An asthma air purifier may be, in truth, an absolute necessity for your home if you, or someone in your family, is suffering from this debilitating condition. Asthma is the leading cause of school absenteeism due to chronic illness and is the second most prevalent respiratory condition causing confinement at home for adults. Further highlighting the seriousness of this disease, each year, asthma causes more than 18 million days of restricted activity, and millions of visits to physicians’ offices and emergency rooms.
In considering the acquisition of and asthma air purifier, there are some important things you should know. In this article, you will become acquainted with the essential facts.
Asthma Air Purifiers - Four Steps to Take So They Really Work
If an asthma air purifier is to be effective there are four steps to take when identifying the air purifier that will help the most. First, decide what the offending airborne triggers are for your asthma. Second, know the micron size of the particulate(s) that cause your breathing difficulties. Third, choose a high efficiency particle arresting (HEPA) air purifier. And fourth, determine the size of the area that you need to clean. Taking these 4 steps before you start to look for an air purifier insure that your air purifier will be effective in improving your indoor air quality, thereby improving your quality of life.
Identify the trigger(s).
Asthma can be triggered by one specific particulate, or a combination of particulates such as dust, dust mites, pollens, mold spores, tobacco smoke, chemicals odors, pet dander, and many more to numerous to name here. Knowing which of these particulates trigger a reaction is crucial in selecting the best air purifier for your asthma. Some purifiers do really well at removing dust and dander because they are designed for particulates, but not so well with airborne chemicals and odors. Other air purifiers may be designed to remove gases and odors, but may not do as well at removing particulates.
Know the micron size of the particulate(s) you want to remove.
A micron is defined as one-millionth of a meter. The following list of common pollutants gives you a better idea of micron measurement. A 1 inch postage stamp is 25,400 microns, and the period at the end of this sentence is 615 microns. A human hair is 40 to 300 microns. A mold spore is 20 to 30 microns. Pollens are 10 to 1,000 microns; tobacco smoke is .01 to 1 micron. Dust mites are 100-300 microns. Pet dander is 12-100 microns. Viruses are .005-0.3 microns.
Choose a high efficiency particle arresting (HEPA) air purifier
HEPA air purifiers are designed 99.97% of airborne particulates down to .3 microns. So matching your particulate size to an air purifier designed to remove those size particulates is crucial. Also, determine which kind of pollutant the HEPA is best at removing. For example, if your asthma is triggered by smoke, focus on HEPA air purifiers designed to remove smoke.
Choose an air purifier that is built to clean the square footage that you need.
This suggestions sounds like a no-brainer. But the best HEPA air purifier in the world will not be effective if put in a room that is bigger than it is designed to clean. So measure your space accurately, and also account for ceiling height. 700 square feet with 8 foot ceilings is a lot less square footage than 700 square feet with 12 foot ceilings.
Taking these four steps will put you well on your way to finding an air purifier that really helps with your asthma.
Author, Debbie Davis, is President of PurerAir.com which offers Austin Air HEPA air purifiers for the improvement of indoor air quality. Click on the following link to see the Austin Air JR HEGA HEPA Air Purifier.
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Air Purifiers,
allergens,
allergies,
asthma,
asthmatics
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April 16 2008 | asthma | No Comments »
Air purifier technology is evolving in response to alarming increases in asthma and allergies caused polluted air in the home. Indoor air pollution has its largest impact on very young children, women, and the infirm, because these groups spend much of their time indoors. Indoor air is a complex mix of chemicals, allergens and particles that react in ways that could potentially harm human health.
While measuring the primary chemical emissions from products begins to address some of these issues, it still does not adequately predict all of the chemicals that might be present in indoor environments. Indoor air is easier to control with air filters than outdoor air. A few common asthma and allergy triggers found in the home are from pets, cockroaches, dust mites, strong odors and fumes, wood smoke, tobacco smoke, hot or cold air and indoor molds.
The following article provides information about the current state of air purifier technology and their availability.
Air Purifier Technology For Your Home
Air purifiers are used to clean the air in homes, offices, and other closed spaces. People who suffer from allergies tend to use air purifiers because of the health benefits they afford, especially for asthmatics. The general public is turning toward the use of air purifiers as well, simply because of the health benefits associated with breathing cleaner air.
People spend most of their day inside, which is why the quality of indoor air is so important. On top of this fact, rooms are tightly sealed and don’t allow enough air to flow freely. Studies have shown that indoor air quality is actually much worse than the air outside!
There are several types of pollutants that contribute to poor indoor air quality. Air purifiers have been designed to target dust, mold, spores, pollen, pet dander, and cigarette smoke. If you want to improve your overall health and well-being, installing a modern air purifier is probably a good idea.
A decent air purifier is not difficult to find. In fact, a large number of companies manufacture air cleaners and have a wide variety of models available for purchase. Of course, if you buy a higher quality air cleaner, it will do a much better job of cleaning the air. Quality air cleaners keep harmful elements, such as dust and bacteria, out of the air and eradicate any allergens that may be affecting you.
At first the cost of an air purifier may discourage you from making the purchase, but many people decide to make the investment in an air purifier in order to benefit from the positive long-term effects of having one installed in their home. The list of air purifiers on the market is a long one, so you will have a lot of choice when it comes time to purchase an air cleaner.
Read through air purifier reviews before making a final decision, so you can get to know what types of air cleaners are out there. Air purifier reviews are an excellent source of information. Also, you may want to make a few considerations before deciding to buy an air cleaner. For instance, what is the purpose of purchasing an air cleaner? Are you looking for air cleaners that will help you with allergy symptoms? How many rooms will need the use of the air cleaner?
Always take into account the needs of your household when deciding what air cleaners to consider. For example, an ionic breeze home air filter uses ions to purify the air, which is a great way to clean the air without making too much noise. An ionic breeze machine is one of the newer technologies to enter the market in the past few years - the ionizer is a clever component of this type of home air filter that makes it work so well. Without an ionizer, the ionic breeze device wouldn’t be able to function as efficiently.
In general, air purifiers for homes come in many different forms, so you have to choose the one that’s right for you, whether it be an ionic air purifier, or a HEPA filter device. HEPA filters are an advanced technology that claims to be able to remove up to 99.97% of the dust, pollen, mold, and bacteria within 0.3 microns. These filters compare quite well to ionic breeze purifiers. Ionic breeze purifiers are air purifiers for homes that many people choose over HEPA filters for the noise factor. Plus, an ionic air purifier is highly effective in small spaces.
To learn more about Air Purifier technologies, check out the Free Consumer Review Web Site.
Tags:
Air Purifiers,
allergens,
hepa filter,
indoor air pollution
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April 15 2008 | Air Purifiers | No Comments »