How to choose an air purifier for your home
If you don't suffer from respiratory problems, try changing some simple things before you buy an air purifier. If, after following our advice, you still want to buy an air purifier, follow our tips for making a good choice.
Choosing an air purifier for your home
Whether it's to protect yourself from allergies or simply to improve the quality of your indoor air, choosing the right air purifier for your home can seem like a complex task.
With many models available, reviews and user perspectives, choosing the best air purifier for your needs can seem difficult.
Use this guide to select the right air purifier for the size of your home, the right types of filters, as well as to understand the options offered by air purifiers or specialized machines for specific settings.
Understanding how air cleaner filters work
The filter is the most important component of any air purifier. Many air purifiers come equipped with several types of filters, allowing them to clean the air more efficiently. Here are some of the most important filters for effective air purification.
HEPA Filters
This is an essential filter for an effective air purifier. The best air purifier with a safe HEPA filter will capture 99.97% of particles in the air, starting at 0.3 microns in size, such as pollen, ragweed and other allergens like viruses, germs, dust mites, mold spores and cigarette smoke. Choosing an air purifier with a HEPA filter is a guarantee of one of the best indoor air purification systems. An allergy sufferer will find the HEPA filter truly helpful in reducing symptoms during allergy season.
Carbon Filters
Although it doesn't necessarily clean the air of impurities, an air purifier with a charcoal filter is ideal for reducing bad odors. This type of filter is perfect for any room in the house where bad odors tend to be generated on a regular basis. An air purifier with a charcoal filter is especially useful for a baby's room, where dirty diapers leave a distinctive smell. You can find an air purifier with a HEPA filter and a carbon filter at the same time.
Determine the size of the air purifier room
Often, air purifiers are chosen based entirely on price. But this can be misleading, and probably disappointing when you discover that the air purifier you just bought doesn't seem to work as well as you thought. Smaller air cleaners may be less expensive, but may not be able to clean the air in the room it is in. Be sure to measure the square footage of the room where you want to use your air purifier so you can make the best choice for the area you want.
Room Size Guidelines
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100 to 200 square feet (small room air purifier, ideal for small rooms like nurseries or a home office)
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200 to 600 square feet (medium-sized air purifier, perfect for medium-sized rooms like bedrooms)
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600 to 1000 square feet (large room air purifier, covers large areas like large family rooms or living rooms)
Other features to consider for your air purifier
If allergies or colds and flu are the main reason for getting an air purifier, make sure you choose an air purifier with specific allergen-fighting features (the effective HEPA filter is a must in this case). The decibel level is another important feature that allergy sufferers should look for, as allergy sufferers often use their air purifiers at night.
Filter change indicators are a very useful feature for keeping air filters clean without having to continually check inside the machine. An indicator light simply tells you when it's time to buy a new filter. This feature is especially useful for air purifiers that run continuously.