Millions of Americans suffer from seasonal or airborne allergies and look to drugs or supplements for relief. While some people benefit from a pharmaceutical solution, many try more natural approaches to controlling their symptoms. From remedies like local honey to Neti Pot saline rinses, most remedies only help once you have the symptoms of allergies but what about removing the actual problem in the air before it has a chance to cause the symptoms? Air purifiers are a great option for allergy suffers.
Air purifiers remove pollutants and allergens such as smoke, dust, pollen, mold, and pet dander and hair from the air. There are several different types of purifiers on the market and each work slightly different from the others in the way they remove particles from the air. The types are purifiers are ionizers, HEPA filters, ionizer/HEPA combination, activated carbon and antibacterial filters.
The two best types of filters available for home air purification are HEPA filters and ionizers.
HEPA stands for high-efficiency particulate air and works by forcing dirty, contaminated air through a very fine mesh that collects harmful particles from the air like pollen, dust and smoke. While they are highly effective for larger particles, the downside to HEPA filter air purifiers is that they do not remove the smallest pollutants or allergens like an ionizer or activated carbon filters.
Ionizers work by electrically charging wires within the device, which build up electrons and are discharged into the air. The electrons then attach themselves to particles in the air and then the particles are charged and attracted to surfaces in the house or collected by a positively charged plate in the device. Ionizers work great for smaller pollutants that are unable to be trapped by HEPA filters, so many suggest using HEPA filters in combination with ionizers to effectively remove large and small contaminants from the air.
By removing irritating and harmful particulates from the air in your home can greatly help reduce the impact of your allergies. While air purifiers are not guaranteed to eliminate allergies all together, they are definitely worth looking into for allergy relief and improved air quality in your home. For more information regarding home air quality, air purifiers or air conditioner service, visit www.chillsairconditioning.com
