Breathe Free With an Air Purifier

Air is the most important thing we take into our bodies. While we can go days without food and water, we can only last a few minutes without air. It is our most basic necessity. Unfortunately, with the pollution of the modern age, what is most important to us can actually hurt us. One very effective way to raise the air quality in your home is by using an air purifier. Also called air cleaners or air scrubbers, air purifiers come in many shapes, sizes, and types. But with many varieties, what are the features you should look for?

Better quality air purifiers use HEPA filters. HEPA stands for High Efficiency Particulate Air and means that the air purifier has been rated by the US Department of Energy. Originally designed in the 1940s to prevent the spread of airborne radioactive contaminants during the Manhattan Project, HEPA filters are used today in hospitals, nuclear facilities, clean rooms, and anywhere that air quality is truly vital.

HEPA filers trap 99.97% of particles as small as .3 microns. This means that for every 10,000 particles that enter the filter only 3 particles will get through. The efficiency of HEPA filters is measured in particles of .3 microns, because this is the most difficult size to capture, and the size that passes most easily into the human respiratory system. To give you some idea of how small a micron is, one micron is equal to 1 millionth of a meter. It takes 25,400 microns to equal 1 inch. Pollen is between 5 and 100 microns, and a human hair is between 70 and 100 microns.

HEPA filters can protect you from almost all airborne particles, including pollen, mold spores, pet dander, and dust. But a HEPA filter, no matter how efficient, won't capture airborne chemicals and toxins. We don't realize what a toxic world we live in. Everything in our homes, including our carpets, wood furniture, upholstery, and cosmetics, lets off some toxic chemicals that make their way into our lungs. Some common toxins that are probably in our homes right now are benzene, formaldehyde, toluene, methanol, and ozone. These can cause cancer, blindness, and damage to the central nervous system. Our bodies have no defense from these chemicals, so we have to stop them before they get into our bodies.

To trap toxic chemicals, some air purifiers use activated carbon. Activated carbon is carbon that has been processed so that it has tiny fissures. These pores trap toxic chemicals as they enter the purifier. One pound of activated carbon has 200 miles of pores. Low quality air cleaners usually only have pre-filters that consist of a sponge material sprayed with carbon dust. These last a very short time (a few days), and don't trap a lot of toxins. The best air purifiers have carbon filters with several pounds of carbon, enough to last for years of continuous use.

Another air quality concern is viruses and germs. This is especially true in homes with young children, who can pick up all sorts of germs from their friends at school and bring them home. To help solve this problem, many air purifiers come with UV lamps to kill germs before they can make you and your family sick. Used in both water and air purification, UV-C (also called "short wave" or "germicidal" UV waves) break down matter and destroy the DNA of biological contaminants. Having a UV bulb in your air purifier will kill viruses, germs, dust mites, and mold - anything with DNA. The UV light is contained within the air purifier, so you don't have to worry about exposure to it. Most UV bulbs last a long time - at least 10,000 hours of continuous use.

Air purifiers range in price from tens of dollars to several hundred dollars. Getting a really good quality air purifier (one with all of the elements listed above) is an investment, but it's an investment that pays off in your family's health.