Choose The Right Air Purifier: A Step By Step Guide
If you are looking for an air purifier you probably want it for a reason. This fact is important to remember when choosing your machine. But with so many air purifiers on the market how do you make the right choice? It can be very confusing as they all have something different to offer.
You will need to know why you want one. Do you need it for allergen removal, virus removal, odour or gas removal? What you want to achieve will guide yo as to which one you will buy. If you need to clear the air of allergens then you need an air purifier that can filter large particles such as pollens from the air (usually via a prefilter), and also the smaller particles. These smaller particles are those molds, bacteria, fumes, dust mites etc that people tend to be allergic to. Normally a HEPA filter will be sufficient for this job. It is important to note that there are smaller particles again that are known as lung penetrating particles and are the most harmfull to your wellbeing. These include viruses, some bacteria and germs, some home dirt mite allergens, cat allergens, smoke, soot, fumes, and smog.
The more severe your allergy the more serious the air purification that is required. So in this case your need will be driving you to the group or air purifiers that meet your need. For example, not everyone who is allergic to dust will react to the same degree to the allergin. Therefore if you fall under the mildly allergic group you wont need something that is more expensive and highly effective. Various air purifiers are needed for individuals suffering from multiple substance sensitivities or asthma. If an individual has asthma, it’s recommended they purchase an air purifier with a gas filtration system to manage gases and odors, which can trigger an asthma attack. People with several substance sensitivities can react to almost anything, so the correct option of air purifier is extremely essential, because this person could react towards the material that makes up the air purifier such as glue about the Hepa filtration system or out gassing from plastic parts. When dealing with gas, odor, and chemical situations, the greater concentrated the quantity of gas contamination with perhaps a high rate of recontamination, the stronger the gas filtration system needed. Should you wanted to manage general cooking odors, you would need a basic gas filter, while cigarette and cigar smoke requires a really big and powerful gas filtration system.
The location of the machine is also a consideration when selecting your machine. You need to know where you intend putting it. If it is a smaller room that is relatively sealed from outside air then a smaller machine wil be enough. If however it will go in a high traffic area where it will be working hard then a larger machine will be required.
Now you need to judge the effectiveness level of the machines and compare them. Do this by refering to the manufacturers specs. Check for the amount of air the air purifier can clean in an hour. Look also for the percentage of pollutants the machine can remove as the air passes through. For instance, if the particle count per cubic foot of air going into the air purifier is 1,000,000 and the count of particles in the air coming out is 300, than the efficiency from that machine would be 99.97%. Higher is better.
Another very handy addition would be a light indicator telling you when the filter needs cleaning or changing. Remember that the particles you are filtering are likely to be hard to see and therefore simply relying on dates and eyes to tell if they need changing is not reliable. Therefore a light would be handy indeed.
Lastly but by no means least you should compare warranty and reliability of the machines, as well as the weight and mobility. If you intend moving it around a lot then this will be very important indeed. We recommend air purifiers using the media charged filters as they are highly effective and dont emit ozone.
There are more things you might want to know, go to Dan Wilcox’s excellent Air Purifier Reviews, and Air Purifier Blog.