Portable Air Cleaner Makes Breathing Easier

By Jill Faulkner


If breathing is difficult even in a home a portable air cleaner may help. These devices filter the contents of the home. They are not all created equal however. Some merely offer a mechanical filter that traps a few particles, while others are designed to eliminate odors or gases from the air. Before shopping it is important to decide the features that are wanted or needed.

It is important that consumers know how serious their problem is before making a purchase. For the cleanest atmosphere in a home, choose the right unit to do the job. Asthma and chemical allergy sufferers usually need a different type of filter than those who suffer from allergies due to pollen and dust. Some chemical allergy sufferers have found that certain HEPA filters actually make their problem worse as the glue used to manufacture the filter is released into the room.

The size of the area to be treated is also significant in selecting a device. In order to clean the atmosphere in the room, it must be exchanged several times every hour. The best of filters cannot do an effective job if the unit has too small a volume. At a very minimum, the device should offer 2 air exchanges every hour.

Keep the location the unit will be used in mind as well. Some are notoriously louder than others. In the bedroom where noise is sometimes a factor, units that can exchange the minimum amount of air may be quieter to operate. However, in family rooms with higher traffic, there may be a need for a larger exchange rate.

Units barely meet the minimum requirements for a room will need to operate on the highest speed most of the time. However, if the consumer selects a more efficient device, it may be possible to turn the fan speed to a lower setting to allow quieter operation while still exchanging the appropriate number of times.

Some purifiers offer an IR detector to monitor the particulates in the room. These devices automatically run on high speed when turned on, but as the particles decrease through filtration, the device moves to a lower speed. Unfortunately, many users find the area being measured is too small for the device to make the determination.

The two critical measurements of a unit's effectiveness are the number of exchanges made per hour and the percentage of pollution removed with each exchange. The second factor is the device's efficiency. With the higher the efficiency machine, fewer particles are released back into the room. A HEPA filter is rated to remove 99.97% of particulates 0.3 microns or larger. However, once the filter is installed in a device, there are many other factors that come into play. Many devices using HEPA filters allow as much as 50% of the particles to flow around the filter without passing through, giving a poor performance.

If an individual has difficulty breathing at home a portable air cleaner can be helpful. These devices are designed for effective removal of certain pollutants. Selecting the correct device can help to improve one's home atmosphere making breathing easier.




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