People are always asking us: What is the best home air purifier? This is a question for which there is no exact answer. Many details including space, budget, personal preference, existing air quality problems and what are the desired results; help determine which type of unit best suites your needs. It is important to understand air purification technologies, principles, and real world limitations, in order to determine what will work best for you. Understanding air purification technologies is one part of selecting a unit, but beware, unethical or uneducated marketers will use general technical information to misrepresent their products. Learn to tell the difference between technical specification and marketing hype. Below I have listed some tips and a few things to watch out for; I have broken them into separate topics. HEPA certified filter media will remove 99.97% of all particles down to .3 microns. The design and manufacturing process of making pleated filters may greatly compromise this efficiency rating.

We recommend using warm rolled pleated filters with true medical grade HEPA media. mclean air duct cleaning tulsaHard folded edges, as found with cheaper filters, may have large cracks which allow particles to pass through them and greatly compromise filter efficiency.heaven fresh hf200 - ionic air purifier & ioniser Marketers of inferior home air purifiers will claim that their air purifiers will remove over 99% of all particles based on the fact that there filters were made from HEPA media. endust cd/dvd/blu-ray®/ game system lens cleanerOf all of the home air purifiers that we have tested, only two brands actually live up to this statement; All other systems have some degree of system leakage (air flwoing through the system, but not through the filters) which can drop their efficiency by more than 50%.

Some reputable brands, such as NQ Environmental, Austin Air and others may only loose a few percent of their efficiency due to minor system leakage, but many other brands (usually under $350) are very poorly designed and are less than 50% efficient Activated carbon, especially if treated with potassium iodide or blended with potassium permanganate (all of which are known as “gas phase media”), are capable of capturing odors and removing chemical fumes. Air purifiers that use several pounds of gas phase media may be very effective for removing odors and chemical fumes. The more weight of gas phase media and the thicker the bed of media, the more effective the air cleaner will be for removing chemical fumes, gasses and odors. Marketers of inferior home air purifiers will claim that their air purifiers will remove odors and chemical fumes because it contains activated carbon, which is proven to remove these types of contaminates. In most cases there is such a small amount of activated carbon, it will do little or nothing to remove odors or chemical fumes.

Look at the specifications to see how many pounds are contained in the unit. If there is no statement of how many pounds of carbon or carbon blend is contained in the unit then most likely, it is carbon post filter pads. These carbon pads may only contain a few ounces of carbon or less, this will not be effective for gas or odor removal. Any statement claiming to remove 99% percent of odors and chemical is most likely a false statement, unless you are dealing with a controlled environment, there would be no way of accurately estimating a percentage of odor or chemical fume removal, it’s just not possible. Airflow, measured in CFM (cubic feet per minute) states how much air a particular air purifier can clean in one minute. This rating is usually based on the maximum fan speed. Most people do not run their home air purifiers on the highest setting because it makes too much noise. Consider this when determining how powerful a unit may be, which can also be a factor in coverage area.

Marketers of inferior home air purifiers will often times not state the CFM rating of their machines. A good range of CFM for a home air purifier is between 250 and 500 CFM. Also consider that some manufacturers state a CFM rating that is the rating of the fan and motor, not of the whole system. Filters restrict airflow, once filters are added the CFM rating of a machine can be 30-60% lower than the stated CFM. System design also plays a role in airflow, the more streamlined the airflow pattern through the system is, the less airflow is restricted. Machines that force air to follow tight turns or go through small chambers will further restrict airflow and cause the machine to have a much lower effective CFM rating. Because of all the marketing hype surrounding coverage area ratings, even reputable brands may state CFM ratings for the motor and fan. Home air purifiers are generally stand-alone units which by nature have a restricted coverage area and units are rated for maximum coverage area based on a square room with no obstructions to the airflow and no air contamination problems.

The CFM rating of a machine, the airflow pattern and the size and shape of a room all affect coverage area. If you are dealing with a air quality problem, you need to account for these things. I wrote a great blog last week about calculating air changes per hour in the smoke removal section. Click here to learn how to calculate ACPH Marketers of inferior home air purifiers will often times claim that there home air purifiers can cover an entire house or even work through walls. These statements are unrealistic. Almost all home air purifier manufacturers will state a coverage area; most of these are unrealistic at best. Once again, I point you to my blog about calculating air changes per hour. I’ll write more about other air cleaning technologies next week, for now the above advice should help you in determining the difference between air purification fact and fiction. Each year millions of people waste their money on air cleaners that simply do not work, don’t fall victim to marketing hype.