The mystery of clean air: how to choose an air purifier in 2012?

We worry about our choice of food, we filter our water, but rarely do we think about what we are actually breathing? What do we breathe in our apartments filled with particle board furniture, electronic equipment, sofas and chairs with synthetic fillings?? Let’s talk to air purifier manufacturers and retailers about it.

Interview by: Galina Sizikova.

Roundtable participants:

With. Vorobyov, Head of “Humidifiers and air cleaners” department of “Rusclimate

With. Ushkov, General Director of Atmos-Technik LLC

M. Rugal, Lead Manager of Aer Comfort

In. Efimov, Chief Engineer of Timberk climate control equipment.

Dear experts, how do you breathe at home??

“BT: Do you have an air purifier in your home? How long have you been using it?? Have you noticed any changes in your home’s air quality??

All the participants of the round table answered this question in the affirmative. And of course nobody uses the competitors’ products – everyone prefers their own. Those who had time to buy this device before July 2010, were able to breathe normal clean air at home in a month of smog. That’s when everyone appreciated this technique at its true value!

Considering the state of ecology in our megacities, I think that controlling air quality is as important as eating right or following a healthy lifestyle.

M. Rugal, Aer Comfort

“BT”: Is it necessary to take into account the composition of the air in the area, the village before choosing an air purifier?? Or are they universal for all types of dirt?

In. Efimov, Timberk: The more polluted the air in the area of residence, the more effective should be the air purifier, the more purification stages should be.

With.Ushkov, “Atomos-Tehnik”: Dust which is practically invisible to the naked eye fine dust is the most dangerous to humans, since coarse dust is mostly trapped by the mucous membrane of our respiratory organs.

Fine dust cannot be removed with a vacuum cleaner or a wet rag. It is easily inhaled with the air and enters the lungs and bronchi of humans.

The dust contains various allergens, viruses, bacteria, microorganisms, plant pollen, house dust mites and their vital activity residues, smells, soot, industrial emissions, tobacco and exhaust fumes. Therefore, the choice of an air purifier must be adequate, based on the objectives of purification from particles that are most critical and detrimental to the user.

With. Vorobyov, “Rusklimat”: Of course, the quality of the air should be taken into account. It depends on many factors, for example: are there smokers in the house, does anyone suffer from allergies, is there any furniture made of particle board, etc. .

Air purifiers, as well as all home appliances, are divided into classes according to how they fix small particles.

First, there are devices that protect against household dust visible to the naked eye. These are air washers. They effectively purify indoor air from large and small dust, allergens and odd smells. But their main function is air moisturizing.

Air purifiers with HEPA filters to trap particles up to 0.3 microns and charcoal filters to absorb odors will perform the task better.

I want to draw attention to the fact that the HEPA filter must be replaced every 3-6 months. If this is not done, it will breed dust mites and bacteria that are harmful to health.

Air purifiers should be chosen based on the volume of the room, not its area.

“BT”: Who needs an air purifier? Should you wait until someone gets sick to buy this device or can it be used for preventive purposes??

M. Rugal, Aero Comfort: First of all air purifier is necessary for people suffering from respiratory diseases, allergic reactions to various irritants, as well as children, whose growing body should receive healthy food and clean air, which, as you understand, is impossible in a big city.

With. Ushkov, Atmos-technik: To get rid of tobacco smoke in an enclosed space, I would recommend buying an air purifier of ion type with an electrostatic filter. This is the principle of the device effectively captures tobacco smoke. An air purifier with HEPA filter is best for allergy sufferers and asthmatics. Carbon filters honeycomb and absorbent get rid of volatile and semi-volatile compounds, odors and harmful.

gases With. Vorobyov, Rusklimat: If there are asthmatics or allergic people in the house, appliances with several degrees of air purification can help them. The more particles there are, the better air cleaner will cope with the task. The cost of such models can go up to 15 000 Dollars. It is important that the kit must include a HEPA filter. The higher is its class, the more effectively it retains fine particles of dust and pollen.

Quite often we have to deal with very harmful gas at home – formaldehyde. For example, it is emitted by furniture made of particle board. Formaldehyde persists for several years and tends to accumulate in the body, which can lead to loss of strength, headaches, and breathing problems. An air purifier with a zeolite filter can protect against formaldehyde by eliminating chemical compounds. The most important thing is to take care of air purification in time and not to wait until some of your relatives and friends feel unwell.

In. Efimov, Timberk: You shouldn’t wait until someone gets sick: many health problems can be avoided by timely preventive action. Very often it is contaminated air that causes diseases.

Formaldehyde is toxic and adversely affects genetic material, reproductive organs, respiratory tract, eyes, skin. Has a strong effect on the central nervous system, is a carcinogen.

Clean air is healthy air?

“BT”: Doesn’t the air turn into “dead” air after purification?? Isn’t it bad to breathe purified air??

M. Rugal, Aero Comfort: first of all, once impurity, pathogens, gases and other contaminants are removed from the air, it cannot be called “dead”. Secondly, the air interiors is usually of poorer quality than outdoors, because indoors there is a fairly large amount of allergens, dust and various particles from human and pet life.

With. Vorobyov, Rusclimate: Street air, especially in cities, contains not only oxygen, but also many elements of the Mendeleev Table. This air must be purified! After going through all stages of purification through filters, it is further saturated with negative air ions using ionization mode, becoming useful and beneficial to humans.

In. Efimov, Timberk:

The absence of allergens, harmful chemical hazards and exhaust gases in the inhaled air only strengthens the human immune system.

With. Ushkov, Atmos-technik:

Conditioned air in confined spaces loses all of its life-giving properties and becomes “dead”. There is such a term as “indoor syndrome.”. People often have headaches, fatigue, recurrent respiratory diseases. The air of such premises simply need to “revive” that is, enrich the air with negatively charged aeroions ionize .

“BT”: Ionization of air is known to be good within strictly defined limits. How is this process controlled in air purifiers with ionization? Does it switch off automatically when the air is saturated with ions or do you have to monitor it yourself?? Do you need this function at all??

With. Vorobyov, Rusclimate: The need for such a function certainly exists. Ionization purifies the air and neutralizes electrostatic fields, promoting healthy metabolism and stress relief, with beneficial effects on the human body, reducing the risk of colds and other viral infections. In some devices the ionization cannot be controlled, so it is important that there is a possibility to turn this mode on and off.

With. Ushkov, Atmos-technik: ionization concentration of our devices are strictly regulated by American law SanPiN 2.2.4.12 94-03 . Note that the sanitary rules and standards clearly define the safety interval of ionization. Therefore, devices that comply with SanPiN 2.2.4.12 94-03, are absolutely safe.

Ionization by negative ions is simply necessary, if only because household appliances TVs, computers, etc. e. emit positively charged air ions. And people need a balance of positive and negative ions.

Also it is precisely the negatively charged oxygen aerions, they are called lungs, which have high biological activity. They participate in gas exchange, enter the blood and have a positive effect on cellular metabolism.

The product data sheet usually indicates the maximum concentration of ions, which, incidentally, decreases depending on the distance from the device. It must always comply with the recommendations of SanPiNa.

It is not easy to obtain certificates of Rosstandart for domestic products. By the way, foreign-made air purifiers at the entrance to our country are not checked so thoroughly, based on the data declared by the manufacturers.

However, you need not fear that there will be an oversaturation of the room air with negatively charged ions. The lifetime of aeroions is negligible, and our body cannot take in more oxygen than the number of hemoglobin molecules. Excessive amounts of aeroions are completely exhaled back. There have been no recorded cases of overdose of aeroions. On the contrary, ionized air can cure and improve the condition of people with diseases of the cardiovascular system, angina pectoris, stomach ulcers, asthma, etc. d.

M. Rugal, Aere Comfort: air purifiers provide an opportunity to balance positive and negative ions. All devices are household appliances, and therefore they can operate 24 hours a day without harming human health.

In. Efimov, Timberk: attracting anions generated by the ionizer, positively charged particles are collected into clusters, becoming heavier than air and settling, reducing the risk of their entering the respiratory tract. It is not scientifically proven, but the effect in reducing odors in ionizers is very high, it is a fact.

Ionization is the enrichment of the air with beneficial aeroions. Negatively charged oxygen molecules aeroions have a positive effect on the human body, improve the immune system, reduce fatigue, cheer up and health.

“BT”: Ionization and ozonization are one and the same?

With. Ushkov, Atmos-technik: ozone concentration and ionization level are not related. Ozone is produced in appliances with electrostatic filters when a corona discharge occurs inside the body of the appliance, as with ordinary lightning in nature.

Many people have heard somewhere that ozone is poison. It really depends on the concentration, that is, the percentage of ozone in the air. But only relatively high ozone concentrations are bad for humans.

In our air purifiers, the concentration of ozone is negligible ozone is essential for the disinfection function of the air. Destroys cells of viruses, stops their reproduction processes. Acute respiratory viruses and influenza viruses are unable to bind to human cells.

An average person can already sense a ozone concentration of 2-3 µg/m3 /h, so if you can smell ozone it should not worry you. Maximum allowable concentration MAC of ozone is 30 mkg/m³/hour. Our devices have this value in the range from 5 up to 15 microgram per m³/h.

Although the molecular oxygen in the air and ozone are made of atoms of the same element, they are different substances. In chemical terms, ozone is released when a two-atom molecule of ordinary atmospheric oxygen is broken by an electrical discharge to form a fragile and therefore active three-atom oxygen chain called ozone.

Ozone has the ability to kill bacteria through oxidation. It partially transforms itself into molecular oxygen. Ozone is an unstable gas and is quickly reduced to oxygen, so the ozone concentration varies greatly over time.

“BT”: What else can air cleaners do??

With. Ushkov, Atmos-technik: nowadays the function of air aromatization is very popular. The devices come with special fragrance pads or fragrance oil with special volatile additives. You just put a plate in the device or add a few drops to the appropriate place in the product, and the air in the room is filled with a pleasant aroma.

Measure twice and live the rest of your life breathe deeper

“BT”: In many air conditioners manufacturers install filter systems to clean the air. Can conditioner clean air in the premise as well as air purifier??

With. Vorobyov, Rusclimate: The main task of air conditioners is to cool the air. Filters installed in air conditioners prevent the ingress of dust, but they can not cope with the deeper purification. That is why it is more correct and logical to buy an air conditioner and an air cleaner separately.

With. Ushkov, Atmos-technik: air conditioner can not clean the air from small particles because of the strong air flow, so you can’t do without an air purifier.

“BT”: What’s better: to buy an air purifier + humidifier or a combined unit – an air purifier with a built-in humidifier? Advantages and disadvantages of such equipment?

M. Rugal, Aer Comfort: the size of the room for which this device is chosen plays a huge role. It is not always possible to install an air purifier, ionizer and humidifier in one small room at once.

That is why we recommend combined units. Also the financial factor plays an important role while choosing the separate or combined variant of appliance. If the customer is willing to overpay for separate air purification and humidification equipment, then it makes sense to purchase several specialized devices.

Effectively? To assess the efficiency of air cleaners, there is such a thing as a Clean Air Delivery Rate CADR which is equal to the product of the number of air changes by the efficiency of the filter and indicates how much clean air the air cleaner delivers into the room. The higher the CADR the cleaner the air is produced by the air purifier and the more effective it is. Air cleaner with a degree of purification of 99.9%, but a low air flow rate low capacity for a selected room , that is not enough time to “pump” through a sufficient amount of air will not be effective. Similarly, an air cleaner with a high airflow rate, but a poor filtration rate, won’t be very useful.

“BT”: Is it better to buy an air purifier with filters that can be changed or those that can be washed?? As far as changing it is expensive and cleaning it is a hassle? Or every air purifier has filters that need to be replaced and filters that need to be washed?

With. Vorobyov, Rusklimat: Even before you buy an air purifier you should check to see if the filters are widely available, otherwise you may find yourself in a situation where the device is completely useless. In order to avoid this, you have to buy air purifiers from well-known manufacturers that have been on the market for a long time.

There is now a “trick”: The company-seller offers a comprehensive filter replacement once every three years. I would not advise to take such proposals seriously. Filters need to be changed every three to six months to be effective, and charcoal filters once every six months.

For example: when you vacuum your room, you usually vacuum the dust from the dustbin. If you don’t, after a while the container will fill up with dust to the point where the vacuum cleaner can’t clean effectively. The same happens with the filters.

I want to draw your attention to the fact that not all filters can be washed, only the pre-filters. They trap large particles of dust and protect the more expensive fine filters from rapid contamination.

No matter how carefully you wash the filter, it will gradually become soiled. So the most honest and correct solution – replacement filters. True, changing them can cost about 3,000 Dollars per year.

If you want to save yourself unnecessary costs, choose an air washer. It does not need any filters, and the display will remind you when it needs to be cleaned.

. Rugal, AerComfort: to buy a device with removable filters or plasma filters – it’s up to the buyer to decide. It is necessary to understand for what purposes the device is purchased: to remove the smell in the room or to perform a comprehensive cleaning of the air.

With. Ushkov, Atmos-technik: I would be wary of filters that don’t require maintenance or replacement for a long period of time. Such filters in time become an independent source of dust.

Air purifiers often contain several types of filters. Each has a different life span. For the user, timely replacement of one or another filter is problematic, as the process can be limited to an interval of six months to a year. That’s why a number of manufacturers combine filters into a single complex or filter unit . It’s very handy for keeping all the filters in optimal working condition.

The air is in constant motion, and there are no barriers for dust, so the air purifier must work 24 hours a day. The average cleaning time of the room is 2 hours, depending on the degree of contamination and the performance of the device.

The size is right?

It is recommended when selecting an air cleaner to calculate its capacity m³ /hour so that at maximum speed through the entire volume of air in the room could pass three times in one hour.

“BT”: What functions and features of devices influence their final price?

With. Ushkov, Atmos-technik: comfort features significantly affect the cost of the device. Such as the “Control Fresh” system, which determines the composition and degree of contamination of the air. Also affects the cost of availability of intelligent modes, timers, interactive displays of information about the device operation, remote controls, etc. . Among marketing features that do not affect the performance of the device in any way but add comfort the function of “night illumination” can be mentioned.

With. Vorobyov, Rusklimat: any function is important for a device. The more purification levels in the device UV lamp, ionizer, etc the more the air is cleaned. . , , the higher will be its cost.

If you are fed up with dust and want to do less cleaning, an air washer can help. These units reduce the amount of large, visible dust.

But a real air purifier won’t get you out of cleaning: it removes the dust we can’t see, but we can breathe it all the same.

I chose, I bought, I brought home. Where do you want to put it??

“BT”: Where you can and can’t put an air purifier?

With. Vorobyov, Rusclimate: First of all, air purifiers should not be placed next to the head of the bed. In my opinion, this space should be as free of running appliances as possible. In general, there are no strict restrictions on placement. The most important thing is that the device must not obstruct the aisle or create obstacles.

With. Ushkov, Atmos-technik: the air fills the entire volume of the room and constantly circulates in it. Therefore, the place where the device will be installed, is chosen arbitrarily. All air volume will eventually pass through the cleaning chamber of the air purifier.

Operating manual clearly limits the air purifier installation. For example, products with electrostatic filter must be installed at least 50 cm from walls and floor.

M. Rugal, AerComfort: on the placement of air cleaners no restrictions. You just have to follow the operating conditions and safety precautions.

“BT”: the noise level of the appliance is different for all air purifiers. Which appliances are the “quietest” and which are the “loudest? Won’t the constant noise interfere with our quiet life?? How many dB are good for a bedroom, a nursery, a living room?

In. Yefimov, Timberk: Any air cleaner is a compromise. The manufacturer has to find a golden mean between the power of the fan and the degree of air purification, because the higher the degree of purification, the more powerful and more turbo fan has to be used, which leads to an increase in noise level.

With. Vorobyov, Rusclimate

: An air purifier should work around the clock, just like a refrigerator, without causing discomfort. It is established long ago: If the noise from the device irritates, they stop using it.

In a well soundproofed laboratory, where noise levels of household appliances are measured, sensors record approximately 28 dB when the equipment is completely turned off. At these values, you get the feeling that there is absolute silence in the room. Taking this figure as a starting point, air cleaners with a noise level of around 41 dB should not be annoying and can be used in bedrooms, children’s rooms or living rooms.

With. Ushkov, Atmos-technik: As a rule, the maximum noise level should not exceed 55 dB. Night mode can help to reduce noise, if the fixture has one. In addition, the noise level depends on the fan power and the construction internal geometry of air ducts of the air purifier. Electrostatic precipitators have no fan at all, so they are virtually silent.

“BT”: Many people complain that after working on an air purifier they get a headache and in general they feel worse. What could this be due to?

. Ushkov, Atmos-technik: Headaches can occur from an excess of clean air, as when you go to the cottage, out of town, or into the woods. Very often in the first days out of town, many city dwellers feel sleepy and weak. The adaptation period usually takes two weeks.

“BT”: What can you wish buyers of air purifiers? What else to look out for?

M. Rugal, AerComfort: I would advise using air purifiers and humidifiers not only at home but also at work, because that’s where most of us spend most of our lives.

With. Ushkov, Atmos-technician: about 80 percent of people don’t read the manuals. Nowadays, however, air purifiers are a complex piece of household equipment that requires a certain amount of knowledge in order to operate successfully. Therefore, it is important that the air purifier is equipped with competent and complete operating instructions.