These days it seems that everyone is gung ho about air purification systems. People with allergies, people with asthma and people who are just cleanliness freaks. It doesn't matter how often you dust the furniture, mop the floors, vacuum the rugs or change the bed sheets, your home just isn't really clean unless you have an air purification system.

But just how effective are these systems and are they all the same?

The answer may or may not surprise you. The truth is, not all air purification systems are the same. Some work well, some not so well, so the problem that most consumers face is how to tell if the air purification system they want to buy is the best one or for that matter, any good at all. Well, there are two ways to go about doing this.

The first way, and probably the most accurate is to first get yourself an in-home allergen tester. You can buy one of these things in just about any Sears store. Basically, the way these gadgets work is by measuring the levels of the eight most common allergens in your home. The process though isn't as simple as it sounds. Most require you to hook up the device to a vacuum cleaner which collects the allergens. After that you then have to mail the bag to the lab for them to test. You would do this before buying your air purifier. Then the next step in determining if the air purifier you want to get is doing a substantial job is by buying one on the condition that if you're not satisfied, you can return it. Most places will give you 30 days to try one out. You then take the purifier home, run it for the amount of time it says is required to make a difference and then rerun the allergen test. Send the next sample to the lab for testing and they will then be able to tell you the effectiveness of the unit you purchased. You can then decide if you want to keep the unit.

Sounds like a lot of work, doesn't it? Well, there is an easier way. Fortunately, there are independent companies that run tests on these air purifiers. You can easily find one on the Internet. While this does require you to take THEIR word for the findings, it certainly is a lot easier and quicker than going through the procedure above.

If you should go to one of these sites, what you will normally find is a chart with the following pieces of information. You'll see the lab where the test was done, the air purifier that the tests were performed on, the country where it was tested, the type of allergen tests that were done, and most importantly, the percentage of reduction. This is basically the bottom line. If you read these results you will notice that none are more than 99% reduction. This is because we don't live in a bubble and it just isn't physically possible to get rid of all the allergens, but 99% is very good.

Of course that all depends on whether or not you believe these results. Unfortunately, only your nose will know.

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Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Air Purifiers
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