Are there allergens, pollutants or nasty smells hanging around in your home? You may want an air purifier. With so many models on the market, though, it can be tough to know whether the air purifier you're considering will really work. To start your research, you'll want to be sure the device meets some basic standards. "If you're going to look for a good, basic air purifier, something that has a HEPA filter is a must," said allergist Jenna Tuck, chairwoman of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) Indoor Environment Committee. HEPA stands for high-efficiency particulate absorption, and to meet the government standard for this label, the filter must remove 99.97 percent of particles in the air that are 0.3 micrometers or larger. (For comparison, the width of a fine human hair is about 70 micrometers.) Although some allergens and particles that cause respiratory problems are smaller than 0.3 micrometers, Tuck said, HEPA filters can remove particulate matter enough to ease symptoms for many people.

[The 5 Most Common Allergies] "The patient who probably needs [air purification] the most is the pet-allergic patient whose family refuses to get rid of the pet," Tuck told Live Science.air cleaner for home walmart People whose noses are particularly sensitive to smells can benefit, too, but HEPA filters can't entirely eliminate odors. dust cleaner air blowerTurk recommended that people with breathing troubles, allergies or asthma talk to their allergists for advice on whether an air purifier could help them.best air purifier brand in singapore If so, the next step is to pick one. Live Science's sister site Top Ten Reviews has checked out some of the top air purifiers on the market. Here are their top three picks:

The Alen BreatheSmart is an Energy Star-certified unit with a HEPA filter that stands a little more than 2 feet (about 60 centimeters) high. It has a sleek, white design, and a lighted button on top that turns blue when the air is clean and orange or red as the BreatheSmart air sensor detects particulate matter. The sensor automatically triggers faster filtration when it detects particles in the air. This automatic adjustment lengthens the life of the filter. Alternatively, the BreatheSmart can run in timer mode for shorter periods. The BreatheSmart can provide filtration for up to 1,100 square feet (102 square meters) of space. It includes an indicator light to alert you when the filter needs a change. Noise: The BreatheSmart has four fan speeds. At the lowest speed, the sound of the fan is about that of a whisper, whereas the highest speed is the loudest and, at 56 decibels, is comparable to a box fan running on medium. The device has a night mode that allows users to turn down the unit's lights and lower the fan speed for more peaceful sleep.

BUY the Alen BreatheSmart >>> Coway's air purifier uses a four-filter system, starting with a prefilter for large dust particles and hair; a carbon filter for odors; and an optional Vital Ion filter that charges air particles on the way out of the unit — a feature that helps clump together particles in midair for easier filtration. However, users should be aware that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recommends against using ionizers, as they can make some people's lung problems worse. The reviewers at Top Ten Reviews liked the Coway for its efficient use of energy. The unit is Energy Star-certified and requires less than 78 watts even when running at full intensity. Like the BreatheSmart, the Coway can automatically adjust its fan speed in response to the particulate matter it senses in the air. Coway's AP-1005AH model covers rooms as big as 236 square feet (22 square m) and is only about half as large as the Alen BreatheSmart, making it a good option for people with limited space or small rooms.

Noise: The Coway's highest setting creates noise at 53.8 decibels, similar to the noise of a box fan. Buy Coway AP-1512HH on Purch Marketplace The Rabbit Air MinusA2 is one of the prettier air purifiers on the market. This unit is wall-mountable and Energy Star-certified. It is only 7 inches (18 cm) deep, making it one of the sleeker options for air purification. The design won a "good design" award from The Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design. The Rabbit Air MinusA2 can filter the air in a 350-square-foot (32.5 square m) room four times in an hour, and is best used in small to medium-size rooms. Like the Coway, the Rabbit Air MinusA2 has multiple filters, starting with a prefilter and medium filter to get rid of large particles. This purifier uses a BioGS HEPA filter, which is designed to reduce the levels of certain allergens even below those of a typical HEPA filter. A customizable filter option lets you pick an additional filter to reduce bacteria, mold, pet dander, volatile organic compounds and odors.

Finally, air travels through a charcoal filter to reduce smells. This machine also has an optional air ionizer. Noise: The Rabbit Air MinusA2 is noted for its quiet operation, reaching only 45 decibels at its loudest. BUY the Rabbit Air MinusA2 >>> Follow Stephanie Pappas on Twitter and Google+. Follow us @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on Live Science.I've become a bit of an air purifier nut over the years. Originally, I used them because I believed that they helped keep the dust down and my dirty home cleaner. Now, I've come to appreciate cleaner air quality while I suck it in all night. When you open it up and see how dirty the filters are, you have to be glad that you have one. With indoor air much more polluted in general than outdoor air, having a quiet, energy efficient air purifier in your home should be, in my opinion, an integral part of your home design plan. What Is a HEPA Filter (and why should I care?) In the air filter world, the HEPA standard has evolved as the go-to "good enough" quality level.

Developed originally during WWII by the Atomic Energy Commission's Manhattan Project to clean radiation out of the air, the design evolved over a number of years into an affordable, mass-produced paper filter system that could be integrated into purifiers, vacuums and other units for commercial and residential use. To qualify as HEPA by US government standards, an air filter must remove (from the air that passes through) 99.97% of particles that have a size of 0.3 µm. "HEPA: High-efficiency particulate arrestance or HEPA is a type of air filter. Filters meeting the HEPA standard have many applications, including use in medical facilities, automobiles, aircraft and homes. The filter must satisfy certain standards of efficiency such as those set by the United States Department of Energy (DOE)." via Wikipedia Here are my top picks for the year, updated from 2010. I totally believe in the super affordable fan and filter based machines, but for better filtering (particularly for odor and allergy sufferers) and quieter filtering, I would recommend spending more.

Kenmore 83394 Small Room HEPA Filter Air Purifier Spoken of highly by readers, this Sears Kenmore series, available in three sizes, is the most affordable HEPA air purifier that I'm including on the list. It features a sleek, wall hugging design, quiet operation, an EnergyStar rating and a two-filter system that covers up to 400 square feet. Honeywell 50250-S True HEPA Air Purifier, 390 sq ft I like Honeywell, and I've also had two of these purifiers for a number of years in our many roomed family house in the country. Big, not particularly quiet (great white noise, however, for sleeping babies & adults), I find the Honeywell purifiers to be simple with very good HEPA filters at a very good price for basic air filtration. This purifier is rated to clean a room up to 390 square feet (smaller than RabbitAir) and is not for continuous air cleaning as it's too loud and not an energy saver. Coway AP-1512HH Mighty Air Purifier with True HEPA and Eco Mode Rated super highly by The Sweethome, Coway is a name I hadn't heard before, but its products are given high marks for air cleaning at a very good value.

Said to be as good as machines twice the price, the Coway Mighty is a small, sleek unit that runs silently, uses very little energy and works with easily replaceable filter panels similar to a RabbitAir machine. It will efficiently clean a 325 square foot room. What Happened To Air Ionisers??? Famous just a few years ago for being slim, silent and able to clean the air without a breeze (remember how popular they were among those that needed to clear the air quickly in their parents' house?), air ionisers have faded in use because two things happened. The first was that ionisers were discovered to produce small amounts of ozone, a toxic gas, which set off a health scare and made them persona non-grata in the medical community. Secondly, and more importantly, ionisers have never proven to clean air and move it through the room as well as traditional HEPA filters. Famously, in 2003, Consumer Reports gave The Sharper Image's popular Ionic Breeze a "fail" rating, which set off a lengthy court battle.

In the end, Sharper Image lost the case when it couldn't prove any of Consumer Reports assertions to be untrue. That said, ionizers have found their way into many HEPA machines as a way of adding extra filtering power. RabbitAir BioGS 2.0 Ultra Quiet Air Purifier Designed by Guto Indio da Costa in 2014, this purifier won the Good Design Award and the RedDot Award in that year. This (and the MinusA2 Ultra Quiet Air Purifier a few products down) are me two top picks of all the machines on this list. I have them at home, and I find them to be compact, powerful and silent. Mine runs continually on low and I've had it for three years without any problems. Dyson Pure Cool Link Tower Since its inception, Dyson has always been known for breaking the mold with its innovative products. Consider this the air purifier of the future. With the corresponding app, the machine monitors the humidity, air quality and temperature of the room it's in and reacts accordingly, reporting all stats back to you via your smart phone.

It promises to remove 99.97% of allergens and pollutants as small as 0.3 microns. RabbitAir MinusA2 Ultra Quiet Air Purifier SPA-780A Black This is the more expensive of RabbitAir's offerings, and it's the one that I have had for years. The MinusA2 sits flat against any wall or piece of furniture, runs absolutely silently and comes with a choice of four different filter systems: Pet Allergy, Odors, Toxins or Germ Defense (they all seem good to me). The unit sips energy with an EnergyStar rating (as low as 7 watts), is a true HEPA filter and covers from 700-815 square feet at normal filtration levels (cleaning for an allergy sufferer reduces the square footage to about half). Alen BreatheSmart Customizable Air Purifier with HEPA-Pure Filter for Allergies and Dust , it also has a near perfect 5-star rating on Amazon. Cleaning up to 1,100 square feet, it covers more space than any other purifier on this list. Like the Dyson air filter, it automatically detects and adjusts to fluctuating air quality.

Fully customizable, buyers get the choice of 4 HEPA filters (Pure, Silver—which is best for allergy sufferers, OdorCell, FreshPlus.) Also, for the design aficionado, the BreatheSmart is offered in 15 front panel options, one of them that you can custom paint to make your walls.Founded in the '90s, Stockholm-based Blueair pairs a high standard of filtration with a sleek, Scandinavian design. With a large range of excellent machines at prices from medium to very high, Blueair features HEPA filtration, galvanized steel casing, super quiet operation, no drafts, extreme energy efficiency, and an argument for the highest Clean Air Delivery Rate (CADR) on the market, which means it will move air more quickly as it cleans. The Classic ECO10 shown here will handle 220 square feet. IQAir New Edition HealthPro Plus IQAir has a great history as it was founded by two brothers, Manfred and Klaus Hammes, who were early pioneers in the '60s developing paper-based filters to eliminate coal dust coming out of ovens in German homes.