Air Purifiers Do They Work? Explain in 3 Minutes

Air purifiers are no longer strange to us. Despite much research proving that they play an important role in improving air quality, debate still surrounds their effectiveness.

If you are one of many people skeptical about “Air purifiers do they work”, don’t miss our article. We will give a detailed analysis for you to decide whether buying an air purifier for your home is worth it.

Air Purifiers Do They Work?

First of all, we want to confirm with you that air purifiers can improve the air quality in our homes.

According to research by the University of Massachusetts Amherst, air purifiers, especially devices equipped with HEPA filters, are one of the three most effective ways to improve air quality at home.

Reports from the EPA also show that air purifiers equipped with HEPA filters are capable of removing at least 99.97% of dust, pollen, bacteria, mold, and any other small particles in the air.

We can breathe cleaner air thanks to air purifiers’ quite simple operating mechanism, including these steps:

(1) The fan draws air into the filter of the air purifier

(2) The filters will be responsible for capturing substances harmful to the respiratory tract, such as dust, pet hair, and particles,… out of the air

(3) The air is cleaned and returned to the environment

While no air purifier can remove all of the pollutants circulating in a room, we see air purifiers can capture a significant amount of allergens, dust, and toxic chemicals.

In addition, there are some types of air purifiers that use ionizer technology emitting a negative charge to absorb positively charged impurities such as dust, bacteria, and viruses,… After this process, the harmful agents will be neutralized and fall to the ground. It makes our indoors cleaner. However, when using ionizer air purifier products, we need to pay attention to whether they emit ozone or not. We should know ozone is a dangerous gas that can affect our health. Typically, air purifiers that emit ozone will be noted on the packaging or in the marketing description. We have to carefully check this information to make sure we buy safe products.

Benefits of Air Purifier 

Let’s learn about the different benefits that an air purifier can bring to our family!

Remove common household allergens and pollution

The primary benefit of an air purifier that we cannot fail to mention is the removal of common household allergens and pollution like small dust particles, smoke, pet dander, pollen, and more. As its name suggests, air purifiers remove harmful factors from the air and return fresh air to us. However, their effectiveness will largely depend on the type of air purifier we use and how we use it.

Clear the air of viruses

Viruses like the cold, flu, and COVID-19 can be easily dispersed in the air. At this time, an air purifier equipped with a HEPA filter will help prevent the spread of these viruses in the air. Many agencies including The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), CDC, ASHRAE, NASA, and others suggest we use air purifiers with HEPA filters because they can remove at least 99.97% of airborne viruses and developing variations as well as bacteria, mold, dust, pollen, and other airborne contaminants.

Notice us about indoor air quality

Another advantage of air purifiers is that they can monitor and inform us of air quality in real time. To do this, most air purifiers will be equipped with sensors for air pollution levels.

When air quality changes, air purifiers send information to apps or mobile devices connected to them. Some other air purifiers will display directly on the body through indicator lights (for example, the blue indicator light means good air quality, the red indicator light means very bad air quality).

Regularly monitoring indoor air quality is extremely helpful, especially if we are sensitive to dust.

Free us from foul scents

An air purifier with an activated carbon filter is an ideal device that helps us get rid of unpleasant aromas in the air such as cooking odors, new furniture, pets, smelly carpets, etc. 

Not only that, the activated carbon filter can also capture volatile organic compounds (VOCs) – including most molecules odor – through a process called adsorption. It must be emphasized that VOCs are highly toxic and can seriously affect our body parts, such as the nose, throat, liver, and kidneys. Therefore, the fact that air purifiers can remove them from the air is of great significance to our health.

Improve sleep quality

We all need deep sleep to have the energy to work the next day. But in case the air quality in the bedroom is low, we certainly cannot have a comfortable sleep. As a result of respiratory discomfort brought on by dust, pet dander, pollen, or other allergens, we may sneeze and experience nasal congestion while falling asleep. Even if we do not typically experience allergies, breathing in particulate pollution can still affect our sleep and make us restless.

This issue can be decreased by installing an air purifier in our bedroom. We recommend you set it on your nightstand or dresser so that no furniture or walls will obstruct ventilation. Next, you should turn on the air purifier all night at a moderate level to ensure that it does not make noise to disrupt your sleep.

Some Drawbacks of Air Purifiers

Although we can say “yes” to the question “air purifiers do they work”, we must consider their drawbacks to having a more objective view. These are three downsides of air purifiers that we may be concerned about.

Required to close all doors and windows

We think one of the big shortcomings of air purifiers is that we have to close the windows and doors during the device’s operation.

Normally, if you want to improve indoor air quality, the most basic way is to open windows or doors to make the house more ventilated. However, when using an air purifier, we must close all doors;otherwise, the air purifier will not be able to utilize its effectiveness fully. You can consider turning off the air purifier on cool, windy days to let natural air into the house.

Emissions of ozone

Some types of air purifiers, like electrostatic precipitators or ionizers, may harm our health because they can produce ozone. As we know, ozone is a colorless, poisonous, and unstable gas. Besides using ozone intentionally in air purifiers as a method of removing germs and pollutants from the air, it is accidentally released while the air purifier operates. 

According to the California Environmental Protection Agency, ozone exposure is damaging to cells in the lungs and airways. Patients who have asthma or other prior health disorders may have worsening symptoms as a result of ozone exposure.

Maintenance cost

Many air purifiers require replacement filters every six months to 1 year to ensure effective air filtration. This will cost you quite a bit, usually around $30 to $200 per year.

Besides, some types of permanent filters do not need to be replaced as Plasma Wave filters in Winix products. But in this case, we have to regularly clean it to keep our air purifier operating at peak performance. Although it doesn’t cost money, these types of filters will cost our effort and time for cleaning and maintenance.

What are the Different Kinds of Air Purifiers?

Nowadays, there are many types of air purifiers manufactured to serve the needs of consumers. Among them, the most popular are the four types of air purifiers we mention in the section below.

HEPA air purifiers

Topping our list are HEPA air purifiers that employ a sophisticated air filter to remove up to 99.7% of particles bigger than 0.3 microns from the air. They are popular among consumers because they’re effective in removing dust, pet hair, pollen, dander, etc. However, we must change a new filter after a certain amount of use.

Adsorbent air purifiers

Another type of air purifier on this list is adsorbent purifiers. Normally, these devices own activated charcoal filters that can capture pollutants and smells, such as VOCs floating around our house. Because of their ability to absorb hazardous compounds, they are commonly utilized in various environmental cleaning initiatives.

Activated carbon air purifiers

Activated charcoal, also referred to as an AC filter, is a type of carbon that has been processed to produce tiny pores with a low volume. Thanks to this structural change, the surface area is greatly increased. So it allows for more chemical reactions and adsorption. Due to its remarkable microporosity, even one gram of activated carbon has a surface area of more than 500 m2. 

Activated carbon can draw in, adsorb, and neutralize tiny particles, including smells, organic gases, and specific chemical compounds, because of its porous nature, which other filter types frequently cannot do. If you’re trying to remove these compounds from your living environment, having an activated carbon air purifier is a really effective method.

Electrostatic air purifiers

Another notable type of air purifier is electrostatic air purifier. In an easily explained way, a precipitator (referred to as an electrostatic filter) will create an electrostatic charge for the airflow. This filter has wires vertically placed outside and metal-spaced plates inside. The application of a voltage between these plates and wires is the reason why particles in the air receive a charge and are drawn to the filter. With the help of this electrostatic approach, HEPA and HEPA-type filters can be made more effective in removing airborne contaminants such pollen, smoke, dust mite feces, and mildew.

Ultraviolet air purifiers

Ultraviolet air purifiers apply ultraviolet rays to break down the DNA and RNA structure of microorganisms, thereby minimizing their spread in the air and, as a result, protecting our health.

UV purifiers, like HEPA purifiers, begin active by sucking air into the unit. Then, they subject the air to a UV lamp, which emits UV-C radiation. This process breaks down the chemical connections created between DNA molecules of viruses, bacteria, fungi, etc., and after that, kills them.

Ionizer-type air purifiers

The last item on this list is an ionizer air purifier. This filterless air purifier uses an ionic system. Ions will attract oppositely charged contaminants to themselves and, after that, clean the air. Ioizer-type air purifier is capable of effectively removing all airborne pollutants. 

How to Choose the Best Air Purifiers

To choose an air purifier that suits your needs, you have to remember a few things below:

Check CADR rating

Besides room size, CADR is an important indicator you must pay attention to when choosing an air purifier. CADR represents the clean air delivery rate of the air purifier. The higher the CADR, the better the air filtration efficiency of the device.

We have a little tip if you don’t want to turn your air purifier on high or limit its noise levels, you can choose an air purifier with a high room size/CADR ratio and leave it running on low.

Check noise levels

Noise level is also a factor we must consider when choosing an air purifier for our home. Typically, air purifiers have noise levels from 10 to 70 dB. If we want to choose an air purifier that operates smoothly, its noise levels should be lower than 50dB (when running at the highest speed). With a noise level of 50dB, we can set up the device in a noisy living room without hearing the device operating. However, in case we place it in a quiet bedroom, we have to choose a lower air purifier’s speed to ensure it is not disturbed by noise.

Operation costs

We should consider operation costs before choosing an air purifier. They include power consumption and filter replacement costs. Electricity cost will be determined by factors such as the speed of the device, power capacity and electricity cost, as well as how long it operates. Filter replacement costs, on the other hand, are controlled by the amount of pollutants in the air and the price of the filters.

Air change per hour and typical room size

We advise you to change the room’s air at least three times every hour by changing the air purifier speed. This frequency provides optimal filtration while also coordinating with the airflow in and out of the space. So, you need to choose an air purifier that is strong enough to adapt to this requirement while it still operating smoothly. We may need a bigger air purifier combined with a ventilation system if the space has foot traffic activity or if doors and windows are regularly opened and closed.

Ignore the advertising hype

Marketing claims are not always 100% true. Therefore, we must ignore advertisements that exaggerate the benefits of air purifiers. Instead of paying too much attention to advertisements, we can read actual reviews on reputable websites or read comments from people who have used the products. Thus, we will have a much more accurate reference source.

Know that more expensive DOESN’T mean better

We often say that price goes hand in hand with quality. With air purifiers, is the more expensive, is it the better? The answer is not.

With a simple operating mechanism – the fan sucks air through the filter, then the clean air is returned to the environment – any air purifier line can satisfy. The included features, such as remote control, touch screen, etc. are what make a purifier sold at a higher price. So, we are not sure that an expensive air purifier is better at filtering air than an affordable one.

When buying an air purifier, please write down what you need from an air purifier and find a product that suits your needs. And remember that it is not necessarily an expensive device.

Find third-party test data

Every time we consider buying an air purifier, we should look for third-party evidence to back up the manufacturer’s claims. Here are some trust resources we can refer to:

• AHAM testing: The Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) maintains a searchable database of effectiveness testing (CADR).

• Shanghai Consumer Protection Bureau Tests: The Shanghai Consumer Protection Bureau tested and published the results of a large number of purifiers. 

• Consumer Reports testing: Consumer Reports has outstanding air purifier testing, but the data is sadly behind a paywall.

Which Air Pollutants Should You Be Worried About?

Let’s look at some of the toxins we could be dealing with in our homes and how air purifiers might assist.

• Allergens: Allergens are compounds that might cause symptoms in persons who suffer from allergies, asthma, or respiratory problems. Pollen, pet dander, cockroaches, dust mites, and other allergens are ubiquitous in indoor environments such as your home and school.

• Mold: Mold reproduces by releasing spores into the air. Mold allergies can be triggered by inhaling these spores or touching mold. It leads to symptoms such as sneezing, throat and nasal discomfort, runny nose, and red eyes.

• Smoke: Tobacco, incense, wood-burning stoves, and fireplaces, idle automobiles and buses, etc., can all contribute to indoor smoke. According to reliable studies, HEPA air purifiers may decrease smoke particles in the air but not nicotine or other gaseous components of smoking. This makes air purifiers beneficial during short-term interior smoke from landscape fires, but they are not completely efficient in protecting against the bad health consequences of cigarette smoke.

• Pollutants in the form of gases: Inorganic gases, ozone, volatile organic compounds (VOCs),… are examples of gaseous indoor contaminants. To filter gases, we should use a portable air cleaner with an activated carbon filter or another gas-filtering filter. 

FAQs

Do air purifiers make a noticeable difference?

Yes, air purifiers can make a noticeable difference in indoor air quality. They are effective at removing various pollutants like dust, pollen, pet dander, and smoke particles. Additionally, air purifiers help in reducing dust buildup on surfaces. However, it’s important to choose the right purifier for our specific needs and ensure regular maintenance for optimal performance. 

Is it good to use an air purifier every day?

Yes, we should use an air purifier every day. Our consistent use helps maintain indoor air quality better. This is especially important for people with allergies or respiratory conditions. 

Can air purifiers help protect against COVID-19?

Yes. Some air purifiers can protect us from COVID-19, especially those having HEPA or UV filters. However, we also must take other ways, like wearing masks or washing hands regularly to prevent viruses from attacking us.

Conclusion

After all the reliable arguments and studies mentioned in this article, we can’t say no when someone asks, “air purifiers do they work.” While it cannot solve all air pollution problems, these devices certainly have a positive impact on indoor air quality.

Hopefully, our sharing can help you decide whether to own an air purifier for your family or not.