choosing the right air purifier for your home or office just got a whole lot simpler. Designed to help reduce airborne particulates such as pollen, smoke, pet dander, dust and mold spores and aid in scoring a better night's sleep, the guide to finding the perfect air purifier is right under your nose. What should you consider first in selecting an air purifier? To begin, the terms air purifier or air cleaner mean the same thing. Familiarize yourself with the following 6 factors when purchasing a freestanding single room unit or a freestanding, whole-house machine to help you select the unit that best fits your needs. Type of removal technology Air change/Efficiency rate (ACH) Clean Air Delivery Rate (CADR) What do you really need to know about these 6 factors? Type of removal/air cleaning technology There are four primary types of air cleaning technology to choose from: b. electrostatic air cleaners, The goal of each system is primarily the same: clean the air by reducing particles caused by pollution, interior fumes, smoking, dust, pollens, allergens and air borne irritants.

One of the biggest differences between the purifiers is the type of filter that is used. You will want to be aware of the three types. HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air): This filter removes high amounts of dust, as well as animal dander, pollen and dust mites. True HEPA is certified 99.97% efficient, so look for a model with True HEPA certification. dryer vent cleaning air toolsIt is important to note that most HEPA filters must be changed annually. air jet tub cleaningBe sure to check on the cost of replacement, or choose a model that can be cleaned and reused.can air purifier remove dust ULPA (Ultra Low Penetration Air, or Ultra HEPA Filter): This filter removes 99.97% of dust, pollen, mold, bacteria and airborne particles and is best for removing even the smallest particulates.

Charcoal or carbon filters work to remove larger particles such as those from smoke and odors. These types of filters are often featured as a pre-filter combined with HEPA or ULPA. The ACH rate, or Air Change per Hour, indicates how many times the air purifier will clean the room's air during the course of one hour. For example, 2 ACH means the air will be cleaned every 30 minutes, while 4 ACH means it will be cleaned every 15 minutes. The highest ACH rate is 6; or six complete cleanses per hour. Now, while the ACH measures how frequently the air will be cleaned, the CADR, or Clean Air Delivery Rate, indicates the volume and speed at which particles will be filtered. Consider purchasing a purifier with a CADR rating that is at least equal to two-thirds of the room size (i.e., a 120 square foot room would require a cleaner with a minimum of 80 CADR rating). While CADR gives you a good rating to work with, it is often advisable to select a model that is meant to work in an area slightly larger than the actual room size you will be placing the air purifier in.

What does an air purifier sound like? Since experts agree the most efficient air purifiers use motorized fans to pull in air, there is often ambient noise that accompanies this function. Sound levels vary according to maker and model. As noted previously, it may be helpful to purchase a more powerful machine than the room requires and run it at a lower speed for reduced sound. Air purifiers that do not use motorized fans will be the quietest, if not completely silent. On the flip side, some consumers report they appreciate a little ambient noise while sleeping. In this area, personal preference must prevail. How can you limit the impact on your electric bill? Since air purifiers run on electricity look for the ENERGY STAR certification. Energy Star certified room air purifiers are more energy-efficient. How long should you run an air purifier? For best results, air purifiers should be run continuously. In addition to creating cleaner air, continuously running an air purifier will have the added bonus of resulting in less household surface dust.

It does not mean you'll be freed from chores completely, however, and it will still be necessary to vacuum and dust as needed. When cleaning day finally does roll around, be sure to run your air purifier at its highest setting until you finish since the activity of dusting and vacuuming stirs up particulates in the air. How to care for your air purifier? Keeping the air purifier clean and running smoothly is also important. Most models feature service lights that signal when filters need to be changed. Some indicator lights will go on when the filters are dirty and full of particles, others, however will light up automatically after running for a manufacturer-designated period of time. Whether the unit features an indicator light or not, you should remove and clean the collector plate in an electronic precipitator air cleaner on a monthly basis. This can be done by washing the plate in a tub or sink or in some cases putting it in the dishwasher. Be sure to read the instructions that come with your machine.

HEPA filters should be changed on an annual basis. At best, clogged filters or collector plates decrease the efficiency of air purifiers and at worst they can damage the machine, which makes regular cleaning of the filter or plate essential.Everywhere you turn there are air filter options. Very different machines promise allergy relief and health in magazines, on TV and on the Internet. Choosing one is hard. Currently some offer new technologies that are helpful or useless, so lets look at the basics. The first thing to decide on is what "junk" you are trying to remove. First, many homes have air cleaning systems that have air intake areas. These generally have filters. Since the motors that run these usually come with the home and your AC/Heating system, you do not have to "buy" or "place this" anywhere. However, many people neglect this "air purifier." So start with putting in "good" filters. As a trend, most folks would do well with something that would remove mold spores and gases.

That means you would get a filter for particles with a charcoal film for gases and chemicals. The more the filter filters the slower the airflow. So HEPA is fine as long as the air is not still. Also, mold can grow through a filter; so do not plan on ignoring it for 20 years. (If you wonder if you are getting mold in the home, you might consider sending off your filter to QMS labs for three media testing and speciation of three forms for $215.00. You would also be amazed at how much charcoal will change as it reacts to gases in a new home. We have had good results with a thin film sheet charcoal that is about 3 mm thick, which sits over the pre-made 12x12 or 12x24 inch inlets for the HVAC system. In Home Depot, some of the smart helpers are not aware that this 6 inch by 12 inch white boxes of charcoal sheets are in the store. Many of these machines come with very impressive room size cleaning numbers. I am biased in two areas. I like air cleaners bigger than the room size, since most people tend to over-rate the cleaning ability of the machine and under-rate the junk coming from 300 sources in their structure.

One reason I like the air purifier on the oversized end is that the ratings for room cleaning are for open rooms, not rooms with desks, sofa's, refrigerators or two bookcases. The air cleaner is not reaching around a computer workstation, a couch against the wall or reaching down the basement. It is fairly amazing that some machines claim to clean multiple rooms with virtually no air movement. I suppose it is magic. In any event, make sure bedrooms and the main living spaces are covered. And be alert to hot spots with need, e.g., newly painted rooms, areas with painting supplies and chemicals, and high traffic entry areas carrying in mold spores, pollen and dust. At this point let me address the "zapper" machines. As the co-author on a book about mold and mold biotoxins, I am very concerned with spores that carry chemical toxins being zapped, and having their chemical toxins floating around after the spore is zapped. The most important rooms to clean are your main family living areas, the kitchen and bedrooms in which you spend at least 7-8 solid hours.

Machines often talk of square feet, and for simplicity lets say that is merely width times length. So a 12 x 15 foot room is a large 180 square feet. If you have 20-foot ceilings you should assume you would need some extra power. If they are modest 8-9 foot ceilings, plan on a machine that can do 360-400 square feet. Also, if you set the machine in the slow button do not assume much is being cleaned. So when you leave a room, e.g., the living room at night or you bedroom in the daytime, blast the machines! This rating is not something I will go into detail on since it is not used universally in the air-cleaning field. HEPA filters have been used for years and fit most home or small office settings. The best home machines I know are IQAir machines. They also offer various amounts of charcoal. We have been pleased with them. If you are out in the sun for 5 seconds, you will not get a burn. And if the air you want to purify is only exposed to a filter's UV light for seconds, it will do little to help you.

Yet one that is well engineered can be useful, and consider this one below if you want the killing power of UV for air. I have used UV for water cleaning, and this company has a good reputation for quality, and understands the need to special exposure so that UV will be effective. Ozone purifiers produce electrical charges that can go through walls. It will purify many environments, but is not a discriminator. It will hurt bacteria, molds, and your lungs. I have been stunned to walk into home of asthma pateints, during house calls, and found the home filled with a mild ozone bleach smell. When inhaled, ozone hurts fragile lung sacs. Some report chest pain, coughing, shortness of breath, headaches, and throat irritation. I have had all of these after 45 minutes in ozone filled room. It can worsen COPD, emphysema and asthma. According to OSHA, ozone is 50x more dangerous than carbon monoxide. While some groups feel ozone never is useful, I do think it can be helpful to a home.

However, lets mention two limitations first. Ideally, you cannot be near them when they are on, because they hurt lung cells just like they hurt molds and bacteria. I do not know how long one needs to allow the ozone to dissipate, but certainly hours. Also, I am not sure if they have any effect on the toxic chemicals carried by some indoor mold spores. They cause floating air particles to be sticky. Now if they can be removed inside the air cleaner and stick to parts of the filter that might be useful. However, in some machines the sticky particles are not trapped entirely and fall on you, the dog, the floor and your furniture. If mold spores or mold biotoxins are made sticky, they merely remain in the room or stick to your body, perhaps even enter your lungs. You have to ask yourself if you feel the government is good at evaluating filter machines. Since the EPA put toxic carpet down in its own building, I found since then I am not too trusting of government environmental science or medicine.