Air Filters - Everything You Need To Know About Air Filters
Does your family suffer from allergies caused by dust and
particles in the air? Want to know about air filters and what
they can do to help you? First, it is advised that you replace
indoor air with outdoor air. But how? You can open windows and
doors, but still the risk is the air-borne problems. One of the
best solutions is to keep a healthy and clean house to minimize
and control unwanted substances. Usually, common airborne
particles can range from .001 to 100 microns in size. Very small
air-borne particles are so small that you may have a hard time
removing them.
Cigarette smoke and household dust can eventually enter the
lungs and may create complications. Air filters and cleaners are
devices which help remove particles from the air, but not all.
There are two groups of air cleaners. The first group is the
portable air cleaners. They are also known as table-top models,
and they are created to clean air in small places and locations
but not the entire house. These air cleaners have filters and
use electrical attraction or ozone to get rid of the minute
particles from the air. The finer the particles, the better it
is in removing these unwanted substances. HEPA or high
efficiency particulate arresting filters is the best kind.
Almost 99 percent of the particles which are as small as 0.3
microns in size are captured. However, gas molecules like those
from cigarette smoke and radon can still pass through the
filter. Some companies have decided to use an activated charcoal
or carbon filter to take care of the job. Pleated filters are
also called "mean" filters and they are composed of materials,
which are similar to that of the HEPA. However, particles and
dust may still get in. Remember, that the pleated filters
capture smaller particles.
It is said that it removes 40 to 96 percent of household dust.
Electrical attraction is utilized in electronic cleaners. Here,
electrostatic precipitation, static charge, or particle
ionization is used to capture particles through a foam
pre-filter. With this, the larger particles are removed. Then
the particles are charged by a high-voltage wire and are then
attracted to the precipitating cell.
After this, a carbon filter gets rid of the odors and other
particles. An electric cleaner utilizes cellulose fibers and
polyester having a static charge to capture particles aside from
the carbon and the pre-foam filter. Ozone generation is another
type of air cleaner that also uses a high-voltage electrical
charge to convert oxygen to ozone. With this, gas molecules and
some substances or microorganisms like mold can be demolished by
the high concentrations of ozone present. However, a negative
ionizer also uses a foam pre-filter as well as a carbon filter.
But, the difference lies in the wires. It has charged wires
which, in turn, create ions.
Consequently, the fan blows these charged particles into the
room and they are sucked in again. These different kinds of air
filters and cleaners may give you a background on their features
and which will best suit your needs.