The amount of floating pollutants in the air has made air purifiers a must-have commodity for every household and office. But, when a person suffers allergy, air purifiers can prove to be a boon. An air cleaner to be effective for allergy sufferers need to have the capacity to move a large volume of air through its filter so that it can remove the allergen-containing particles from the air.
Here we are sharing some tips to help you choose the right air purifier if you or a family member suffers an allergy.
Know the filter – If you just want me to tell you the type of filter you need to choose, the answer will be – High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) Filter. But, it is not sufficient to know the name. You need to understand the meaning so that you do not get cheated in the name of HEPA Filter.
The HEPA is considered the best type of filter because it can remove 99.97% of all particles. These are effective in filtering particles as small as 0.3 microns. This means they can easily filter dust mite particles (20-microns), pollen grains (30-microns), and cat allergen particles (1-20-microns).
This is the reason that many brands advertise their air purifier equipped with HEPA filters as an efficient air filter that purifies 99% of the air in the room. But, these advertisements are mostly misleading as the filter removes particulates from only the air that passes through it. So, the actual amount of filtered air depends on CADR (Clean Air Delivery Rate) rather than HEPA or any other filter.
Check the CADR – It is the true measure of the cleaning ability of the purifier. The better the CADR the more efficient is the purifier. This is the unit that reflects the amount of air going through the filter as well as the effectiveness of the filter. The larger CADR reflects its power to clean the airborne allergen particles in a larger room.
By checking CADR you can compare the efficiency of the available models of air purifiers. Take a note here that most of the purifiers have more than one speed level of the fan and the CADR typically applies to the ones with higher speed.
Know what not to buy – Knowing what not to buy is as important as knowing what to buy. Some models of air purifiers are designed in a way that the exhausted air is directed towards the floor. The air that touches the floor or the carpet again picks up the allergens thus negating the effect of purification. So, make sure to choose an air purifier that does not target the air to the floor.
Ionizer air purifiers are one of the common types of air purifier. People with an allergy should never choose an ionizer purifier as it releases ozone in the air that can worsen asthma and allergy symptoms.
Now, if we summarise to give the answer to the question what is the best air purifier for allergies, the simple answer would be – a HEPA Filter with high CADR that does not direct filtered air towards the floor.
