Air pollution is clearly a health hazard when you consider all the many harmful materials present in the air we breathe. However, this risk can be combated by control or elimination of the source of the pollutants. It may not always be practical due to adverse weather conditions to ventilate with fresh air from outdoors but a home air cleaner can help to get rid of the pollutants already inside your home.

The design of a home air cleaner can be created in such a way that the installation can take place within the duct of the central heating system. As an alternative it can also be located in the ventilating or air conditioning duct. This allows the air in the house as a whole to be cleaned but with the help of a portable home air cleaner, the air in a single room or specific area can be cleaned instead of the full house.

How Does It Work?

The majority of home air cleaners have a mechanical air filter. The filters do their job by trapping large airborne particles such as dust, dust mites, pollen, cockroach allergens, mold and pet dander. Nonetheless these particles settle rapidly and they cannot be completely removed by the air filters. When further movement takes place within the house, these particles are disturbed and the larger ones settle once more before the filters have managed to pick them up.

Most air-conditioners and residential furnaces come with flat panel air filters which serve as home air cleaners. Their primary purpose is to protect the equipment. However, they also filter bacteria, viruses and pet and dust mite allergens.

A fan circulates the air and the filters clean it in the portable home air cleaners. It can easily be moved to wherever the cleaning needs to take place and depending on the size of the room it is usually quite effective at reducing airborne pollutants.

Health Concerns

The home electronic air cleaner also removes small particles, but it is ineffective at removing larger particles. Electronic air cleaners can turn out ozone, which can irritate the lungs. Ultra fine particles may also be produced and this happens as a consequence of ozone mixing with indoor chemicals such as air fresheners and cleaning products. Such particles may cause unpleasant health problems.

The home air cleaner certainly helps to lessen levels of smaller airborne particles or allergens but it is not capable of removing microorganisms, which ultimately cause disease.

A home air cleaner can be very useful in a house with children, the elderly or those suffering with respiratory conditions such as asthma. However, as far as the larger particles are concerned they may not be of any help whatsoever.

Inside your home exist many pollutants of different sizes and consequences on your health. The problem is worse if you are a smoker or allergic, or having pets. To improve the quality of air you breathe, the ideal option is to eliminate all forms of microscopic particles, which can be done only with an air purifier. Depending on the type of air purifier you use, there are many ways you can purify the air inside your home.

Types of air purification methods

There are three types of method of air purification: mechanical, a method of purification based on impaction or retention of particles and pollutants by a filter, the most effective is purifier HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air Filter); electronic, the use of an electric field to ionize positively particles sucked into the machine and then adhere to the filter which is negatively charged; and ionization, negative ionization of particles suspended in the air in order to attach them to the areas of the house (which are positively charged) to make them inactive.

What is the best air purification method?

Although there are many types of air purifier, ultraviolet purification is the most effective method to clean the air inside your house from pathogenic particles. Many studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of UV purifiers in improving air quality and reducing symptoms of allergies or respiratory problems, asthma, infection of the respiratory system, etc.

UV air purifier removes 99% of dust, pollen, tobacco smoke, pet dander and mold spores in the air. The ultraviolet rays destroy all harmful pollutant in suspension (bacteria, fungi and mold spores) to help you obtain a air clean and healthy in your home. In addition, a UV purifier is ideal for environments where there smokers, bars, restaurants, casinos, prisons, and more.

Cats are wonderful and their beautiful silky hair is a large part of their appeal. But cat hair in the air continues to cause a huge problem for many people, and can even be the cause of having to find another home for their cat. The best cat hair air purifiers have the following 7 features that can save you the heart break of giving your cat away, will result in cleaner air and a cleaner home, and will make you feel better physically.  

1. Removes Cat Hair-While this may seem a pretty obvious point, the reasoning behind it is not. Cat hair attracts all kinds of other smaller pollutants such as household dust, dust mites, pollen, and dander, all of which cause huge problems for anyone with allergies and asthma, and can even cause respiratory problems for those who were previously healthy. So by removing the hair you are also removing many other allergens as well.  

2. Remove Cat Dander-While airborne cat hair is a nuisance and breathing it constantly for prolonged periods of time (like all of your cat’s life) is unhealthy, it is the protein in cat dander that usually triggers asthma and allergy symptoms such as watery eyes, burning throat, sneezing and the like. This dander or dead skin is invisible to the naked eye, but if you’re at all sensitive to it, your nose knows it’s there immediately. It is much smaller in size than hair and needs a cleaner whose filter can remove sub-micron size particles.  

3. HEPA Filter-Because the dander is so small, the purifier you choose should have a filter that can trap tiny particles you can see and invisible ones that you can’t see. By definition a high efficiency particle arresting (or HEPA) filter can remove particles as small as .3 microns with 99.97% efficiency. This means that for every 10,000 particles of dander and other household pollutants that can attach to your cat’s hair, a HEPA will remove all but 3 of them. That puts the odds heavily in your favor for clean air.  

4. On Duty 24 Hours-To be effective your cleaner needs to filter the air 24 hours every day. You cat’s hair is constantly being sent airborne when it goes about its daily activities such as running, jumping on the sofa, or lying on your bed. Your activities also send it airborne when you walk around, sweep or vacuum, or even flop on the couch. Since your cat will always produce and shed hair and dander, your air cleaner should be able to be left on 24 hours to literally keep the hair and dander count down.  

5. Safe for All-Your purifier should produce only fresh clean air as a by product (no ozone), and should have a high capacitor motor that is designed to run constantly and will not overheat when left on day after day. It should also be made of steel rather than plastic. Many times when the motor heats up a plastic air purifier it will off gas fumes into the air, and that is bad news for your cat and you.  

6. More Than One Filter-Cat hair is relentless and one filter will just not be effective for very long. To avoid frequent filter changes, look for an air purifier that has multiple filters, several of which should be pre-filters. A cleaner with pre-filters is an indication that the need for filter changes will be less than a purifier that has no pre-filters and only one main filter.  

7. Filter for Gas and Odor-Having a cat as part of the family comes with some odor. A purifier that can eliminate odor as well as hair and dander will save you time, space, and money. Rather than having to have multiple cleaners to address all the pollutants, having one purifier with multiple filters will mean you have the best possible air purifier for cat hair.