Air Purifier for Allergens and Odor Control

If you happen to live in a town or city, close to a busy road or experience seasons that you do not want to feel in your living room, opening your doors and windows to let out bad smells and let in fresh scents may not always be an option. Of course, you do not want to live in a house that is permeated with the odor of steamed fish, last nights cauliflower or somebody's less than fresh smelling shoes. That being the case, an air purifier may be just what you need for odor control.

Airing out your house by opening windows and doors will stir up the odors in your home a little and will even take some of the minor ones out with it, especially if it is a breezy day. But just airing out the house through open windows will do little to get rid of odor caused by cigarettes, bacteria and molds.

Indeed, the breeze from outside may actually enflame allergies even more. In any case, opening windows does not purify the air whatsoever and neither will it kill harmful bacteria and viruses. The only way to accomplish this is to purchase an air purifier.

Low Tech Air Purifiers

Many homeowners already use low-tech air purifiers but if you are one that is not, you need to get started. Low-tech air purifiers have been proven to do a great job in purifying the air in both offices and homes and on top of that, it is simple to do!

Once a month, all you need to do is change the air filters in your air conditioning and heating system. This will help cut the allergens, mold and dust in your home in up to a half. As an added bonus, this type of air purifying system is silent with costs of only about $20 every three months.

While this is a lot better than stirring up pollutants with an outside breeze, your HVAC system is not really an air purifier more especially if you have to live with odors. Consequently, you should really consider getting a more advanced type of air purifier in order to really improve the air that you breathe.

The Ionizing Air Purifier

Ionizing air purifiers are good systems not only for smoke filled rooms but also for those with odor problems. These are the two main reasons that most people open windows and doors - to hopefully let the odors and smoke fumes escape outside.

Ionizing air purifier systems such as the Ionic Breeze air purifier work by sending out negatively charged particles, which combine with the positively charged particles in the air. These positively charged particles include smoke and odor and when the two opposing particles combine, they become too heavy to remain in the air. Consequently, they are drawn to the collection plate within the air purifier. All you then need to do is quite simply wipe them away with a clean cloth. Price wise, an ionizing air purifier costs in the region of $300.

However, be warned that various consumer reports have found that these air purifiers do not really work against removing dust particles and allergens in the air. If you are looking to remove these types of particulate matter, it may not be the best choice for you.

Low Ozone Air Purifiers

Low-ozone air purifiers work by oxidizing pollutants and then leaving behind breathable oxygen and purified air. Opening your windows does not purify the air and can in fact stir up allergens and other pollutants, making them more irritating to your respiratory system.

A note of caution, however, is that low ozone air purifiers do emit ozone. Whilst the levels of ozone emitted by these air purifiers is low and considered to be safe, it is nevertheless important to monitor the ozone levels to ensure they do not reach dangerous levels.

UV Air Purifiers

The most complex of all of the air purifier systems is based on UV or ultraviolet light technology. UV air purifiers will kill bacteria and viruses that they come in contact with, and are consequently ideal for odors in bathrooms and garbage smells.

It is not always possible to pinpoint the exact source of the odor in your home and opening your windows or doors may not be enough to truly get rid of the problem. Also, as previously noted, opening the windows does not kill viruses and bacteria. In fact, you could actually create an environment that helps these germs grow rather than kill them off. That being the case, UV air purifiers are obviously a much better choice.