What to buy an air purifier?

There are many factors which affect people’s comfort. The most obvious one is air temperature. The problem of cold can easily be solved by using a water heating system or electric heaters. There is also an escape from the heat – air conditioning. Humidity and air quality also play a role in our health. They can also be adjusted, and simple home appliances – humidifiers, dehumidifiers and cleaners – can help.

Damp or dry

It is generally accepted that the most comfortable level of humidity for a human is in the range of 40-60%. According to the norms of SanPiN in the living space should be 30-45% humidity in the cold season allowable – up to 60% , in the warm season – 30-60% but not more than 65% . Nevertheless, the weather does not observe the norms, so people often suffer then from excessive dryness, then from excessive humidity.

Humidity varies with the season. In winter, for example, the heating system makes the air feel much drier, sometimes even too dry. This change in the microclimate of the room immediately affects our well-being. For example, can develop drowsiness, the skin and mucous membranes of a person dries out, which also causes discomfort and even a cough due to irritation. In a dry climate, the dust gets more electrified, and the air gets dustier. Plants also have a hard time with dryness and have to spray with water.

Excessive humidity can also be unpleasant. Uncomfortable temperatures are felt more keenly in humid environments. Warm air feels stuffy, like in a steam room, cold air causes a feeling of dampness, from which even warm clothes do not help.

But while you can’t do anything about humidity outdoors, you can control it in your own apartment, house or office. And in both directions – up and down.

life-giving moisture

Despite their common goal, humidifiers work in different ways. There are three main types on the market – cold evaporation traditional , hot steam and ultrasonic.

Cold evaporation

. Traditional type devices use a fan to blow air through a humidifying module such as a drum rotating in a water tank that saturates the air with moisture. Water evaporates naturally, without thermal or ultrasonic influence. Little energy is needed for cold evaporation. In addition, models of this type have another advantage – they can not only humidify the air, but also clean it.

Dust in the air is absorbed and trapped in water when passing through a liquid, while the purified and humidified air is returned to the room. Hence the common name of such devices – air washers. True, the cleaning efficiency with sinks is still lower than with specially designed air purifiers with their multi-stage filters. After all, water wets particles of dirt larger than a micron, but everything that is finer can pass through the liquid barrier with the air.

Do not force these devices and rid the air of odors and chemical volatile compounds. But air washers have no filters, which should be cleaned or replaced with new ones. Just pour out the dirty water, rinse the container and pour in fresh water. This property makes the sinks economical and very easy to use equipment that solves two problems at once – humidification and air purification.

Cold evaporative air washers are produced by Ballu, Boneco, Electrolux, Timberk, Venta and others. In addition, some models are further equipped with agents for water disinfection eg, based on silver – like Electrolux .

Hot evaporation

. Humidifiers on the basis of hot vapor steam are more energy demanding, because they heat water in the process of operation. Hot water is known to evaporate faster than cold water, so the steam models can humidify the air without the use of fans in the design – their efficiency is already very high.

But such devices are not as safe as traditional ones, because hot steam can burn people nearby. Steam humidifiers are not recommended for use in children’s rooms. You can find models with hot water evaporation in Chicco, Daewoo.

Ultrasonic evaporation

. Ultrasonic humidifiers are some of the most popular on the market. To evaporate water they use ultrasonic membranes, which quickly break the liquid into tiny droplets of steam. The productivity of these devices is higher than that of models with cold evaporation, and power consumption is low – lower than that of steam models. The process requires neither the use of fans, nor the heating of water. Devices of this type are safe for people, they can be installed in rooms where there are children.

Ultrasonic humidifiers are available in a variety of manufacturers – AIC, Air Comfort, Ballu, Boneco, Bork, Electrolux, Dantex, Polaris, Timberk, Vitek and others.

Many humidifiers have a built-in humidistat, which allows not only to evaporate water in a given mode, but also to maintain it at a certain level.

Dry Air!

Humidification – the process is not complicated, because its task is to saturate the dry air with water vapor. Dehumidify air is already more difficult, because you need to somehow extract moisture from the air and collect it. Nevertheless, equipment for such purposes exists, although it is not as widespread as humidifiers. Not many manufacturers produce them – for example, they are in the range of equipment Ballu, Dantherm, Danvex, Aerotek, General Climate, Timberk.

For domestic home purposes, condensation type models are most commonly used. Partly the principle of operation of such device is similar to an air conditioner – it also has a closed circuit, filled with freon, and a compressor. A dehumidifier cools the air and forces the moisture to condense. The advantage of these models is that they are easy to maintain. It is enough to empty the tank with collected moisture in time and keep the device clean to ensure its long and trouble-free operation.

Absorption type models are less frequently used in the home. Primarily because they are quite expensive to maintain. The thing is that they literally absorb water – with the help of sorption material. However, when it becomes saturated with water, it needs to be replaced.

Cleanliness – the key to health

For air purification many kinds of equipment have been developed, differing in a set of filters and principle of work. The diversity can be explained by the fact that the very problem of air purification is ambiguous. After all, there are many pollutants that can affect human health – there and the usual house dust, and pollen, pet hair and dander, microorganisms, chemical compounds, smoke, and more. And to get rid of them you need different methods.

Large particles wool, fluff, dust flakes are kept in simple strainers that are designed to protect the downstream filter elements from fast clogging. Air cleaners may not include such pre-filters, in which case all such dirt would be removed by the first filter stage.

Fine mechanical pollutants dust, wool, pollen are effectively dealt with by HEPA-filters which trap particles sized 0.3 microns. HEPA filters last from several months to several years depending on the quality of the air purification before , but they need to be periodically replaced with new ones. Electrostatic filters are also used against fine dust which firstly electrify the dust particles and then attract them to the surface with the opposite charge. There are no removable parts and dirt that builds up is simply removed from the plate from time to time.

To eliminate volatile compounds gases, odors , air purifiers are equipped with absorptive filters – such as charcoal-based filters. As a rule, such filters need to be replaced over time, but there are also washable versions that last longer than usual.

Bacteria, viruses, fungal spores and pollen are effectively fought with the photocatalytic filters that destroy organic contaminants by decomposing them. Moreover, such filters have a long life time due to the fact that they can restore their properties under ultraviolet rays. Antibacterial filters based on silver, plant extracts, ozonation are also common.

There are a lot of air purifiers on the market – with different sets of filters and additional features. They are produced by AIC, Air Comfort, Ballu, Boneco, Bork, Daikin, Dantex, Electrolux, Panasonic, Polaris, Timberk, “Atmos” and others.

As already mentioned, it is quite easy to humidify the air. That is why many manufacturers equip their air purifier models with humidifiers. Such “hybrid” devices are equipped with a water tank which is used for humidification and sometimes also for additional air purification. They are in the lines of, for example, Daikin, Sharp and some other companies.

Operation and maintenance

The peculiarity of air purification and humidity control equipment is that it can only work effectively indoors. Any free inflow of air – through a window or door – negates the efforts of technology. Moreover, in order to keep the humidity level in the room at the right level, humidifiers or dehumidifiers must operate constantly.

The place of installation also matters. Air purifiers are usually installed on the floor, since dust mostly accumulates underneath. Humidifiers can stand on the floor or on a table. Any equipment should be placed so that there is free air flow to it – devices should not be placed in niches behind furniture, behind curtains, etc. d. Steam from the humidifier should be directed outdoors and not on furniture or walls which can get damp from excess moisture .

Air purifiers should be cleaned on time if the filters are washable or regenerable or the worn filter elements should be replaced. Do not neglect this if you do not want your humidifier to become a source of dirt and germs. You can usually buy replacement filters at the same place where the air purifiers are sold.

The dehumidifiers are also equipped with pre-filters that protect the heat exchangers from contamination. These filters do not need to be replaced, it is enough to wash them periodically from the dust.

Humidifiers do not need special maintenance, but it is only necessary to add water and change it occasionally – so it does not breed microorganisms that easily find themselves in the air with the steam. The tank can be cleaned when required, but only water should be used for this.

Cleaning agents, solvents and other substances left inside the humidifier can not only damage the equipment, but also enter the indoor air.

The positive effect of negative ions

Negatively charged ions in the air anions can also affect people’s health. They are known to tone up, improve sleep, have a beneficial effect on human immunity and the circulatory and nervous systems. In nature, the concentration of anions in the air is high near ponds, waterfalls, it also increases after a thunderstorm. But within the city limits, anion levels are lower than normal, especially inside buildings.

To increase the concentration of negative ions ionizers are used. These devices can be independent devices, but more and more often they can be found as a part of many air purifiers AIC, Air Comfort, Ballu, Boneco, Daikin, Dantex, Panasonic, Sharp, Timberk and others .

There are fewer humidifiers with ionization function, but some manufacturers make these e.g., Binatone, Dantex, Polaris, Timberk, Vitek .

With the help of positive and negative ions some devices can even purify the air. In this case the device generates hydroxyl radicals OH-, which directly in the air in the room deactivate bacteria and viruses, destroy the molecules of odors.

A five-stage filtration system using the Ballu Sky Cloud air purifier as an example

Aromatherapy

Modern appliances can not only get rid of unpleasant smells in the house, but also saturate the air with pleasant aromas. Air purifiers and humidifiers are equipped with aroma oil capsules for this purpose. As they evaporate, they spread around the room and have beneficial effects on the person – relaxing, normalizing sleep, increasing immunity.