Preventing an Allergy With an Air Purifier

If you suffer from a particular allergy, air purifiers can help. There are several types of air purifier available. One or more of them will be able to handle your needs, pulling unwanted pathogens out of the air, protecting your lungs, throat, and sinuses. Once you have a good air purifier, pick the right place for it and keep it clean. The air purifier will take care of everything else.

Type of Allergens

Some types of allergens are living things, and others are not. Bacteria and other microbes are everywhere, and while most of them are not harmful, some forms can cause illness. Similarly, pollens range in size, from easy to spot to microscopic. These are the two main causes of common allergies, and can be treated with a air purifier that uses HEPA dn UV filtering.

HEPA and UV

The very best allergy air purifier will combine HEPA filtering with an ultraviolet lamp. HEPA filters almost everything out of the air. They were originally designed to remove radioactive particles at nuclear generators, making anything you have around the house a simple task. By having a unit that combines both, you are able to breathe the cleanest, healthiest air that can be provided. The UV lamp kills most microscopic parasites.

Ionic and HEPA

HEPA and ionic purifiers are the two main types of portable air purifiers. A portable air purifier is often clipped to a belt or worn on a strap around the neck. Be aware that an ionic filter has suitable ventilation, or it may cause breathing discomfort or lung irritation as the amount of ozone in a closed area builds up.

Avoid Charcoal Filters

Unless you are only using air cleaners to remove dust and odors from a room, charcoal activated filers may not be especially effective. Charcoal works very well on larger particles, but to remove smaller debris charcoal needs to have the backup of some other, small filter, such as HEPA or ULPA filters that are better able to remove extremely small particles and allergens. In their time, charcoal filters ruled the day, but there are much more advanced filtering systems available now that can remove particles smaller than coal could ever aim for.

Notes on Ionic Filters

It should be noted that ionic filters have been receiving a lot of bad publicity lately. The American Lung Association has determined that ionic air purifiers could cause problems with breathing. And the Environmental Protection Agency has said that it discourages the use of ionic home filtering devices. If you do have an ionic filter, make sure there is ample ventilation in the rooms where it will be used. The danger from ozone occurs when it is allowed to gather in an invisible cloud. This is easily corrected by keeping a small fan in the room.