Air pollution is a huge issue today, both outdoors and inside our houses. Indoor air pollution is considered to be one of the world’s greatest public health risks.
We spend a significant amount of time indoors. Poor air quality in your house or other places can cause a range of problems:
- Coughing
- Sneezing
- Irritation of the eyes, nose and throat
- Headache
- Sinus congestion
- Allergic reactions
- Shortness of breath
- Aggravation of symptoms of respiratory diseases
- Fatigue
How can we make sure that the air we breathe indoors is safe and clean?
Just What Is An Air Purifier And What Does It Do?
Our homes are filled with a large number of particles that are invisible to the naked eye. An air purifier is a machine that works by moving the air through a filter. It traps dust, smoke, pollen, mold spores and other small particles that could be part of your home atmosphere and lets out cleaner air.
An air purifier can be a helpful piece of equipment for people who are highly sensitive to pollution and for those who suffer from asthma or allergies.
How Do You Use An Air Purifier?
To figure out if you need an air purifier in your home you have to consider a few important factors.
What are the problems that you are trying to solve? There are different types of air purification systems. Some just have a filter for the particles, others also remove gases and odors with the help of a gas filter.
#1.Is there a smoker in the house?
Air purifiers are commonly used to eliminate second-hand smoke. Be aware that for this purpose an air purifier with a gas filter is required, so choose accordingly. Getting an air purifier doesn’t mean you shouldn’t ventilate your house.
#2.Do you suffer from allergies?
If so you may benefit from an air purifier with a decent filtering system that will help to eliminate small particles that cause irritation. If you suffer from a number of allergies or if they are severe you need to choose a more powerful air purifier.
#3. Do you have asthma?
If you have asthma you should consider getting an air purifier with a gas filter that can help eliminate odors as those can trigger the symptoms. Certain parts of the equipment could be emitting odors and chemicals when they heat up, so be careful when you choose. If you are sensitive to chemicals you need to keep that in mind.
#4.The size of the premises.
The larger the room, the more powerful your air purifier should be. The way this machine works is by first reducing pollution to a certain percentage. It then maintains the atmosphere by continually moving the air through the system. The fresh air in the room needs to be renewed constantly, so the volume is important.
#5.What is the room used for?
Picking the right system also depends on how frequently you use the premises for different activities. People going in and out of the room, movement, opening doors raises the amount of dust and other particles floating in the air. You need to choose an air purifier that will be powerful enough to clean your room.
What are the benefits of using air purifiers?
There are groups of people who could be extremely sensitive to pollution, including the contaminants commonly found in our household air.
These include people with:
- Asthma
- Allergies
- Respiratory diseases
- Chemical sensitivities
- Immune system deficiencies
- Heart disease
- Contact lenses
According to airpurifierguide.org those who spend more time at home – children, the elderly and the chronically ill are at higher risk of damage from indoor air pollution. Getting a suitable air purifier can help to alleviate some of the health-related issues that could be influenced by poor air quality in your home. However, we have to be careful in managing our expectations of what an air purifier can and cannot do.
If we want to avoid some of the issues that can be aggravated by polluted indoor air we have to ask ourselves what is air purification? Every method varies in its effectiveness, and some are more suitable than others for dealing with certain problems. Opening your windows, proper ventilation, cleaning, dusting and not smoking in the house could be just as important for improving the air quality in your house as using air purifiers.
What Are The Drawbacks Of Using Air Purifiers?
#1.Some air purifiers emit ozone.
There are many different types of air purifiers, and those with HEPA filter are for the most part safe to use. Other machines such as electrostatic precipitators and those that use ionizing method produce ozone as a by-product.
Ozone, especially in large doses, could be detrimental to your health. An excess of ozone causes a range of issues including pulmonary edema, hemorrhage, inflammation, and reduction of lung function.
#2.Air purifiers can be very noisy.
For some, this would not be a major problem. Constant humming of a machine is something people can get used to. For others, the sound can become intolerable. It really depends on your personal disposition.
It is worth checking how much noise the equipment will be making to help you decide whether you could live with it.
#3.The cost.
Air purifiers can be pricey. You have to take into account not only the cost of purchasing the equipment, but also the upkeep. The filters need changing every so often, something could break; certain parts have to be replaced.
Then there are the added bills on top of everything, which can make an air purifier an extremely expensive luxury item.
Every house has indoor air pollution problems to varying degrees. There are many different ways to deal with these issues and getting an air purifier can be one of them. If you decide that owning such a system is the answer to the air quality issues in your home you can do some research and decide which equipment is the right choice for your specific needs. To help you pick the best one take a look at air purifier reviews on cnet.com or other relevant websites.
Here is a youtube video that debunks some of the myths about air purifiers:
