in your home are human hair, particles from sneezing, plant spores, smoke from tobacco products and from cooking, and even flakes of skin we shed naturally.
In addition, the air in our homes can be laden with bacteria and viruses as well as naturally occurring, common particulates. Gases from chemical treatments can be released from new upholstered furniture and carpeting and many of us are highly allergic to the chemical fumes of fabric treatments.
The sizes of the particles in the air range from .01 to 100 microns. Clearly, it’s not difficult to find a filter that removes the largest allergens such as hair or larger pollens and mold. If you suffer from allergies, however, you need to clear the air of as many of the smallest particulates as possible. That is the purpose of a true HEPA filter.
Features
When you suffer from allergies you have special needs for clean air that a common, inexpensive air purifier will not meet. You require a high quality specialized air purification system. Your goal is to remove as many of the particulates and gases from the air as possible and traditional air cleaners are not equipped to accomplish this.
Anti-allergy air cleaners have special filtration systems and often provide multiple filters. Each filter addresses a specific air quality problem. Choosing the right allergy relief air purifier can greatly improve the daily health of someone dealing with seasonal allergies or for those with allergies that occur year round.
Filtration
Large particle filters are often the first line of defense in an allergy relief air purifier. This filter will remove the largest pieces of dust, dander, pet hair, etc from the air. This helps extend the life of other filters that might quickly become clogged with the larger particulates and require frequent (and expensive) filter replacement.
It’s important to realize there are several types of HEPA filters available in the marketplace. HEPA like filters are marginally effective and are much less expensive than true HEPA filters. When shopping for an allergy relief air purifier you should consider only those units that use a True HEPA filter as part of the air cleaning system.
This filter provides a dry environment that will kill virus and bacteria that need moisture to keep them alive. Some advanced true HEPA filters designed to aid those with allergies add a special treatment to kill bacteria. Another option used in an allergy relief air purifier is the addition of ultraviolet light to provide a germicidal effect when cleaning the air.
Even a true HEPA filter will not capture all of the contaminants in the air as the filters capture particulates as small as 0.3 microns and most viruses are smaller than that in size.
Cost and Effectiveness
An allergy relief air purifier is not an inexpensive product. The best selling units use a combination of filters and powerful fans to move the room’s air through those filters.
Most of the units are provided with a remote control for convenience and some have wheels or casters to ease in moving them from room to room. They combine pre-filters to remove large particles with true HEPA filters and may also include filters to remove odors and gases from the air.
The units are rated based on clean air delivery rate (CADR) which is a standard developed to compare the efficiency of air cleaners. CADR is important as only air that moves through the filters can be cleaned. Powerful fans are part of the unit and some of the high end air cleaners use dual fans to pull in air to be filtered and to move the cleaner air quickly into the home environment.
Another point to consider when choosing an allergy relief air purifier is the sound level of the unit. Some low cost air cleaners are almost totally quiet because they do not use fans to filter the air.
Air purifiers meant to remove allergens need those fans to be effective. The best air purifiers are built with soundproofing for noise reduction but it’s wise to observe a unit in operation before deciding to purchase it. Most units have several fan speeds and the sound of the unit should be almost inaudible at the lowest fan speed.
Summary
When choosing an allergy relief air purifier the most important aspects are the level of filtration provided and the noise level of the unit. Filters will need replacement once or twice a year and the costs of air purifiers for allergy sufferers will be higher than for standard air cleaning units. Compare the CADR of units you are considering and ask to see the unit in operation to judge the noise level produced.
The cost of air cleaning systems designed to provide the cleanest possible air in homes where people suffer from allergic reactions or asthma is higher than the cost of units designed only to improve air quality. This is more than balanced by the decrease in health problems that results from breathing the cleanest air possible.
