Is The Air In Your Home Safe?
Air Purifiers are all the rage now, everybody has them and
everybody sells them.
There are Ionic Air Purifiers, regular filter Purifiers and HEPA
filter purifiers.
The Journal of the American Medical Association now suggests
that the air pollution existing today in the US raises the risk
of lung disease to a point where more than half of the US
population is breathing unhealthy amounts of air pollution .
More than 50 million Americans seem to be suffering from
allergies and more than 20 million battle asthma. There is such
a thing as Sick Building Syndrome, a worldwide phenomenon, when
chemical substances used in office construction such as glue,
insulating materials, cardboard, and fiberglass are steadily
released into the atmosphere from electronic equipment,
carpeting, furniture and fittings. That is why the air inside
buildings or residential structures may be many times more
polluted than the air outside, according to the EPA.
Because of all these reasons Air Purifiers have become very
important. The different types of air purifiers include
mechanical purifiers, electronic air purifying systems, hybrid
purifiers and gas phase purifiers. Most of these systems remove
particles and harmful toxins from the indoor air.
The HEPA Filter is a High Efficiency Particulate Arrested
Filter designed to remove 99.97% of all airborne pollutants 0.3
microns or larger from the air that passes through the filter (
including tobacco smoke, household dust and pollen).
There are also filtering technologies that operate by using
ozonation. The most popular air purifier on the market today
uses ozone. These purifiers actually produce ozone which is an
irritant that can worsen asthma and decrease lung function.
The removal of particles from the air is what is measured when
the efficiency rate is trying to be achieved. The fraction of
particles that is removed from the indoor air being measured is
what determines the amount of efficiency an air purifier
possesses.
Air cleaners using mechanical filters or electronic technology
can perform particle removal. Mechanical home air purifiers are
units that can draw the indoor air through a metal or fibrous
filter that is designed to trap the particles.
Because filters have different size pores they are able to
catch these particles. is able to catch these particles with its
different sized pores. Different types of filters may be pleated
, square, round, with different levels of efficiency.
Mechanical filters in general are very efficient in eliminating
contaminants from the air as long as they are cleaned regularly.
There are 3 diferent types of electronic purifiers:
Electrostatic purifiers pull air into a chamber and charge the
particles electrically. The air is then let through wafers which
are negative ion generators, give particles a charge and cause
them to stick to the nearest solid object.These purifiers are
not as effective as the other electronic or mechanical purifiers
because they do not eliminate particles but move them to another
location.
Ionizers do the same thing but create ozone which in itself may
be bad for your health. Ozone is a lung irritant produced by ion
generators and some other electronic air cleaners and ozone
generators. While indirect ozone production is of concern, there
is even greater concern with the direct, and purposeful
introduction of a lung irritant into indoor air. There is no
difference, despite some marketers' claims, between ozone in
smog outdoors and ozone produced by these devices. Repeated
exposure to ozone pollution may cause permanent damage to the
lungs.
Hybrid air cleaners use both mechanical filters and electronic
technology in order to clean the air of particles. Ozone
emissions may be present from the use of electrostatic air
purifiers and negative ion generators. High levels of ozone may
be harmful but cleaning the units as specified by the
manufacturer may mitigate the possible bad effects of ozone to
some extent.
Efficient Air Purifiers can cost anywhere from $500 to $1500
for a single room and a System to clean a whole house can easily
run into the thousands of dollars.