If you're a health conscious person like myself you're probably already aware of how air purifiers for your home can remove those irritating pollutants none of us need to breathe. Air purifier marketers have done a bang up job educating us about that.
However, as they say in the infomercials, "But wait, there's more!" In this case a good deal more.
If you really want the cleanest air possible for yourself and your family then choosing the right air purifiers for your home is just one part of a three-prong effort.
What you need to do is neither complicated nor time consuming. All you need is a little advance planning and the will to follow through on a few simple steps.
The single most important thing you can do to ensure clean, irritant and allergen free air in your home is to get control of as many sources of pollution as possible.
Controlling irritants and allergens in your home will include things like:
All of the above help contribute to reducing your exposure to irritants that can make your allergies worse.
Get some fresh air
One of the easiest ways to clear bad indoor air is simply to replace it with some outdoor air. Of course, open windows aren't always a good idea and may bring in more allergens.
Ideally, fresh air ventilation is achieved through a mechanical air intake that filters and exchanges outside air for the inside air. Coupled with a heat exchanger these can both give clean, allergen free air and still be energy efficient. Of course, this requires some modification to your existing heating and air conditioning system. But it is a worthwhile investment in the long run.
Where do the air purifiers come in?
A whole house air cleaner or portable room air purifier can pick up where your other efforts leave off.
Air cleaning alone won't remove all the allergens and other pollutants in your home. For example, pet dander is produced in such quantities and the allergic threshold is so low that air cleaning has little positive benefit. Source control is your best choice in such a case.
However, air purifiers for your home are one of the three effective ways to improve indoor air quality. Like many others, myself included, you may find air purifiers help relieve your symptoms of asthma and allergies.
However, as they say in the infomercials, "But wait, there's more!" In this case a good deal more.
If you really want the cleanest air possible for yourself and your family then choosing the right air purifiers for your home is just one part of a three-prong effort.
What you need to do is neither complicated nor time consuming. All you need is a little advance planning and the will to follow through on a few simple steps.
The single most important thing you can do to ensure clean, irritant and allergen free air in your home is to get control of as many sources of pollution as possible.
Controlling irritants and allergens in your home will include things like:
- Make sure combustion appliances are serviced. This decreases soot and carbon monoxide as well as nitrogen oxides.
- Choose products with low emissions. This means going "fragrance free" wherever possible or finding natural alternatives.
- Eliminate smoking. Duh.
- Keep your pets outside. This has the greatest potential for going undone but is necessary. Pet dander and allergens have serious consequences. Even non-allergic people constantly exposed to allergens become allergic.
- Maintain low humidity. Dehumidifiers help eliminate mold and mildew growth, reduce dust mite populations, even reduce out gassing of volatile organic compounds (somehow water vapor helps "loosen" those nasty things).
- Prevent moisture build-up. Leaks are a dangerous mold outbreak waiting to happen. But mold won't wait for long!
- Clean to reduce dust, pollens, dust mites and mold growth.
All of the above help contribute to reducing your exposure to irritants that can make your allergies worse.
Get some fresh air
One of the easiest ways to clear bad indoor air is simply to replace it with some outdoor air. Of course, open windows aren't always a good idea and may bring in more allergens.
Ideally, fresh air ventilation is achieved through a mechanical air intake that filters and exchanges outside air for the inside air. Coupled with a heat exchanger these can both give clean, allergen free air and still be energy efficient. Of course, this requires some modification to your existing heating and air conditioning system. But it is a worthwhile investment in the long run.
Where do the air purifiers come in?
A whole house air cleaner or portable room air purifier can pick up where your other efforts leave off.
Air cleaning alone won't remove all the allergens and other pollutants in your home. For example, pet dander is produced in such quantities and the allergic threshold is so low that air cleaning has little positive benefit. Source control is your best choice in such a case.
However, air purifiers for your home are one of the three effective ways to improve indoor air quality. Like many others, myself included, you may find air purifiers help relieve your symptoms of asthma and allergies.
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