ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Air Purifiers: Do They Work?

Updated on June 14, 2020

The common dust mite. An ugly little critter isn't it? This microscopic creature, a relative of the spider and mite, feeds off the skin cells shed by you or your pets. Just like pollen, they can cause a severe allergic reaction. Signs of dust mite allergy include those common to hay fever, such as sneezing and runny nose. Many people with dust mite allergy also experience signs of asthma, such as wheezing and difficulty breathing.

Allergy symptoms include sneezing, wheezing and itchy eyes. A life-threatening allergic reaction can also cause swelling and breathing difficulties. An allergy is a damaging immune response by the body to a substance, especially pollen, pet dander, fur, or dust, to which it has become hypersensitive. Exactly the sort of problem we’re looking to eliminate with our air purifier.

Air filters and air purifiers go together really well. Each complements the other. It is advisable to have both for the most effective treatment of your room. For people with allergic rhinitis or other respiratory conditions, you might want to consider this as essential.

So do air purifiers work?

The short answer is - yes, to a point. Unfortunately, they are unable to shift all the toxins in your room. This is mainly due to the toxins sticking to soft surfaces such as furniture, bedding, curtains and carpets. Providing the toxins are airborne, an air purifier does an admirable job of filtering them out. In fact, it will stop 99.97% of particles over 0.3-microns if it’s fitted with a HEPA filter.

So, what is a HEPA filter? A High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filter is a type of mechanical air filter; it works by forcing air through a fine mesh that traps harmful particles such as pollen, pet dander, dust mites, and tobacco smoke. To meet the minimum requirements of a HEPA filter, the filter must be tested and certified to prove that it will remove at least 99.97% (9,997 out of 10,000) of particles 0.3-microns in diameter from the air passing through the filter. These regulations are really tough but are necessary to provide the maximum amount of integrity. There is also a True HEPA filter which removes particles over 0.03-microns. Really impressive stuff.

What should you look for if you want to buy an air purifier?

In the first instance, you should consider whether you actually need an air purifier. Do you, for example, have a special need? Allergies, Asthma, Tobacco smoke and Pets could be considered special needs and most air purifiers will have you covered. There are more specialised air purifiers which could address your needs more directly. For example, there are models which specifically address allergies. They generally have multiple filters and work brilliantly but the cost, however, may seem prohibitive to most people.

You should consider the size of your room before purchasing an air purifier.

Air purifiers tend to come in three sizes

  • Small for rooms up to 299 square feet
  • Medium for rooms between 300 and 699 square feet
  • Large for rooms 700 to 1900 square feet

It is possible to get whole-house models but these are expensive and specialised. They are therefore beyond the scope of this article.

Many air purifiers come with various options, such as remote controls, wifi-enabled (so you can control them from your phone), energy ratings, air quality indicators, caster wheels and handles for portability, multiple fan speeds and filter replacement indicator. There are also filter options such as carbon filters, pre-filters and HEPA filters. You must consider filter replacements and the cost of maintenance. Carbon filters need to be replaced about every 6 months. Pre-filters every 3 months although some of these are washable. HEPA filters generally need replacing about once a year. I recommend the HEPA and particularly, True HEPA models.

Consider where you will put the air purifier. Most people choose to site them in the bedroom as this is where we tend to spend the most time. You may need to buy multiple units to cover your whole home or, you can choose a portable unit which can be wheeled into any room.

PROS:

  • Most modern air purifiers do a great job especially in conjunction with an air filter.
  • Can provide relief from allergies
  • Can clear tobacco smoke and it’s smell.
  • Models to match your home decor.

CONS:

  • Will not clear all the contaminants in the room.
  • Some models can be noisy.
  • Specialised models can be very costly.
  • HEPA filters need to be replaced every year.

Conclusion

If you suffer from hay fever, dust mite allergy, black mould allergy or any other form of allergic rhinitis, an air purifier just might be the answer you’re looking for. If your symptoms are really serious, you might want to consider getting an air filter too. If you follow the advice above, you should be able to get a model which suits all of your needs, looks beautiful and will give you many years of clean air and allergy relief.


working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)