How To Know If An Activated Carbon Filter Won’t Clean Your Air

How do you feel when someone sells you a product and afterward you discover it doesn’t do what was promised? Would you return again and again to the same vendor? This is precisely what you will do as you continue to buy filters for air purifiers that don’t clean the air.

Is my contention true, those manufacturers who claim an activated carbon filter pad removes chemicals and odors are deceiving you? Please allow me the opportunity to present my case and you be the judge.

Many air purifiers include activated carbon for gas and odor removal, but will not mention how much is in their filter. This is because, at best, they have coated a mat with a few token ounces of activated carbon.

In an average home, that small amount of carbon could get saturated in days, even hours. After this, the filter would need to be replaced or it would be doing nothing.

If an air purifier does not make any obvious claims about the amount of activated carbon it uses, you should question the filter’s effectiveness.

Why activated carbon filter pads don’t give you the clean air you expect

Air purification is big business and many companies have entered the air purifier market.

However, these companies are not air purifier manufacturers solely in the business of air purification. They are consumer product sales organizations. Most manufacture nothing at all, but contract design and production to others. Their primary concern is to market whatever is the hot seller of the day.

Eager to gain the approval of consumers they hype the fact that they offer “multistage” air cleaners that can control all sorts of air pollution.

An activated carbon filter is usually featured as one of the stages in these air purifiers. They typically take the form of a foam mesh impregnated with a few token ounces of activated carbon.

Is this good enough? Are these companies being honest? What about those manufacturers that offer a deep activated carbon bed that includes many pounds of activated carbon?

Question the quality of the activated carbon

Activated carbon can vary greatly depending on the methods used to produce it. For instance, the surface area available to adsorb pollutants can vary between 400 sq. meters per gram to over 1500 sq. meters per gram.

Activated carbon can generally remove some of any chemical. However, raw activated carbon may not be very effective against many of the pollutants you’re concerned about. That’s why activated carbon needs to be impregnated with special catalysts and chemisorbs to ensure maximum effectiveness against typical pollutants.

Air purifiers using an activated carbon filter pad never address these issues in any of their consumer literature. How can you know the real capabilities of their filter? You can’t.

Question the quantity of filtration

How much chemical contamination can a few ounces of activated carbon adsorb?

Activated carbon can adsorb as much as 60% of its weight in pollutants. This is best accomplished by increasing the “dwell time” or time spent in contact with the pollutants.

An activated carbon filter pad cannot supply much in the way of dwell time. Air passes through such thin filters quickly. Filter pads with only a few ounces of activated carbon have precious little time or capacity to make any real difference in your air quality.

This is why high quality air purifier manufacturers whose business is nothing but air purification include a deep activated carbon bed that often weighs many pounds.

Question the design of the air purifier

All too often, activated carbon filter pads are used as a prefilter for a higher efficiency particle filter. This exposes the activated carbon to the incoming stream of dust and microparticles.

The structure of activated carbon is that of macropores branching into ever-smaller micropores. Incoming particles can easily clog these larger pores and prevent gaseous contaminants from entering the micropores where adsorption takes place.

Using an activated carbon filter pad as a prefilter is a bad design decision.

Another bad decision that seems to defy all common sense is the inclusion of scent cartridges in air purifiers with activated carbon.

Since activated carbon is supposed to remove odors and volatile chemicals from the air, why is a source of volatile chemical fragrance included? This seems to defeat the purpose of the activated carbon.

The reality is that the scent masks the odors in the air and is intended to lead you to believe the air purifier is doing a good job.

Activated carbon filtration works if you choose the right air purifier

Activated carbon in air purifiers has real value when employed in a deep bed.

There are several air purifier manufacturers that design and build there own products with this in mind. Some examples are Allerair, Austin Air, Blueair, and Iqair. These companies understand that a large volume of activated carbon is essential for air purifier performance.

Activated carbon filter pads are a gimmick of marketing companies. These sales organizations are only interested in grabbing a piece of the air purifier market with inferior products. They rely on the absence of consumer education about air purification to succeed.

You can make a much better choice.

I would like to help you look more critically at air purifiers claiming to use HEPA air filters. Why? Because HEPA filtration is the best available, but the way it is used may leave much to be desired.

Consider an example. A man may have a well-appointed kitchen with the best of ingredients but this doesn’t make him a chef. Nor does it mean anything he prepares will even be edible.

Likewise, using HEPA air filters doesn’t guarantee the end result will really clean the air. Unfortunately, many manufacturers continue to produce inferior products while playing lip service to quality and customer expectations.

What kind of questions should you ask about any HEPA air purifier you may be considering?

What is the size of the HEPA air filters?

One of the most difficult to find pieces of information about a HEPA air purifier is the actual size of the filter. Most manufacturers don’t reveal it. Perhaps they feel it isn’t important. Perhaps they fear it will result in consumers comparing their product unfavorably against competitors.

Why is size important? Quite simply, because the bigger a filter is the more particles it can remove before it clogs. Also, the bigger a filter is the more air it can clean in a single pass.

Lastly, a bigger filter will present less back pressure to the fan that pushes the air through the filter. Back pressure puts a load on the fan motor. Cheaper motors may fail as a result. Manufacturers avoid this by letting some air escape around, or bypass, the filter. This is air that isn’t being cleaned.

Simply put, bigger HEPA air filters mean cleaner air and longer life of both the filter and the air purifier leading to reduced total cost of ownership.

What is the quality of the HEPA air filters?

The material used, the design and methods of manufacture are all important to the quality of the HEPA filter.

The highest quality manufacturers make certain that their HEPA filters have evenly spaced pleats, often with separators to ensure that the pleats remain uniform over the life of the filter. This is because if pleats are uneven, those that are closer together will restrict airflow and reduce cleaning capacity.

Some HEPA filters are made from synthetic materials. However the best filters are still made from a delicate, thin paper because it removes the highest percentage of particles with the least restriction of airflow.

This paper can be easily damaged during manufacture of the filter and assembly of the air purifier. The best filters are produced with a technique known as “warm rolled”. This prevents damage to the media during filter construction. Higher quality air purifiers will house the filter in such a way that it is protected from possible damage during assembly and use of the air cleaner.

What is the efficiency of the air purifier?

There isn’t a HEPA filter air purifier on the market that doesn’t proudly announce that HEPA filters remove 99.97% of particles as small as 0.3 micron.

Yes, but, what does the air purifier remove?

In some HEPA based air cleaners as much as 40% to 50% of air entering the cleaner may actually bypass the filter. Reasons for this range from poor sealing of the filter in the housing, cracks in the filter and even deliberate design to reduce backpressure on an inferior motor.

Virtually all air purifiers on the market using HEPA air filters provide no documentation on the efficiency of the unit as a whole. This situation is unacceptable. You as a consumer have no way of knowing how effective any given machine is.

The most notable exception is IQAir. Their HealthPro series have been independently tested and certified as to efficiency. In fact each and every unit is tested and certified and sent with documentation showing its effectiveness.

Another high quality air purifier that is independently certified is the Allerair AirMedic. Both Allerair and IQAir have shown a real commitment to the overall quality of their air purifiers and your satisfaction. Other companies that meet the criteria outlined in this article are BlueAir and Austin Air.

What kind of protective prefilter is used?

While the HEPA filter is the heart of the air purifier you should never overlook the importance of the pre-filter. A high quality pre-filter protects the HEPA air filter and any gas phase filter from becoming prematurely clogged. This means it protects your investment and saves you money!

Most pre-filters remove particulates 5 to 10 microns and larger. Of course, the percentage of particulates in the air that are 5 microns and larger is very small. For every 1,000,000 particles per cubic foot of air there is normally only around 400 to 800 particles that are 5 microns and larger.

As a result, much of the particulate removal is still left for the Hepa filter. The Hepa filter is too expensive a filter to be used to remove particles larger than 1 micron. You should consider the filter efficiencies of the pre-filter in selecting an air purifier.

The best example of a pre-filter is the one on the IQAir Healthpro which is 100% efficient at removing particles 1 micron and larger. In addition, it is 55% efficient at removing particulates 0.3 of a micron and larger. This pre-filter will remove 90% of all of the particles in the air and prolongs the life of the Hepa filter.

As a portable desktop office air cleaner, either the Allerair AirTube or AirTube Jr. would make an excellent choice. Both possess the qualities of the very best room air cleaner money can buy, only in a smaller, more portable package.

The AirTube includes a medical grade HEPA filter capable of trapping 99.97% of particles as small as 0.3 micron, or about one three-hundredth the width of a human hair. Seven pounds of Allerair’s Mass Activated Carbon Exec blend adsorb the widest range of airborne chemicals, gases, and odors, including volatile organic compounds.

Would you like to know more about office air purification? Canada Safety Council about office air quality Vermont Dept. of Health on office air quality Please share this site about air purifiers

The AirTube’s all metal cylindrical construction provides you with durability and maximum airflow while not exposing you to the VOCs that can out gas from plastic, cheap air purifiers. A variable speed motor allows you to switch from higher airflow volume for initial cleaning of room air to whisper quiet operation. Recommended by Allerair for rooms up to 400 sq. ft. it nevertheless meets the specifications of competitor’s criteria for 700 sq. ft.

The Air Tube Jr., a smaller office air cleaner can easily serve as a personal desktop air cleaner for an office, cubicle, baby’s room, or other small room where better air quality is desired. It includes a HEPA grade air filter wrap to trap airborne particles and four pounds of the same activated carbon blend offered in the larger Air Tube. With durable all metal construction it will hold up to years of use. A variable speed motor allows whisper quiet operation while the cylindrical shape provides for maximum airflow. Weighing in at only ten pounds it is a great choice for room areas of around 100 sq. ft.

If you’re looking for a personal office air cleaner for the desktop, or a portable HEPA room air cleaner for any reason, there is no better air cleaner recommendation than Allerair’s AirTube and AirTube Jr.

If youre looking for an office air cleaner to cover a much larger area than a small office or cubicle, then you can count on the power of the Allerair Air Medic. It will provide the cleanest possible air for your home or office.

Combining a cylindrical shape with 360 degree air intake the AirMedic will remove chemicals, particles, gases and odors on the first pass. This means a consistent flow of clean, pure, breathable air for your office. Its filtration system includes 18 pounds of Allerairs specially blended virgin activated carbon. This deep bed will adsorb thousands of chemicals, gases and odors. Allerair also offers a carbon blend for enhanced adsorption of volatile organic compounds with the AirMedic.

A medical grade HEPA filter clears the air of 99.97% of all particles as small as 0.3 micron. Additionally, the AirMedics advanced HEPA filtration system has been found to perform at the standard of an EN 1822 certified filter, removing as much as 99% of particles as small as 0.01 micron (can filter bacteria and viruses). A high quality pre-filter extends the life of the HEPA filter by removing larger particles that would otherwise clog the HEPA filter.

Allerair stands behind this superb office air cleaner with a 10 year warranty on both parts and labor, the longest and best warranty in the industry. If youre looking for the best possible office air purifier from a dedicated manufacturer that knows air purification, then the Allerair AirMedic is the ideal choice for offices up to 1500 sq. ft.

Allerair’s AirMedic Vocarb model is the same as above except it is filled with Allerair’s special blend of treated activated carbon for removal of volatile organic compounds. It is an excellent choice for an office air cleaner wherever vocs are a concern. The Vocarb carbon blend has enhanced adsorption capabilities for formaldehyde, solvents, paint fumes, and other irritating noxious fumes.

If you’re searching for effective tobacco smoke air purifiers you’re certainly not alone. Millions of non smokers are concerned about the health effects of second hand smoke exposure in the home.

Attempting to cash in on this concern are numerous Johnny-come-lately manufacturers touting their latest “high tech” purification method. They hawk a confusing array of air cleaners to remove tobacco smoke, “Ozone! No ozone! Best! Newest! Latest technology! Multi-Tech! Eats smoke! Three ways, no four ways, no five ways to clean your air!”

How do you know what is really going to work? With all the competing and contradictory claims from so-called smoke eaters, how do you choose the right air purifier for cigarette smoke? Are there any effective smoke air purifiers on the market?

The answer begins in understanding the problem.

Understanding what tobacco smoke air purifiers must remove

Tobacco smoke contains two different kinds of pollutants.

The first is particles. This is the smoke that you see and is the easiest to filter. These particles come in a wide variety of sizes, measured in microns. A micron is one one-thousandth of a millimeter. Though microscopic, most filter media is capable of trapping some or even most tobacco smoke.

The smoke that you see is not necessarily the smoke that you smell. The second component of tobacco smoke is the chemical gases given off by burning tobacco. Over four thousand chemicals have been identified in tobacco smoke.

As dangerous as particle contaminants are to the lungs and tissues of the airways, these chemical toxins are extra dangerous.

Why?

While particles are limited to the airways, chemical toxins pass through the lung tissues into the bloodstream. This is how nicotine is delivered to the brain. While in the bloodstream these toxins will pass through every organ and tissue in the body. This is why exposure to tobacco smoke increases cancer risks for every organ of the body. The health effects of tobacco smoke are systemic, encompassing the whole body.

So, smoke air purifiers need to effectively address both particulate and chemical pollutants of tobacco smoke.

Unfortunately, while there are a lot of choices, most are not up to the job.

Capabilities and limits of smoke air purifiers

There are five primary technologies marketed as air purifiers for cigarette smoke. These are sometimes combined with one another to produce the diverse products on the market.

This makes it impossible to consider products individually but if you understand the underlying technologies you can determine which have merit. We’ll consider each technology’s ability to remove tobacco smoke in addition to other pollutants.

Negative ion generators as smoke air purifiers

The first air purifier for cigarette smoke we’ll consider is the negative ion generator, or air ionizer.

This method of air cleaning relies on the fact that negative ions will charge particles suspended in the air. These particles are drawn to and collect on room surfaces or possibly each other, making them heavier and more likely to settle out of the air.

Unfortunately, your walls, tables, chairs, and everything else become one big particle collector. That’s why these devices are notorious for blackening the walls where they are placed. The effect has even been given a name; it’s called “black wall effect.”

The biggest problem is that these charged particles enter your lungs and imbed there with even more tenacity than they otherwise would. This is the exact opposite outcome you’d like considering that you want to remove tobacco smoke.

Finally, the negative ion generator has no effect on chemical contaminants, gases and odors, since these do not attach to the negative ions and become charged.

Electrostatic precipitators as smoke air purifiers

The second air purifier for cigarette smoke we’ll consider is the electrostatic precipitator. These products are the ones usually promoted as “ionic” and are among the most common air purifiers on the market.

It is like an ion generator except that a set of oppositely charged plates has been added. This attracts the particles and they tend to separate out of the air before the air leaves the air cleaner. This helps eliminate the black wall effect because the contaminants collect on the plates instead.

Since it is possible to collect particles down to 0.1 micron versus a HEPA filter’s 0.3 micron filtration you will sometimes hear a manufacturer proudly proclaim their product to be “Better than HEPA!” However, these devices have been shown to only be about 80% efficient at collecting particles versus HEPA’s 99.97% efficiency. This means an electrostatic precipitator leaves about 20% of the contaminants in the air with each pass.

What is worse, efficiency steadily declines as the plates become loaded with contaminants. Research has shown that 80% of the plates’ collection ability is lost in as few as three days. This is under normal use. Attempting to remove tobacco smoke with its heavy particulate load will render the plates ineffective at an even faster pace. The end result is the owner must clean the plates at a minimum of every other day and preferably every day to maintain any reasonable level of usefulness.

Of course, these ionic electrostatic precipitators also do nothing for chemicals, gases and odors. If you want effective smoke air purifiers you should pass these by.

Ozone generators as smoke air purifiers

A third type of air purifier for cigarette smoke is the ozone generator. The basis of its air purification claims is ozone’s ability to react with chemical contaminants.

When ozone fully oxidizes a volatile organic compound the only products left are water and carbon dioxide. This sounds wonderful, right? But there are several really big catches to this scenario.

It is true that commercial ozone generators are used in hotel room prep, car detailing, and fire and smoke restoration to eliminate smoke odors. When used in these capacities an extremely high level of ozone is being produced.

But no humans or animals are present when these devices are in operation due to the danger of ozone exposure. The area being treated is ventilated afterward to allow the ozone to escape and decay.

Ozone’s highly reactive nature means it can rupture cell walls and destroy tissues as easily as it can break up chemical contaminants. Exposing a person to the levels necessary to remove tobacco smoke effectively would have dire consequences up to and including death.

Any ozone generator sold for home use must produce ozone at far lower levels. However it is widely recognized by everyone but sellers of ozone generators that levels tolerable for long-term exposure could never effectively deal with indoor pollution, much less remove tobacco smoke. You’d be better off simply opening a window.

It is also recognized that asthmatics and others with breathing difficulties are especially susceptible to increased ozone levels. A home-use ozone generator can be especially dangerous to the very people they are marketed to.

Unfortunately, in the US no governmental body has oversight and authority to pull the plug, though the FTC has filed suit against some manufacturers for fraudulent claims regarding these devices.

If you want an air purifier for cigarette smoke an ozone generator simply isn’t up to the task and exposes you to an additional health risk.

HEPA filters as smoke air purifiers

Our fourth contender to remove tobacco smoke is the HEPA filter. HEPA filtration technology was developed by the US Atomic Energy Commission to remove fine particles contaminated with radioactive isotopes from the air at nuclear research projects.

HEPA filters have the ability to remove particles from the air as small as 0.3 micron at 99.97% efficiency. This was the standard set for HEPA filtration because it is at this point that most filter media becomes least effective.

This particle trapping efficiency is more than adequate to remove tobacco smoke from the air. Its effectiveness at doing so will remain at 100% throughout the life of the filter. The only reason to replace it is when particle loading reduces the amount of air flowing through the filter.

A high quality HEPA filter should last five years under normal use, less in a smoke filled environment, but is still your best choice for smoke air purifiers.

However, while the media being used may meet HEPA standard the air purifier incorporating it may be way off the mark. Since HEPA filter media can be brittle it may have become cracked or otherwise damaged in manufacturing. Poorly made air purifiers may have gaps between the housing and the media that allow air to pass. Poor seals may allow air to bypass the filter. These defects reduce the efficiency of the air purifier and its ability to remove tobacco smoke and other pollutants.

To choose the best HEPA air purifier look for a company that specializes exclusively in air purification products. Look for warm rolled medical grade HEPA filter media, to insure against cracks. Expect a well built housing and quality seals. Try to find a company that guarantees the actual efficiency of the overall unit, not just the theoretical efficiency of the media.

Finally, HEPA filters will not remove chemicals, gases and odors. For that HEPA media needs to be partnered with activated carbon, our next air purifier technology.

Activated carbon as smoke air purifiers

The last air purification method we’ll consider is the activated carbon filter. Activated carbon is the media of choice to remove tobacco smoke gases and odors.

Activated carbon can adsorb as much as 60% of its own weight in chemical pollutants. This makes it ideally suited for tobacco smoke air purifiers.

Additional catalysts and compounds can be used to treat the carbon so that it removes specific contaminants with greater success. This occurs either by improving adsorption ability or possibly catalyzing the decomposition of certain VOCs.

The effectiveness of activated carbon has led numerous manufacturers to include it in their products. Unfortunately this often takes the form of a foam pad impregnated with a few ounces of carbon. This foam pad may serve double duty as a prefilter on some air cleaners to protect a higher efficiency filter downstream.

This does not benefit the consumer. Without any depth to the carbon bed, there is insufficient dwell time for the carbon to adsorb chemicals. Using the carbon as a prefilter subjects it to particle contamination that clogs its pores and reduces its ability to adsorb chemicals.

The inadequacy of these designs is made obvious by the fact that manufacturers of this kind of filter also include a scent cartridge to mask odors. If the carbon were working the scent would be unnecessary. Not only that but the carbon would adsorb the scent rendering the scent useless.

To truly be effective an air purifier for cigarette smoke needs to include many pounds of activated carbon.

It is also preferable if the activated carbon has undergone special treatments to enable it to better handle the chemical contaminants typically found in tobacco smoke. Look for a special smokers air cleaner carbon blend such as offered by Allerair.

My recommendation for smoke air purifiers

Tobacco smoke in the home can be especially difficult to remove. If you’re looking for an air purifier for cigarette smoke you need one that can handle both particles and gases. The above guidelines will help you in your search.

My own personal recommendation is the Allerair smokers air purifiers. Allerair has developed innovative products you simply won’t find anywhere else.

The Allerair smoker’s air purifiers have a patented tar trapping prefilter that removes heavy tars in tobacco smoke before they reach the rest of the filter media. The smoke laden air then passes through a deep bed of activated carbon, custom blended for enhanced adsorption of chemicals found in tobacco smoke. This bed may be from 15 to 160 pounds of activated carbon, depending on the model. High quality True HEPA filters complete the process by eliminating smoke particles from the air.

…so others can enjoy accurate, well written air purifier information

May I ask a favor of you?

If you enjoyed reading this air purifiers guide and found my air purifier information helpful, please share this site with others. My purpose in building this site was to give people free access to all the knowledge I’ve gained about air purifiers in my personal search for relief of chronic breathing problems. So it would help if you could point others to this site. I would really appreciate it and I’m sure your readers would also.

Please email your friends and family and tell them about home-air-purifier-guide.com so they can discover a no-hype source of reliable air purifier information too.

Also, consider bookmarking this site…

And, if you have a website or a blog, please add a link to this site on one of your web pages. You can easily refer people to my site by using the simple HTML code supplied below.

Adding a link takes only a minute or so to do, and your visitors will be ever so grateful. They will get to enjoy this air purifiers guide too, and they will return to your site knowing they can always count on you to provide them with unique information.

Thanks in advance,

 

Share This Site By Adding Links

It’s easy. Simply select the link you would like to use, then copy and paste the HTML code in the box anywhere on your website or blog.

All the codes will cause the links to open in a “new” window. So, when your visitor closes the “new” window, the current window (yours) will still be open underneath it. This is the perfect way to share this site and not lose any of your visitors.

Codes For Text Links

Below you will find the ‘text link’ code that you can just cut and paste on your web site or blog:

For this text link and paragraph of info:

Home Air Purifier Guide

Informative and easily understood air purifier information explains how to make the best air purifier choice for you and your family.

Copy and paste this code:

<a<br /> href=”/” target=”_blank”>Home<br /> Air Purifier Guide</a><br>Informative and easily understood<br /> air purifier information explains how to make the best air purifier<br /> choice for you and your family.

For a simple text link only:

Home Air Purifier Guide

Copy and paste this code:

<a href=”/” target=”_blank”>Home Air Purifier Guide</a>

Thank You For Recommending My Site To Others

Return to top of Share this air purifiers guide

Return to Home Air Purifier Guide homepage.

“Can you recommend any energy efficient air purifiers?”

Sabrina from Seattle

Let’s face it. Air purifiers are meant to be operated 24/7. After all, you breathe 24/7. And you want that air to be the cleanest it can be, right?

But running an air purifier perpetually is going to burn some electricity.

Fortunately, even if you get a big honkin’ behemoth like the IQAir HealthPro Plus your power usage may be as low as 85 watts.

Or it could be as high as 215 watts. It all depends on the fan setting. Power consumption is totally up to you depending on how much air cleaning you need at the moment.

However, there are a few energy efficient air purifiers that have earned an Energy Star Certification for keeping electric use low.

So whether you’re thinking about the environment or your pocketbook you do have some good choices in quality air filtration.

However, don’t make this newby mistake…

Energy Star Certification by itself is no indicator of how energy efficient an air purifier may be.

Consider two air purifiers with similar Clean Air Delivery Rates (CADR), the Sharp FP-A28U and the BlueAir ECO10.

Both have an Energy Star Certification, but the Sharp air purifier just barely makes the standard with a CADR per Watt rating of 2, the barest minimum required performance.

On the other hand, the BlueAir ECO10 has a CADR/Watt rating of 19.66, almost ten times more efficient than the Sharp model. In fact the BlueAir ECO10 is the most energy efficient air purifier on the market.

But BlueAir gets absolutely no extra recognition for this performance.

Obviously, with actual efficiency ratings spread across a broad range, you need to dig a little deeper to discover the real performance numbers.

And don’t make this mistake either…

Energy Star Certification is not an indicator of quality, suitability or safety. Read this because you could expose yourself to real physical harm.

Energy Star Certifications are determined by comparing electric use to the AHAM CADR rating.

CADR ratings are fundamentally flawed.

CADR does not take into consideration serious health concerns such as ozone production.

CADR does not rate chemical and odor removal.

CADR only rates removal of particulates of a certain size range, not the sizes most harmful to health, but those easiest to remove.

CADR is a short duration test. Many ionic air purifiers post good numbers but would rate extremely poorly on a long duration test.

Here is a hypothetical scenario…

You purchase an energy efficient ionic air purifier with an Energy Star Certification. It received this because its performance on a short term test met the standard.

However, within three days it’s only cleaning at 20% of its rated CADR due to plate loading.

Within a week it’s essentially useless but still burning electricity. This is why regular maintenance cleaning is an absolute must.

But it gets worse…

This same ionic air purifier is producing ozone, a tissue damaging lung irritant.

Elevated ozone levels are proven to induce asthma attacks, heart attacks and stroke. It also increases allergy sensitivity because of respiratory irritation.

And it gets worse still…

Ozone also reacts with volatile organic compounds and micro particulates in the air, resulting in ultrafine particulates that reach deep into the lungs and even pass into the bloodstream.

Some of these byproducts are known to be toxic and carcinogenic.

Your ionic air purifier not only doesn’t remove them, it is the cause of them.

Yet this questionable device is rated acceptable under the CADR test and gets an Energy Star Certification as an energy efficient air purifier.

And just one more thing…

There are air purifiers that would rate as energy efficient, but their manufacturers refuse to submit them to the test based on principle.

Take IQAir and AllerAir for example.

Both of these companies are among the best air purifier manufacturers in the world and oppose the CADR test because of serious flaws in its design.

They argue quite correctly that this self regulating industry has put together a weak test that utterly fails to address serious issues while allowing almost any participant to receive good ratings.

Thus, they refuse to grant it any semblance of credibility by submitting their air purifiers to it.

But no CADR rating means no Energy Star Certification.

Recommended Energy Efficient Air Purifiers

There are no easy answers. Energy Star Certification by itself is not an adequate guide.

The bottom line is you need to break out the calculator and crunch some numbers to see if an air purifier meets your expectations.

While energy efficiency is definitely a reasonable expectation I recommend you not sacrifice air cleaning performance solely in the name of efficiency.

Such may well be a case of “penny wise, pound foolish”.

Energy efficiency concerns should be kept second to your primary concern for healthy air. Once you have a short list of air purifiers that will work for your situation, only then should you compare their energy use.

Don’t prevent yourself from getting the results you need because of a few Watts.

That being said, I do recommend a number of energy efficient air purifiers that also meet high standards of air cleaning performance.

You may wish to consider any of the following Energy Star Certified air purifiers:

• BlueAir air purifiers
• Alen air purifiers

If you want the best activated carbon air cleaner for your home, there are only four on the current market worthy of consideration: Allerair, Austin Air, BlueAir, and IQAir.

Each of these companies understands that a large quantity of activated carbon is essential for proper gas and odor control performance. You will not find any others that include the same level of activated carbon or make available specially impregnated blends to ensure best performance.

The best online vendor for air purifiers is AllergyBuyersClub.com. They also understand air purification fully and do not represent any products that are inferior or questionable in any way. This is really the first principal of customer service – To sell only what will meet the customers expectations.

To learn more about activated carbon for air purification view these additional articles:

• Why is activated carbon filtration essential in your air purifier?
• Choosing activated carbon filters | How to evaluate air purifier quality
• The activated carbon filter pad in multistage air purifiers isnt good enough
• Activated carbon for odor control in your home

Activated carbon air cleaners by IQAir

IQAir is a new entrant into the home air purifier market place from Switzerland. The company is in the hospital clean room business.

Iqair’s Healthpro Plus covers up to 900 sq. ft. and features a gas filter element with 6 lbs of activated carbon to reduce odors and gases. Each air filter can be changed independently. All the filters stack up modular fashion and can be changed in about 3 minutes without tools. You should replace the activated carbon filter every 10-21 months. IQAir guarantees this air purifier in the United States for 5 years. Filters are, as consumables, exempt from this warranty.

IQAir’s Gas Control Series air filters have 11 to 13 pounds of activated carbon. There are four models: The IQAir GC Multigas Air Purifier, IQAir GC Chemisorber Air Purifier, IQAir GC VOC Air Purifier, and IQAir GC AM Air Purifier. The IQAir GC Series air purifier models each contain four gas filter cartridges that provide a specific type of gas, chemical, or VOC control. All of the IQAir air purifiers for gas control have controls for monitoring each filter’s useful life. Filters need to be changed every 12 to 30 months. No tools are required to change filters. IQAir guarantees these air purifiers in normal household use for 1 year in the United States. Filters are, as consumables, exempt from this warranty.

Activated carbon air cleaners by Allerair

Allerair provides you with the best air purification on a cost for performance basis. Due to his wife’s multiple chemical sensitivities, Sam Teitelbaum and his partner Wayne Martin decided to develop their own air purifier. That effort resulted in their founding Allerair with a commitment to provide the most effective and cost efficient air purification available.

What sets Allerair apart is it’s founder’s personal experience with poor air quality affecting his family’s health; it’s commitment to innovation and quality; it’s specialized knowledge of indoor air quality issues; it’s goal to design and offer safe, high quality and well priced air cleaning equipment. From reducing a child’s allergy symptoms to containing infectious disease to large-scale disaster restoration, Allerair is the best air purifier manufacturer for cost effective air purification.

Allerair has developed well over one hundred air purifier models, more than any other air purifier manufacturer in the world. Combined with over forty different specialized blends of activated carbon, Allerair is equipped to provide you with any air cleaning solution imaginable.

Allerair’s residential activated carbon air cleaners offer activated carbon filters with four to forty-eight pounds of activated carbon. They are typically designed for large areas up to 1800 sq. ft. or whole house use. Activated carbon filter life is as long as 3 years. All filters are easy to change without tools. There is even the option of replacing the carbon in bulk as opposed to a filter cartridge. All units are simple and no nonsense in design and operation. They come with a five year warranty.

Activated carbon air cleaners by Blueair

Blueair is a Swedish company that manufactures air purifiers combining ionizer, electrostatic, activated carbon and HEPA filter technologies. Even with the ionizer and electrostatic components their purifiers emit no external ozone. They are noted for their very quiet operation.

The Blueair air purifiers are available with HEPASilent particle filters or HEPASilent/Carbon filters that are a combined HEPA and activated carbon filter for smoke, odor, gas and VOC control. They utilize 5.3 pounds of activated carbon impregnated with several chemisorbers for improved purification. Filter replacement is recommended every six months and is very easy to do. The activated carbon air cleaners by Blueair are effective for areas up to 679 sq. ft. They carry a 10-year warranty on all models except the Blueair 201 that has 5 years.

Activated carbon air cleaners by Austin Air

Austin Air manufactures good economy priced HEPA air purifiers that also provide VOC, gas and odor removal. Austin Air air purifiers concentrate on the essentials of air cleaning and are not loaded with fancy features.

Austin Air’s air purifiers use activated carbon-zeolite air filters weighing from 6.5 to 15 pounds. Zeolite is a naturally occurring mineral that has gas adsorption properties similar to activated carbon and is often used in economy air purifiers.

The Plus models include impregnation with potassium iodide enabling these air purifiers to better remove volatile organic chemicals and chemically reactive gases such as ammonia, bleaching solutions, ethylene, formaldehyde and paint smells. All filters are rated to last five years.

Austin Air also offers a unique air purification technology they call HEGA, for High Efficiency Gas Adsorption. HEGA combines the gas trapping ability of military activated carbon cloth for smoke, smog and fumes from city environments with HEPA particle filtration. This military activated carbon cloth is lightweight and used to protect military personnel from toxic poisons.

Austin Air air purifiers cover 350 to 1500 sq. ft. Austin air purifiers replacement filter costs are low, which means less annual maintenance cost. Austin Air offers a 5-year prorated warranty for normal home use and includes a permanent pre-filter you can vacuum clean.

What You Need To Do

Discover which home air purifiers give the performance you need.

Together, we’ll compare these five types of air purifiers:

1. Filter Based Air Purifiers
2. HEPA Air Purifiers
3. Ionic Air Purifiers

1. Gas and Odor Air Purifiers
2. Ozone Air Purifiers

Understanding these air purifier technologies permits you to reject poor performers so you can focus on the right air purifier for you.

I’ll show you how…

Are you confused by too many home air purifier choices?

It’s good to have a choice, but not if you’re unable to choose confidently.

I know this frustration well. I face MCS, allergy and asthma daily in my family. Finding the right home air purifier was an absolute necessity.

I proved to myself that HEPA air purifiers were best for my personal needs. If you also contend with mild to severe breathing problems, I believe you’ll find a HEPA air purifier helps you the most.

You’ll discover why by comparing the different types of home air purifiers.

Let’s Compare Home Air Purifiers

Filter Based Air Purifiers – Use Caution

Filter based home air purifiers may use simple foam or fiber pads, pleated paper or even HEPA filter media.

Because a fan forces air through them, these air purifiers have the small drawback of noise. However, they can clean large amounts of air quickly.

Unfortunately, while they may clean large amounts of air they may not clean to the standard you desire. Why is this true?

Because efficiency is often no greater than 50%. Most manufacturers do not reveal filter efficiencies. Home air purifiers using unverified filters may be completely unable to collect the particles that concern you. Even larger particles like pollen may not be removed effectively.

Short filter replacement schedules are also common. One of the greatest scams in the market is to sell a cheap air purifier and then bilk the customer later with high priced replacement filters.

HEPA Filter Air Purifiers – Verified, Guaranteed Performance

Only HEPA air filters meet a verifiable performance standard. HEPA filters must remove 99.97% of particles 0.3 micron in size.

A common misconception is that HEPA filters perform less well with smaller particles. In reality, HEPA efficiency is higher with smaller particle sizes.

This may seem to defy logic, but what many are unaware of is a law of particle motion called Brownian diffusion. This effect prevents particles smaller than 0.3 micron from escaping the HEPA filter. This enables removal not only of allergens and irritants but even many bacteria and viruses.

Because HEPA filters are superior many manufacturers try to boost your confidence in their products by advertising so-called HEPA Type filters. These often fall far short of the HEPA standard, so use caution when considering home air purifiers that don’t use true HEPA filters.

The cost of replacement HEPA filters may seem high compared to other filters. However, replacement may be once every two to five years. Thus the actual cost for exceptionally clean air is low by comparison.

HEPA air purifiers provide the best filtration of large volumes of air.

Ionic Air Purifiers – Not Recommended

Ionic air purifiers use electric charges to remove allergens and irritants. They have no effect on gases and odors.

With collector plates collection efficiency tends to be no greater than 80%. Studies show efficiency reduces to as little as 20% in as few as three days because of plate loading.

Without collector plates charged particles may cling to any surface. This is called “black wall effect”. The EPA warns these charged particles may deposit in the lungs. This makes such air cleaners a possible health threat.

Regular cleaning of collector plates is a must for continued performance. Many owners complain it is difficult cleaning closely spaced collectors.

These types of air purifiers are often praised for being silent. With little air being moved and thus cleaned you might ask for whom is this silence golden, you or the marketers pushing the idea of a silent air purifier?

Ionic air purifiers produce ozone which is lung damaging and elevates sensitivity to allergens and irritants. Never expose asthmatic persons to it.

Gas and Odor Air Purifiers – Good Additional Protection

Gas phase filters remove odors and chemicals but not particles.

The most effective gas filtration technology is activated carbon. It removes up to 60% of its own weight in chemicals.

A deep bed of activated carbon is best. That is why high quality air purifiers include many pounds of activated carbon.

Thin activated carbon pads are practically worthless. They cannot supply the “dwell time” needed for pollutants to remain in contact with the carbon. Without sufficient dwell time few pollutants are removed.

Rather than a competing technology, gas filtration is considered complementary to HEPA air purification. Combined with HEPA air filters it creates the most effective home air purifiers available.

Ozone Air Purifiers – Reject Completely

Proponents of ozone air purifiers claim ozone oxidizes pollutants, reducing them to water and carbon dioxide. In the real world such textbook reactions rarely happen. Instead, numerous byproducts are created.

These byproducts can be more dangerous than the original pollutants.

Ozone cannot distinguish what is and is not a pollutant. It reacts with almost anything it contacts, degrading materials and creating additional pollutants.

Supporters claim ozone kills bacteria but deny it kills cells in your airway. They reject all scientific evidence and warnings that ozone is harmful.

Sellers of ozone air purifiers are perpetrating a fraud. They get away with it in the US because no agency has authority to regulate these products.

An ozone air purifier is ineffective and exposes you to danger.

Conclusions About Home Air Purifiers

Choosing an air purifier is a serious undertaking. Please take the time to carefully research the right home air purifier for your needs.

I highly recommend these five air purifier manufacturers in particular:

• Austin Air
• Allerair
• BlueAir
• IQAir
• NQ Clarifier

Now that you know more about the types of air purifiers, does HEPA seem to offer you the performance you need for real health benefits? I’d like to invite you to explore our next step – Why the best air purifier demands HEPA filtration.

Are you one of many office workers considering your own personal office air purifier as a means to combat office air pollution and resulting health problems?

Is your office air at stale and irritating? Do you experience an increase in your allergy symptoms or nasal and eye irritation, even drowsiness and mental fog? You may be a victim of Sick Building Syndrome.

Would you like to know more about office air quality? EPA document on office air quality OSHA and US Dept. of Labor site about office air quality Please share this site about air purifiers

Sick Building Syndrome, a term first used in the 1970s, continues to affect office workers now as much as ever. Due to tighter buildings and a failure to recognize the importance of office building indoor air quality, health problems among office workers are on the rise.

While modern building codes require buildings to supply adequate clean air, in actual practice these are often circumvented. Office air intake may be limited to reduce power consumption, but this reduces the available fresh air. Air handling systems may be turned off at night or on weekends to save money, allowing office air pollution to build up.

Activities within the building such as cleaning, the use of aerosols and so-called air fresheners, perfumes and other personal care products, as well as office equipment and building materials can contribute an office air pollution load greater than ventilation systems can remove.

Is there anything you can do to improve your office indoor air quality? While better source control and ventilation would go a long way toward improving office building indoor air quality, you personally may not have any control over these issues. (For a list of seventeen suggestions to reduce office air pollution see Control Measures That Help Office Air Purification at bottom of the page).

One option you may wish to consider is investing in your own personal office air purifier.

One of the most important factors in keeping your office a healthy and pleasant place to work is indoor air free of health robbing contaminants. An office air purifier can help to remove those contaminants.

If you are experiencing irritation of the eyes, skin, nose and throat, mental fatigue, headaches, a stuffy nose, and other flu-like symptoms on a regular basis at work then poor air quality is probably to blame. Good quality air is air that can be breathed continuously without suffering these health effects.

Choosing the best office air purifier to provide this continuous supply of good quality air requires that you understand the pollutants you face and which of air purifier technology best removes them.

Requirements of an Office Air Cleaner

While respirable particles under 10 microns are always a matter of concern, the typical office workers health is affected most by two other contaminant sources.

These are biological (fungi, molds, bacteria, viruses, and allergens like pollen and cat dander brought in from outdoor sources) and chemical pollutants (fumes from cleaning products, furniture, carpets, paint, solvents, office supplies and equipment, personal products of workers, and manufacturing activities in adjoining areas). Both types of pollutants have the ability to irritate tissues and cause allergic reactions or infections.

Biological contaminants respond best to source control, however an office air purifier can help to reduce them. Since biological contaminants are particulate in nature, any air purifier chosen to control them must be able to deal effectively with extremely small particles.

This is best achieved with a HEPA media based office air cleaner.

Why Reject an Ionic Office Air Cleaner?

Though popular and heavily advertised, ionic style electrostatic precipitators should not be considered due to their many disadvantages.

These include low collection efficiency and rapid reduction in collection efficiency as the plates load with particles. In as few as three days, ionic cleaners can be reduced to less than 20% collection efficiency with the most significant reduction occurring with the smallest particle sizes, the very ones you wish to control.

Another big disadvantage is ozone production. Ozone is itself an irritant and lung-damaging chemical with the added effect of increasing sensitivities to other allergens and irritants.

Finally, ionic air purifiers have no effect on chemical pollutants at all, making them unsuitable to control some of the most significant health threats in your office air. If you want a truly effective office air purifier you should remove ionic type air cleaners from consideration.

Why is a HEPA Office Air Cleaner a Better Choice?

A HEPA media based office air purifier will remove 99.97% of particles as small as 0.3 micron. This is adequate for pollens, most dander, fungus, mold spores, and some of the largest bacteria.

A HEPA filter will also demonstrate some collection efficiency in particle sizes below 0.3 micron and thus trap smaller bacteria and even viruses. However, without tested ratings in these smaller particles it isnt possible to know the effectiveness any given air purifier may demonstrate.

A superior testing method does exist and is used to determine HEPA efficiencies in these smallest of particles. It is known as EN1822 (A European filter performance standard). It tests an air purifiers effectiveness at 0.16 micron, known as the Most Penetrating Particle Size (MPPS for short) and below. At this level of purification, bacteria and viruses are much more effectively removed.

The first manufacturer to meet this standard for a home and office air purifier was IQAir. The Allerair AirMedic also meets the standard of an EN1822 certified filter, removing 99% of particles as small as 0.01 micron and so being effective against bacteria and viruses.

Other air purifiers are available that sterilize bacteria, viruses and molds by exposing them to ultraviolet light as they pass through the HEPA filter. This either kills them or renders them unable to reproduce and thus cause infection.

Your best office air purifier will be a true medical grade HEPA based air cleaner. Adding a UV sterilizing option is very desirable as well as adequate activated carbon chemical control as discussed next.

An Office Air Purifier for Chemical Control

Every office has a variety of chemical contaminants, which can accumulate to high levels and affect your health.

Carbon monoxide from vehicle exhaust can be sucked into air intakes and circulated to all parts of the building. Photocopiers and other electrical equipment can produce ozone. Walls, carpets and furniture can emit volatile organic compounds such as formaldehyde. Perfumes and personal care products can expose office occupants to numerous chemicals. In an effort to improve stale and poor smelling air, aerosol air fresheners and other fragrances may be used that simply mask the problem while adding their own chemical load to the air. Photocopier toner or cigarette ash particles can become airborne and inhaled.

An office air purifier must be able to remove this broad range of office air pollution.

The only effective means of removing a wide variety of chemicals is through the use of activated carbon. This requires more than the token few ounces that are found in the carbon impregnated pads used in many air purifiers.

Activated carbon can adsorb up to 60% of its weight in airborne chemicals. To do this, sufficient dwell time, or the time the air spends in contact with the carbon, must be provided. This is achieved only in those air purifiers that use many pounds of activated carbon. Thus the ideal office air purifier will be one that contains a large block of activated carbon in addition to a HEPA filter.

Office air purifiers that meet the above criteria and which you may wish to consider are IQAir, Allerair, Austin Air, and Blueair. Each has models that offer excellent HEPA grade filtration, pounds of activated carbon and UV sterilizer options.

Would you like to know more about the purifiers I consider to be among the best office air cleaners?

Control Measures That Help Office Air Purification

In addition to investing in an office air purifier you may wish to consider the following control measures:

• Be aware of the symptoms of SBS, such as a persistent cough or headache.
• Find out how your building’s ventilation system works. Where are the office air intakes located? re they near an outside source of pollution?
• If your staff is experiencing symptoms of poor office air quality, check to see if there are any sources of contamination to the building’s ventilation system. Volatile chemicals, automobile exhaust from parking lots, or cigarette smoke can be picked up by the air intakes and circulated throughout the building.
• If your office adjoins a manufacturing area, be aware of contaminants from that source.
• Make sure the building’s ventilation system is cleaned regularly and kept in proper working order even if you aren’t experiencing any obvious problems – you may find that it will improve productivity and well being.
• Don’t turn off the ventilation system at night or on weekends. The additional cost is small compared to the lowered productivity and increased absenteeism caused by poor indoor air quality.
• Take the ventilation system design into account when making room for new employees or rearranging the office. Adding heat-generating equipment, such as photocopiers, may also affect air quality. The ventilation system may need to be modified to incorporate the changes.
• Don’t block air intakes or diffusers with furniture or other equipment that will prevent air circulation. Workstations should not be placed close to an air diffuser.
• Keep office temperature in the low to mid-70s F. Relative humidity should not exceed 60 to 70 per cent.
• Eliminate air contaminants at the source.
• Keep lids on containers of solvents or use non-solvent based products.
• Employees who smoke should do so outdoors away from entrances.
• Photocopiers should be in a separate room, and ideally vented to the outdoors.
• Disinfect dehumidifier trays regularly to prevent mold growth.
• Choose plants such as cacti that like dry soil conditions. Potted plants, while touted to improve indoor air quality, do not remove much in the way of pollution. They do add to the biological pollution due to mold and fungi growth in the soil they are planted in.
• Consider having your office air quality tested by a professional ventilation engineer or an industrial hygienist.
• When planning a move to another floor or building, talk to other people who have worked there. Have there been any problems with air quality?

Feedback and Contact Form

Would you like to give us feedback, or contact us with questions, link requests or article submissions. Please let us know what help you need, suggestions to improve our site, etc.

If you are requesting a link exchange please note that we only link to sites with real content. If you have an auto-generated site or pages of links there is no need to waste everyone’s time.

We will never use your email address for future mass mailings. Most email addresses are deleted, the exception being linking partners, article submitters, and other business affiliates.

You will only receive one email from us, the auto response to this form submission, unless your specific request requires an additional personal response, as in the case of article submissions or link requests that we approve.

Your information is kept confidential. We do not share the information you provide to us with anyone. Your privacy is very important to us and we protect it.

Please note that all fields followed by an asterisk must be filled in. First Name* First Name* E-mail Address* E-mail Address* Web Site URL Include Your Comments and Requests Here Please enter the word that you see below.

Return to top of Feedback and Contact page.

Noise is one of the biggest complaints about air purifiers.

Are quiet HEPA air cleaners just not possible? Should noisy air cleaners be accepted as a necessary evil?

How can you make certain that your air purifier won’t be a source of noise pollution?

The secret to noise free air cleaning is really very simple.

Discover the Key to Quiet HEPA Air Cleaners

Regardless of the air purifier you buy, the real issue is not how loud it is on high but how loud it is on low. Higher settings are best used short-term to remove high levels of pollutants that occur occasionally, such as a kitchen mishap that fills your home with smoke.

Do not buy your air cleaner based on the maximum area it is rated to clean. An air purifier that can clean an 800 sq. ft. area can certainly handle 200 sq. ft. but with one important benefit. The smaller area can be cleaned on low or medium settings. These lower speeds are substantially quieter than an air purifier’s highest setting.

An air purifier on low will measure only about 30 to 35 decibels. This is lower than an average refrigerator and much lower than a soft conversation.

When making your air purifier choice, don’t make the mistake of buying too small a unit that must run on high to cover the area you need. Proper sizing of your HEPA air cleaner can mean almost silent air purification.

Most Recommended Quiet HEPA Air Cleaners

The Blueair air purifiers are a perfect choice for office, bedroom or anywhere truly quiet HEPA air cleaners are needed.

Blueair air purifiers are a top customer favorite due to their virtually silent operation. These quiet HEPA air cleaners are built around the patented HEPASilent filtration system.

Blueair’s HEPASilent filtration captures particles by combining electrostatics with a high efficiency filter. Electrostatic brushes inside the air purifier charge particles so they are attracted to the filter media while producing no ozone. Charged particles cling to the filter media yielding higher filter efficiency.

Air passes easily through the filter media so the fan doesn’t have to work as hard or as loud. Even the housing is made from noise muffling and highly durable galvanized steel.

When you want a small yet powerful air purifier that is ideally designed for clean air delivery and whisper-quiet operation, Blueair HEPA Air Purifiers are an excellent choice. The Blueair Air Purifiers feature outstanding Clean Air Delivery Rates (CADR). The larger 501 Blueair HEPA Air Purifier won Best of Class for CADR, as it delivered more clean air than similar air purifiers in its class.

Blueair’s quiet HEPA air cleaners are best suited for people who are looking for help with:

• Dust and Dust Mite Allergies
• Pet Allergies
• Pollen Allergies
• Mold Allergies
• Seasonal Allergies
• Asthma
• Healthy Home Environment

Benefits of Blueair HEPA Air Purifiers

• HEPASilent Blueair HEPA Air Purifiers achieve virtually silent operation.
• The 3-Stage Filter traps even the smallest particles. No pre-filter is necessary. The filters naturally resist contamination from bacteria, mold or viruses. The Filters are 100% recyclable.
• Easy to change filters: When the filter needs to be replaced (twice yearly), just open the lid, lift out the old filter and slide in the new one.
• Durable steel construction: The external parts are made of galvanized steel for durability. The powder coat finish produces no chemical out gassing
• Blueair HEPA Air Purifiers offer exceptional performance with environmentally friendly products. The Blueair HEPA Air Purifiers are energy efficient.

This home air purifier guide raises questions you may have asked and gives you clear, simple facts.

Please use it to your advantage by avoiding ineffective products and succeed at getting the clean air you really want.

Which Pollutants Do You Really Need To Remove?

Will your air cleaner really protect you?

The first key is realizing allergens, dust and smoke are only the tip of the iceberg.

Medical evidence reveals a greater health threat from ultra fine particles.

Your typical home air purifier does little to remove these pollutants.

Sufferers of respiratory problems like asthma, COPD, hyperreactive airway or MCS especially need to remove ultra fine particles.

Why not learn the real secret to a top home air purifier?

Which type home air purifier cleans the air best?

Reject poor performers

It’s good to have choices, but not if you lack the information to choose confidently.

Knowing the limitations of different types of air cleaners lets you reject poor performers and focus on the best one for your needs.

To help you make a satisfying choice examine how these common air purification systems compare and learn how they perform against the most harmful pollutants.

You’ll be appalled by how many are a waste of money or even dangerous.

Is it true HEPA filters really are the best choice?

HEPA air filters are the gold standard

If your goose laid golden eggs would you complain it was too noisy, wasn’t handsome and was too fat?

Would you trade it for one laying rotten eggs?

Why then do people fault HEPA filter purifiers when only these perform to the exacting standards needed by medical facilities and high tech?

Here is your “golden opportunity” to learn why HEPA filters are the best air purification you can buy.

Do you need to remove odors and chemicals?

Do you need to remove odors & gases?

Many home air cleaners include a trifle amount of activated carbon so they can claim to remove odors.

Others misrepresent ozone, a lung irritant, as an odor destroyer due to its sweet smell and ability to desensitize your nose.

If you need chemical control knowing how actvated carbon, chemisorbers and catalysts really work is vital.

Learn how to remove odors & gases. Coming Soon.

How can you identify quality?

Poor quality isn’t always this obvious

Do you know the factors you should consider when determining the quality of a home air cleaner?

For instance, just because an air cleaner claims to use HEPA filter media doesn’t mean the air cleaner itself will perform at that standard.

Poorly made media, loose housings, poor gaskets and seals, and air bypassing to cool a cheap motor all reduce effectiveness.

Make sure your home purifier really works as you expect. Coming Soon.

How do you choose the size air purifier you need?

What if the Grande comes half empty?

One of the many deceptive tricks is misrepresentation of capacity.

Marketers often rate room size on just one air change per hour, not the recommended six.

They use free flow CFM ratings, that means without filter resistance, to boost apparent output.

Learn how to calculate how much capacity you need and where you can get accurate ratings. Coming.

How do you balance needs and air purifier cost?

Spare your budget an evil fate

The wrong choice is always more expensive than the right one, even if the price is the same.

And speaking of price, most people do not understand that price is no guarantee of quality or performance in a home air cleaner.

Why? Because shady marketers churn out inferior products by the hundreds (over 800, the last reliable numbers I saw) and sell them for “what the market can bear”.

These products can be quite expensive while providing little to no value. Some are even dangerous.

Learn to make savvy comparisons and strike the balance between what your budget can afford and the performance you need. Coming Soon.

How do you choose the best air purifier supplier?

Is this the best way to make a decision?

Price, selection, service, return policies, guarantees, shipping.

Even if you’ve decided upon the best home air cleaner should you place an order at any online store?

Have you ever wondered why activated carbon filters are included in so many air purifiers? How necessary is activated carbon to fulfilling your desire for clean air? How can you judge which air purifiers use it to best advantage?

I’d like to offer you a short series of articles that address the most important things you need to know about activated carbon. Understanding why you need activated carbon and what you should look for in an air purifier that includes it will help you make the best choice for your needs.

Activated carbon is the most effective way to remove volatile organic compounds, gases, tobacco smoke, and odors. This goes a long way toward protecting your health and ensuring a more pleasant home environment.

Activated carbon can be enhanced to be even more effective at controlling chemicals by the addition of special catalysts and chemisorbers.

Learn more about how activated carbon filtration protects your health with our article, Why is activated carbon filtration essential in your air purifier?

How to evaluate air cleaners with activated carbon air filters

Is removing chemical air pollution important to you? An activated carbon air filter is the most effective way to accomplish that task.

An air purifier without an activated carbon air filter is only half an air purifier. What features should you look for in an activated carbon air purifier? How does activated carbon work?

Learn how to choose your air cleaner in our article, Activated carbon air filter performance | Choosing an effective air cleaner.

Why a simple activated carbon pad isn’t good enough

Are air purifier manufacturers that claim an activated carbon filter pad can remove chemicals and odors deceiving you?

Many air purifiers claim to use activated carbon for gas and odor removal, but have simply coated a mat with a few ounces of activated carbon.

Understand the limits of an activated carbon pad and learn why an air purifier needs a deep activated carbon bed to be effective. See our article, The activated carbon filter pad in multistage air purifiers isn’t good enough.

Clean, unpolluted, healthy air should be a simple thing to find. With your reliable air purifier comparisons in hand, all you need to do is pick a superior quality air purifier, right?

But when faced with the diverse array of potential contaminants, whether particulate, gaseous, or biological, how can you choose the best air purifier for your needs. A dizzying variety of air cleaners built around combinations of various air cleaning technologies, each with their claims and counterclaims is nothing short of confusing.

Most air purifier comparisons you find in magazines or on the web review only a limited number of products. They also do not do a good job of clearing the air of confusion surrounding competing technologies.

Should you buy an ionic purifier or a HEPA purifier? Is ozone bad or good? Should you avoid units that produce even the smallest amount of ozone or go completely in the opposite direction and buy an ozone generator to produce as much ozone as possible? Electrostatic precipitators, negative ion generators, electronic air cleaners, electrostatic filters, UV purifiers, activated carbon, and on and on – What can really benefit you?

Further complicating the matter is the way some sellers make extravagant claims for their own products while making acrimonious accusations against competitors, watchdog groups and even against government agencies.

In the US, the battle between Sharper Image’s Ionic Breeze and the Oreck XL plays out during what seems to be every television commercial break. Sharper Image also initiated a lawsuit against Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports Magazine, for reporting negatively on one of its products.

Alpine Air launched a lawsuit against the US Federal Trade Commission to overthrow restrictions placed on it’s advertising because the FTC found its ads misleading.

This outrageous boldness in seeking to throw off criticisms and restraints in advertising claims is the result of a general slackness in regulation of air-cleaning devices that has been termed by Consumer Reports Magazine as “a regulatory black hole”. New Concerns About Ionizing Air Cleaners Consumer Reports May 2005 p. 23.

Regulations in other countries are likewise weak, though in Canada, Health Canada has issued warnings against the use of devices specifically designed to produce ozone and has given the public a list of devices to avoid. Health Canada Warning

With your family’s health at stake who is to be believed?

I believe that air purifiers can be of great benefit to you in promoting a healthy living environment. But it is also obvious that not all methods of cleaning the air are equal. That is why thorough and reliable air purifier comparisons of both products and technologies are needed.

The rest of this article will seek to detail the competing technologies in air cleaners and provide you with links to more information on them. The various types of air cleaners are listed alphabetically with a link to an article discussing their merits and flaws. These air purifier comparisons will give you clear direction as to what constitutes a superior quality air purifier. Those methods that are ineffective and even dangerous are clearly exposed and the reasons why they should be avoided are given.

At the bottom of the page is a link to my home air purifier guide. It provides air purifier comparisons of products commonly found on the market with a short review and whether it is recommended or not.

Discover the Top Ten Cut-to-the-Chase Rules for Buying HEPA Filter Air Purifiers

HEPA filter air purifiers can be expensive. Of course, expense does not always equal value. Obviously, no air purifier has any value unless it does what you want – clean your air.

But there are other considerations that are important to your satisfaction. Allow me to share these top ten rules for buying a HEPA filter air purifier.

• Most HEPA indoor air purifiers are to be used in a single room. Will this satisfy your needs? Air movement from room to room is restricted by walls and furnishings. Even with a large capacity air purifier you are unlikely to affect the air across multiple rooms or throughout the house. It is better to buy multiple air purifiers or a portable air purifier sized to the largest room it will be used in. Easy portability allows you to move it where you need it most.
• Your HEPA filter air purifier must be large enough.
  To save expense, some buy an air purifier that is not adequate for the room they wish to clean. A smaller air purifier will not simply “take a little longer” to purify the air. You must consider the concept of “reintroduction rate”. New pollutants are continually introduced into the air. Your air purifier must provide sufficient air changes per hour to overcome this continuous reintroduction of pollutants.
• Noise is determined by size and fan speed.
  Do not buy an air purifier based on its maximum cleaning capacity. Selecting an air cleaner that can provide sufficient air changes per hour at its lowest fan speed means you will be using it at its quietest setting.
• Make certain it will remove what concerns you most.
  HEPA filter air purifiers are the most effective means for removing particulate allergens and irritants. However, if odors and chemicals greatly concern you then HEPA filters alone will not help. Significant odor removal requires significant amounts of activated carbon, many pounds of it.
• Is it a true HEPA filter or a HEPA type?
  To qualify as true HEPA, a filter must be rated to remove 99.97 percent of all particles at 0.3 microns. HEPA type filters often use similar technology as true HEPA. However, their efficiency may be only 55 percent or less of particles that are 0.3 microns. These filters are often much cheaper than true HEPA filters but are unlikely to provide you with much relief from allergens and irritants.
• Regularity and expense of HEPA filter replacements.
  The cost of replacement HEPA filters may seem high. However, consider that replacement may be once every two, five, even eight years. Since HEPA filtration efficiency does not diminish with loading, the only reason to change one is when air flow becomes too reduced to deliver the clean air you need. For greatest economy, buy a HEPA air purifier with a long duration filter.
• Total system efficiency should be close to the HEPA potential.
  In some HEPA air cleaners as much as 40% to 50% of the air may bypass the filter. Reasons for this range from poor sealing of the housing, cracks in the filter and even intentional design to reduce backpressure on an inferior motor. Most air purifiers provide no documentation on efficiency of the unit as a whole. The most notable exception is IQAir. Their HealthPro series are each tested, certified and sent to you with documentation of total efficiency. Other high quality air purifier manufacturers are Allerair, BlueAir and Austin Air.
• Buy a HEPA purifier with durable, nontoxic construction.
  The best air purifiers have a solidly built housing with high quality gaskets and seals. Look for an air purifier that will not outgas VOCS. Metal housings will not expose you to off-gassing like many plastic cheap air purifiers. Soft plastics are often a problem, both in out gassing VOCS and failing to maintain an airtight seal around the filter. Hard ABS plastic as used in IQAir does maintain a firm seal with the filter and is not prone to giving off VOCS. High quality, sealed bearings and motor windings will eliminate burning smells from the air purifier.
• Additional Features To Look For In A HEPA Filter Air Purifier
  Many air purifiers have special features that can enhance your experience. These features add convenience and give you options that ease the care and maintenance of your air purifier. Some of the features to consider when buying your air cleaner:
  1. Casters for ease of mobility
  2. Remote control
  3. Digital controls
  4. Multiple fan speeds
  5. Handles
  6. Ease of filter change
  7. Filter-change indicator light
  >
  • The air purifier supplier is essential to your satisfaction.
  • Why buy an air purifier from an over-the-top hype monger? Ominous statistics, astonishing quotes from presumed “experts” and “falling over themselves to gush praise” testimonials from “JD in South Dakota” are a sure sign you should move on. Reputable online air purifier sources (my own favorite is Achoo! Allergy) provide abundant educational information that is both expert and comprehensible. Their air purifier comparisons are fair and objective, not one sided. They willingly share potential negatives so you have no unpleasant surprises. They screen their product line and never offer you inferior products that do harm or don’t perform to expectations. Look for easy return policies that allow you a full sixty days to see the benefits of your purchase. Reject suppliers that will charge you exorbitant restocking fees.