Which is the Best Air Purifier

March 9, 2008

Confused about which is the best air purifier for you?

With all of the air purifiers on the market, and with a war of words to win your dollars being waged every day, the way to find the best air purifier for you is to do your homework.

Shopping for air purifiers is more complex than you might think. But, if you answer a few simple questions to help you determine what is causing your poor air quality, you are one step ahead in finding the right kind of air purifier for your needs.

NOT all air purifiers work the same, in fact not all of them remove both odors and allergens. So it’s vital to know both what each type of air purifier does as well as what problems you expect your air purifier to solve before investing. And it IS an investment… in both a better life style and better health.

The Different Types of Air Purifiers

So where to begin? You need to determine what is causing your problem… odors, allergens, pollution or chemical gas problems? Also, you’ll have the air purifier running 24/7, so will noise be a problem for you? Do you need a whole house air purifier, or do you just want to target specific rooms in your house?

Once you know what problem you are trying to solve, then you need to find models that will DEAL with your problem as well as fit your budget. Finally, when you have narrowed down the options it’s time to do your research to find which is considered the best air purifier among those you’ve shortlisted.

Ionic Breeze Air Purifiers

Ionizing air purifiers usually do not have motors and so they are very quiet. They work by ‘ionizing’ the air, this in turn makes the particles take on a negative or positive charge. Ionizing air purifiers do not deal with odors or kill germs, but they do remove the fine particles that cause them from air.

The leaders in todays market are two types in the Ionic Breeze range:

The Capture Ionic Breeze air purifiers have collection plates which have opposite charges, these now attract the newly charged particles and stick them to the plate removing them from the air. These plates are easily removed to clean.

The Ionic Breeze air purifier does not have the collection plates and simply sends ‘ions’ out into the air resulting in the uptake of a negative or positive charge to the circulating air particles. The newly charged particles attract other particles of the opposite charge causing them to stick together. The result is a very heavy particle which cannot remain suspended in the air so literally ‘falls’ out of it. Since ionizing air purifiers don’t use filters you don’t have the ongoing cost of replacing them.

HEPA Air Purifiers

HEPA air purifiers remove contaminants from the air using a cloth type filter and a fan which moves the air through the machine. This type of air purifier can be extremely effective at removing harmful particles circulating in the air. The filters are capable of capturing 98% of the dust and dust mites that can trigger an asthma attack, but the HEPA air purifier is not good at dealing with mould, odors, fumes or chemical gases.

Since they do use a motor HEPA air purifiers do make some noise, ranging from a quiet whisper to about as loud as a dishwasher depending on the make and model. You will also have the ongoing cost of replacing the filters to consider.

Ultraviolet Air Purifier

A UV Light Air Purifier will help prevent the bacteria which causes odors and disease but they are not effective for non-bacterial odors.

UV lamps in the air purifier system sterilize the bacterial micro-organisms as they pass through it. Once these micro-organisms are treated with the UV light, they become sterile and so are unable to reproduce and grow. Hospitals use ultraviolet air purifier systems to keep germs at a minimum.

A UV air purifier can be installed directly into your air ducts or as an individual unit. They use an air system to circulate and filter the air so you will have some noise from that.

Posted in Air Purifiers