In this post we will look at 8 myths about air purifiers.
So, in no particular order here they are:
Myths About Air Purifiers
1. Only people with serious allergies need them
One myth or misconception around air purifiers is that you will only see a benefit if you have allergies, such as hay fever.
Air purifiers will remove a certain level of allergens and impurities from the air, leaving the environment within the room generally healthier and cleaner.
2. One air purifier will be enough for your whole home
An air purifier, depending on it’s size, can be room-specific and should be specified to the size of your room or house.
In short, the answer to how many air purifiers you will need comes down to 2 main factors:
- The size of your home. Th square footage of your property correlates to the amount of air that needs to be cleaned through the purifier.
- The max airflow (or capacity) of your air purifier. This correlates to how much air the purifier can clean.
3. You’ll never need to dust or clean again
Your air purify will trap a substantial amount of dust and debris in the filter however, they are in now way a replacement for a cleaning regime in your home.
Some air purifiers, that utilise ionisers, can even make the area around the unit seem dustier. This is due to how the ioniser purifier works resulting in particles dropping from the air onto surfaces such as your floor or furniture.
4. There’s still a bad smell, my purifier must not be working
There is a belief that if there remains a bad smell in your room then your air purifier must not be working.
The truth is, it very much depends on the type of air purifier that you have. Purifiers with a HEPA filter work by removing small particles from the air but have little impact on odours. This means that it could be providing you with a much cleaner quality of air for the room but unpleasant smells continue to linger.
Purifiers using activated carbon filters will, generally, do a better job of removing odours from the air as well as pollutants.
5. Air purifiers are noisy
Early models of air purifier had a bad reputation of being noisy. leading to them not being used in quiet rooms like a bedroom. They worked by utilising a powerful fan to suck air into the unit and through a filter, which was obviously quite noisy.
Newer models are a lot quieter, you have units which don’t use a fan at all and are silent. Those that do use a fan have been engineered to create as little noise as possible.
6. An air purifier will cure all of my allergies
An air purifier is not a magic box, it’s certainly not going to sure you from allergies. They can be very helpful in providing relief from allergies within the home/room but they are not a cure!
An air purifier can make a big difference to your level of comfort and relieve some symptoms by taking away a large percentage of airborne allergens in the room.
7. Filters in air purifiers never need changing
Air purifiers that utilise filters need to be cleaned and maintained periodically.
The filter is trapping and filtering out particles and pollutants from the air and as such they get dirty. If they get too dirty they cannot operate properly, they cannot continue to filter out particles rendering it pretty much useless.
For air purifiers with HEPA filters you should keep an eye on the filter and expect to replace the filter every 3-6 months to keep them working at an optimum level.
8. Air quality is really not that important
One common myth is that air quality doesn’t matter. We’ve all breathing the same air and we’re not dropping dead from it.
While it is correct that the air isn’t deadly it doesn’t mean that a higher quality of air wouldn’t benefit you.
Poor air quality, particularly found in large cities, can result in health problems like irritation of the eyes, sore throat or nose, fatigue and even cancer.
If you are spending a lot of your time at home or in a certain room at work, the quality of the air that you breath can be improved by using an air purifier.