Since air pollution is one of those factors that cause respiratory sicknesses and pulmonary infections, even households use air purifiers to get rid of airborne contaminants that cause allergy and asthma.

How to Choose your Air Purifier

Read the CADR value before purchasing

When you look at the label of an air purifier, there is a common term you will come across – CADR. CADR is Clear Air Delivery Rate and it is assigned a value between 0 and 450 by AHAM, or the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers. CADR indicates how quickly an air purifier is able to clear dust, pollen and tobacco smoke out of a room. And while you are looking at the label of an air purifier, also see which model is best suited for which room depending on its size. It is best to buy an air purifier that has more square-foot capacity than your requirement so that you don’t need to run the machine at full blast.

There are special air purifiers for asthma and allergy patients

If there is someone at home suffering from allergy or asthma, there are some models of air purifiers that can help. These air purifiers are able to reduce allergens and they are certified by the Asthma and Allergy Foundation. Just make note of the fact that there are very few models of air purifiers that are certified for this parameter. The best place to keep such an air purifier is your bedroom because this is the room where you will spend the most amount of time.

Find out about the different filters available

Air purifiers have different types of filters that are listed below. Making your choice becomes much easier when you have complete information about the filters.

HEPA – HEPA filters can remove up to 99.7% particles that are as small as 0.3 microns. Different types of allergens like dander, pollen, mold spores and dust can be stopped by HEPA filters from entering your home or office.

Activated Carbon Filters – Rarely you find air purifiers that only have activated carbon filters. Most of the air purifiers that you find with activated carbon filters are used with other filters. Carbon is an excellent filter because a pound of it has a surface area of 60 to 150 acres. The pores open up when the carbon is treated with oxygen and loads of gases and odours are trapped.

Charged Media Filters – These filters have a combination of electrostatic charge and particle filters. The electrostatic charge is able to charge the particles and they then cling to the particle filters. Even the smallest particles that measure 0.1 microns can be absorbed by these filters.

Electrostatic Precipitators – Electrostatic precipitators work on the same technology as charged media filters, but the particles are attached to collector plates. The benefit of this type of filter is that the collector plates never need to be replaced. You can easily wash them and continue to use them.

Ion Generators – These filters create charged ions that get spread in the air. They collect the impure particles and cling to a surface nearby. However, these filters emit ozone, a lung irritant that can be dangerous for those suffering from asthma. Therefor, you should consider buying one of the other types of filter.

Buy an energy efficient air purifier

While you ponder about the type of filter you will use, don’t forget to consider the energy efficiency of your air purifier. The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers has developed the Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value (MERV) for gauging efficiency of air purifiers. The best air purifiers have MERV of more than 10.

A few Top Air Purifiers you can choose from

If you want the allergens in your home or office removed, there are some excellent models to choose from. The notable products in this category are Honeywell True HEPA Allergen Remover Compact Air Purifier with Permanent Filter, Bionaire 99.97% True HEPA Tower Air Purifier with Allergen Remover Filter and Alen HEPA Fresh Plus Air Filter (photo 1).

Many people prefer humidifiers in their homes or offices so that any moisture in the air is effectively removed. The best products in this category are Sunpentown Dual Mist Humidifier (photo 2), AIR-O-SWISS AOS 7135 Ultrasonic Digital Humidifier and Crane USA Owl Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier.

HEPA is one of the best technologies in air purification and some of the top air purifiers are equipped with HEPA filters. The products you may want to consider in this category are Fellowes AeraMax 300, Honeywell Permanent True HEPA Tower Air Purifier and Austin Air Baby's Breath HEPA Air Purifier (photo 3).

Carbon air purifiers are highly effective and the best products include Research Products Corporation Aprilaire Residential Steam Humidifier, Fellowes AeraMax 300 (photo 4) and Heaven Fresh HF 710 Digital Ultrasonic Cool & Warm Mist Humidifier with Aroma Function.