To get rid of dust, you need to buy an air purifier

With the arrival of spring the question of cleaning the air in living rooms becomes particularly important. Because in addition to the usual year-round problems – dust from pets, pet hair and toxic chemicals – a whole new set of problems has arisen. After winter sleep the plants come to life, and with them the pollen allergy bouquet – pollinosis. Depending on the sensitivity to pollen of certain plants, people suffering from pollen allergy can experience discomfort for several weeks a year to several months. Individual problems are also caused by forest fires in the summer, which are a source of smog and ash particles. And while it’s not easy to protect yourself from allergens and smoke outdoors, you can keep the air clean in your own home to alleviate your condition.

Choosing an air purifier, you should know what kind of dirt it will have to deal with and how it will be used. After all, allergens and other harmful particles and substances that may be in the air, vary in size and origin Accordingly, different cleaning methods are needed for them.

Large mechanical particles fur, poplar down, dust clumps are easily trapped by simple strainers. In many models, these filters play the role of the first stage of purification prefilters , protecting the subsequent filter elements from getting too dirty too quickly.

Fine dust particles, pollen, dried pet saliva and dander particles, and dust mites may require filters with finer filtration efficiency – HEP A. These filters trap particles larger than 0.3 μm by comparison, even the smallest pollen species are 2.5 μm and larger .

HEPA filters are usually marked with numbers from 10 to 14, indicating the efficiency of particle detention: 10 – up to 85%, 11 – up to 95,12 – up to 99, 13 – up to 99.95,14-99.995% of all particles. Filters with even higher filtration efficiency – ULPA – are rarely used in household air purifiers. HEPA filters tend to clog up with time and should be replaced. Service life of the filter depends on the quality of prefiltering, the size of the filter and the degree of contamination of the air in the room. The manufacturers generally indicate a recommended replacement time and some cleaner models even signal when the HEPA filter is dirty.

Electrostatic precipitators can also trap small mechanical particles. “Opposites attract” – this is the principle on which these filters work. They first charge the particles in the air that enters and then attract them to the plate with the opposite charge . Such filters are good in that they do not need to be replaced – it is enough to occasionally remove the plate and wash off the dirt collected from it. Some electrostatic precipitators are not even equipped with fans and therefore are very quiet.

Smog, tobacco smoke, toxic chemicals and odors pass freely through mechanical filters. neutralizing them requires sorption filters which absorb volatile substances from the air. The most common sorbent used is carbon, sometimes with various additives that enhance its effectiveness.

Carbon filters have a saturation limit, after which their ability to absorb decreases, so they must be periodically replaced. But some manufacturers allow their charcoal filters to be washed in water to prolong their service life for a while.

Photocatalytic filters can be used to neutralize organic pollutants such as pollen, mold spores, bacteria, viruses and some chemical compounds. They oxidize and decompose particles and molecules of organic origin. The basis for these filters is a photocatalyst agent e.g. titanium dioxide . Often the air purifiers with such filters are also equipped with ultraviolet lamp for increasing the efficiency of photocatalysis.

Another advantage of photocatalytic filters is that they can regenerate – regenerate their properties if exposed to UV light for a while. You don’t have to change them for a very long time, just leave them periodically in the sunlight or under a UV lamp.

The air purifier may include an additional antibacterial filter that destroys viruses, bacteria, mold spores. The active ingredient of such filters can be vegetable extracts e.g. apples, citrus fruits, etc. . d. or minerals e.g. silver . UV-C lamps, ozonation, and the like also have an antibacterial effect.

Modern air purifiers are usually equipped with more than one filter. This allows them to cover a wider range of pollutants: some filters purify mechanically, some absorb odours and chemicals, some destroy micro-organisms, etc. d.

Some air purifiers have special pollen control modes. Quiet Mode keeps the air circulating so that pollen particles don’t settle on your home and actively traps them.

All inclusive

Not all devices are limited to cleaning functions only. On the market you can find quite a few models that solve several climate problems simultaneously – they both purify and humidify the air. In addition to the filter unit, they are equipped with a water tank.

Like common humidifiers, these climate-controlled units also have different humidification technologies, such as cold evaporation, ultrasonic, etc. d. At the same time you can often choose the desired level of humidity. Such climatic complexes are available in Boneco, Neoclima, Panasonic, Sharp.

Many purifiers may ionize the air by equipping them with an ion generator negative ions . This function allows you to solve several problems. It is considered that anions render beneficial influence on human health – they tone up, increase immunity. But in the living-room in the city the balance of ions is broken – there is an excess of positive charged particles and lack of negative charged ones. Ion generator evens out the balance.

Besides, anions charge the dirt particles in the air, which are attracted to each other and form larger formations. And the larger the particle size, the easier it is to trap it with the filter.

Also air purifiers can aromatize the air, mixing volatile substances with pleasant odors to the air stream.

Clever technique

Most air cleaners allow you to adjust their performance. However, some are able to automatically change the power, reacting to changes in the situation around. Such devices are equipped with odor or dust sensors that detect the degree of contamination of the air.

As a result, the cleaner can clean the air, go into economy mode, and upon detecting an increase in dustiness or odors, increase performance again and quickly eliminate new contaminants. Models with sensors are available, for example, in the lines of Bork, Daikin, Dantex, NeoClima, Panasonic, Sharp, Tirnberk.

Selection criteria

Choosing an air purifier, you need to consider several factors.

First of all, decide for yourself what you want it to do, whether it only purifies the air or humidifies it, and what kinds of pollutants it captures. If you need both humidity and purification, and your favorite air purifier can not humidify, do not forget – a humidifier can be purchased as a separate unit.

Secondly, pay attention to the area of the room that can be served by the cleaner as a rule, manufacturers calculate this characteristic for their models and specify it in the specifications . If the room is too large, the device will not be able to purify the air effectively enough. If, on the contrary, the cleaner is very powerful and the room is small, the device will consume more energy than necessary.

Third, it is worth considering the noise level produced by the appliance. If you plan to use an air cleaner in a bedroom or child’s room, a noisy model might disturb your sleep. Although some devices allow you to select modes with different noise levels, including special “night” mode, when the device fans are very quiet.

You also need to worry about the problem of consumables beforehand. As already mentioned, many types of filters need to be replaced periodically with new ones, and the replacement time can vary from a few months to a few years. It’s worth finding out where to buy filters for your appliance. You can usually buy them from the companies that make the air purifiers themselves.

Care and maintenance

The rules for operating air purifiers are simple. Most models are designed to be installed on the floor – this is justified in terms of the laws of physics, according to which dust and other impurities sink down. Some units, however, may be placed on the table.

The appliances need to be installed in an open space so that the air can flow in freely and blow out just as freely without interference. If the device is placed in a narrow niche, it purifies the air in a confined space, but not in the entire room. It is better to place a model with humidifying function so that a steam jet would not reach the furniture or interior elements which are vulnerable to moisture, otherwise water can damage them.

Do not neglect maintenance of the filters, change or clean them in the terms specified by the manufacturer, or at the signal of the device. Clogged filters can’t purify the air efficiently and the unit will waste energy.

Remember that opening windows reduces the air-cleaning efficiency. The cleaned air will fly away from the premise and it will be replaced with fresh air from the street – with pollen, smog and other contaminations. Of course it is necessary to air the rooms, but after that it is better to close windows and let the cleaner in high capacity mode quickly treat the fresh air.