What Does an Air Purifier Do?

The ever-rising popularity of air purifiers is something we’ve all witnessed by now, but few know what they do for the air that you breathe. With all the claims that air purifier manufacturers make, it’s hard to discern the truth from the fad. That’s why we’ll get into the nitty-gritty of the matter and provide you with information on what air purifiers actually do so you can decide for yourself whether investing in such a device is worth it.

How Do Air Purifiers Work?

The foremost function of an air purifier is improving air quality. But, to learn how they do so, we need to take a look at the technologies that they use. The harmful particles that they eliminate with high efficiency include PM 2.5, PM 10, and other air pollutants such as dust, VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds), cigarette smoke, dander, etc. They’re also very effective in removing unpleasant odors, pollen, microbes, and viruses.

The most common type of air purifier is the filter-based model. These units drive the air through a highly layered HEPA filter and the more advanced devices employ multiple-stage purification as well. Apart from the HEPA filter, these systems consist of complex pre-filters, activated carbon filters, and many other types of pollutant-catching material.

There are other types of air purification technologies as well, such as the ozonator and the ionizer. These devices release safe amounts of ozone and negative ions respectively. We covered the functionalities of these units in-depth in our detailed breakdown of how car air purifiers work.

Why Do You Need an Air Purifier?

Whether you have chronic respiratory issues, or you just can’t stop coughing from all the dust indoors, air purifiers are for all of you that seek to alleviate existing issues or are simply looking to invest in the long-term health benefits that clean air provides.

As air pollution levels seem to ever be on the rise, the health hazards increase exponentially. Even with a cheap air purifier, you can greatly reduce the risks that heavy air pollution might expose you to.

High air pollution levels can provoke acute health problems such as:

• Respiratory and cardiovascular disease
• Added stress to heart and lungs
• Damaged cells in the respiratory system

While long-term exposure even to milder air pollution may lead to chronic consequences such as:

• Decreased lung function due to sped up aging of the lung tissue
• Development and worsening of chronic diseases such as asthma, bronchitis, emphysema, and possibly cancer

Health Benefits

Alleviate Allergies by Removing Harmful Particles and Allergens

Most air purifiers are designed to eliminate harmful air particles that are as small as 0.3 microns. A lot of harmful particles are larger than that and these include many allergens such as dander, pollen, and dust.

However, not all air purifiers are specialized for such purification. As we mentioned, some of them emit ozone, and some use different technologies such as ionization. Such devices are just as efficient in improving air quality, but they tackle the issue by generating molecules that eliminate airborne harmful particles, rather than trapping them in a filter.

Provide Stress Relief and Reduced Blood Pressure

Another great thing about air purifiers is that, by controlling air quality, they improve the function of the endothelium – the membrane that lines the heart and blood vessels. Air pollution may lead to dysfunction of this important organ, thus increasing blood pressure.

Breathing clean air is also an important factor when it comes to reducing stress. By being more relaxed, you also indirectly add another layer of protection against the aforementioned ailments. Suffice it to say that investing in an air purifier will add a breath of fresh air to your day-to-day activities, quite literally.

Conclusion

To summarize, an air purifier, using a complex variety of technologies, will substantially improve the quality of the air and as such, improve your overall health on a day-to-day basis. By eliminating harmful particles from the air, the air purifier serves as a safeguard against the negative effects of air pollution and makes for a very beneficial device, whether you’re in an urban or a rural area.

It’s important to remember that, in some cases, indoor air pollution can be much higher than the outdoor levels, so investing in an air purifier will make your home a safer and healthier environment for everyone in it.

If you want to read more about topics like these, sate your curiosity on our blog, where you will find many more informative articles.