What Do Home Air Purifiers Do? | How Purifiers Work…

WHAT DO AIR PURIFIERS DO?

As if the humidity in Florida wasn’t enough, many homeowners must battle with allergens, mold, mildew, and pollution in the struggle to maintain good indoor air quality.

That’s where air purifiers can help—and they are an increasingly popular addition to Florida homes.

Let’s look at what air purifiers do, how they work, and how you select the right air purifier to improve the health, comfort, and well-being of your family…

WHAT DO AIR PURIFIERS DO?

Air purifiers can be portable or whole-home devices that improve indoor air quality by removing airborne pollutants, allergens, and pathogens. They reduce dust, mold, pet dander, smoke, and odors that might otherwise circulate in the home and compromise health and well-being, especially for asthma or allergy sufferers.

Let’s take a deeper look at what air purifiers do and how they clean the indoor air…

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HOW HOME AIR PURIFIERS WORK

Air purifiers work by pulling in indoor air using a fan and trapping pollutants in a set of filters before the clean air is released back into the room.

Sometimes, indoor air can be more polluted than outdoor air as contaminants may enter poorly ventilated homes and the lack of air circulation means that these pollutants can build up.

The basic effectiveness of an air purifier—and what size particles it can remove—is largely controlled by the type of filters used. Most devices can remove specific contaminants such as dust, mold spores or pet dander while more powerful filters can remove smaller particles like viruses and other pathogens.

In particular, it’s worth considering an air purifier if the following contaminants affect your home as they can be harmful to your lungs and wider health:

Pet dander
Dust
Mold
Pesticides
Asbestos‌
Tobacco smoke
Cooking fumes
Carbon monoxide
Radon gas, which is radioactive

TYPES OF AIR FILTRATION METHODS

Air filtration technology works using the following types of filters:

High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters, which capture small particles like dust and pollen.
Activated carbon filters, which remove odors and gases.
UV-C light, which kills bacteria and viruses (e.g., in medical-grade environments).
Ionizers, which neutralize airborne contaminants using high-voltage charges.

Air purifiers can cycle air through various filtration systems, repeating the process several times an hour, continually improving indoor air quality.

WHAT IMPACTS THE EFFECTIVENESS OF AN AIR PURIFIER?

The main factors affecting how well an air purifier performs are:

The type and quality of the filtration system
The power of the air purifier
The size of the air purifier and whether it is large enough for the room

HEPA FILTERS

There are three main types of HEPA filters:

“HEPA-like” filters: uncertified filters that are wrongly labeled as “HEPA-like” and are often relatively ineffective at trapping very small particles.
True HEPA filters: these certified filters require a filtration efficiency of 99.97% for particles as small as 0.3 microns, which includes many disease-carrying microbes.
H13-H14 Medical-Grade HEPA filters: a specialized type of true HEPA filter, often used in hospital settings to provide maximum air purity (particles as small as 0.1 microns).

BENEFITS OF HOME AIR PURIFIERS

Air purifiers placed in the main living spaces and bedrooms of a home can bring the following benefits:

Improved indoor air quality from a reduced number of allergens and pollutants in the air.
Health benefits: cleaner air is better for anyone with asthma, allergies or respiratory conditions (more about this below) and fewer pathogens trigger fewer ailments.
Odor removal, especially from pets, smoking, household chemicals, external pollution, and cooking.
Mold and mildew prevention, due to the additional air circulation and removal of airborne spores.
Better sleep quality: some users report improved sleep from breathing purer air.

To control humidity in Florida homes and prevent the conditions that create mold and mildew (i.e., moisture in the air), it’s best to use a dehumidifier. Air purifiers do not remove moisture.

WHAT EVIDENCE IS THERE OF HEALTH BENEFITS FROM AIR PURIFIERS?

The World Health Organization identifies household air pollution exposure as a serious problem contributing to stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and lung cancer.

According to EPA research, portable HEPA air cleaners can lead to moderate benefits for allergy and asthma symptoms, as well as cardiovascular health and a statistically significant improvement in cardiovascular health.

This study found that HEPA air purifiers can benefit people with a variety of allergies by reducing the concentration of indoor allergens, including pollen, house dust mite (HDM) allergens, and dog dander.

Airborne irritants such as dust, pollen, smoke, or pet dander are known to worsen asthma symptoms.

However, other studies also question the effectiveness of air purifiers against dust mite allergens, which are a major trigger for asthma.

Other research shows that HEPA air purifiers can reduce smoke particles in the air (but not the non-particle nicotine or other gaseous components of smoke) and may offer limited help with the removal of gaseous pollutants.

ANY POTENTIAL DOWNSIDES?

Most modern air purifiers are safe and effective at cleaning indoor air—provided the unit can handle the size of space and the specific type of particles you’re targeting—but no air purifier will eliminate all pollutants in your home.

Some older air purifiers, especially older ionizers, produce ozone. This can irritate the respiratory system, worsen asthma symptoms, and even lead to chronic lung conditions. Some older and cheaper models can also be noisy, which is not ideal for the bedroom.

Air purifiers need cleaning and the filter needs to be changed regularly to maintain peak performance—more about this below.

While they are an additional expense to running a home, air purifiers are more affordable now as advances in air purification technology allow wider use of household units.

HOW DO YOU KNOW IF YOU NEED AN AIR PURIFIER IN FLORIDA?

Whether you need an air purifier depends on your home’s indoor air quality. Understanding this is especially important for people with allergies or lung conditions.

Air purifiers are generally a good idea for homes with:

Allergy sufferers
Anyone with breathing conditions
Smokers
Pet owners
Small apartments with a lack of ventilation for cooking odors, etc.
Homes with poor air circulation
High outdoor pollution levels (ozone, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, and particulate matter like PM2.5 and PM10)

Monitoring the local air quality index can help you decide if you need an air purifier. If the air quality declines and starts to affect indoor comfort or the well-being of home occupants (even minor symptoms like runny nose, itchy eyes, and sore throats), an air purifier may help.

Note that in homes with central air conditioning in Florida, the HVAC filter should also work to reduce indoor contaminants in the air.

CHOOSING THE RIGHT HOME AIR PURIFIER

Before selecting a home air purifier, it is important to understand the main factors affecting whether a unit is right for you:

The intended room size (measured in square feet)
The “Clean Air Delivery Rate” (CADR) of the unit (more about this below)
The main type of contaminants that you want to remove from the air—allergens, smoke, odors, pathogens, etc.
The number of Air Changes per Hour (ACH)—for general use, 2-3 is adequate but for allergy sufferers, a higher reading may be required.
The type of filtration used in the air purifier
The noise level of the air purifier (especially important for bedrooms)
The maintenance requirements of the unit
The track record of reviews from customers
The length of the warranty

PORTABLE VS WHOLE-HOME AIR PURIFIERS

Most Florida homeowners select portable air purifiers. However, whole-home air purifiers can be installed as part of the HVAC system and represent a more comprehensive solution to fix indoor air quality.

With whole-home air purifiers, the same technology removes the same types of pollutants as with portable units. However, they are integrated into the heating and air conditioning system and work automatically whenever the HVAC system is operating, Whole-home units require professional installation.

WHAT IS THE CADR RATING?

The CADR or “Clean Air Delivery Rate” is a measurement of how effectively an air purifier removes airborne pollutants from a room. It shows the volume of clean air produced per minute in cubic feet (CFM).

A high CADR rating (240 or above) is recommended for most large rooms. This equates to a more powerful cleaning performance.

Here’s a basic guide to recommended CADRs for different room sizes:

ROOM SIZE	RECOMMENDED CADR
Up to 150 sq.ft.	100+
150-300 sq.ft	150-200
300-500 sq.ft.	200-300
500+ sq.ft.	300+

WHAT SIZE AIR PURIFIER DO I NEED?

With air purifiers, size can refer to several different qualities of the unit. They are usually sized by the square footage (sq ft) of the space they can cover or the purifier’s coverage area.

First, multiply the length of the room by the width and then select an air purifier that can cover at least the size of the room (20-40% larger than your room is ideal).

After this basic sizing metric, also consider the grade of the filter, the filtration technologies used, and the surface area of the filter. Ultimately, what you need will depend on the room size, your lifestyle, and the general air quality in your home.

For instance, to remove odors will require more emphasis on an activated carbon filter in the purifier.

HOME AIR PURIFIER MAINTENANCE AND BEST PRACTICES

If you have a whole-house air purifier, your HVAC technician may be able to service it during your annual AC tune-ups.

If you buy a portable air purifier, you will need to take a few important steps to maintain optimal performance:

Clean or replace filters every 6 to 12 months, depending on the type of filter and how dirty they are (how polluted is the air in your home?)
Position the unit(s) properly for maximum effect: ideally, you have one purifier for every room but if not, make sure that your unit is where it needs to be (with adequate clearance around it) when you move it.
Improve ventilation and dehumidification: maintain good air circulation through ventilation and run a dehumidifier if you have high humidity in the home.
Get your HVAC serviced annually and regularly change HVAC air filters for optimal indoor quality in the entire home.

FAQs

No, mold prevention is not the job of an air purifier. It cleans the air but does not remove moisture from it. Air purifiers may help to remove mold spores from the indoor air but the underlying cause of the mold (humidity) may require a dehumidifier to resolve.

Both air purifiers and HVAC filters aim to remove contaminants from the indoor air and must be changed regularly. However, air purifiers have more sophisticated filtration techniques than most HVAC filters. They are often portable devices used for specific rooms or areas of the home separate from the HVAC system. Air filters offer more general filtration for the air inside the home before it’s circulated by the AC or heating system through the ductwork.

High-efficiency HVAC filters that are regularly changed should optimize indoor air quality but a high-quality air purifier will be a step up in the general cleanliness and quality of your indoor air.

Yes, air purifier devices and filters are designed for many different room sizes. Simply understand the size of the space and the quality of the existing air and you should be able to find an air purifier to suit your space.

This depends on the size of the unit, its filtration system, and how polluted the indoor air is to start with. If necessary, discuss your air purification needs with an HVAC technician before selecting your unit.

BOOST INDOOR AIR QUALITY…

Air purifiers boost indoor air quality but this also depends on getting your HVAC system serviced regularly. Together, a whole-home air purifier and a high-functioning HVAC system are an excellent way to protect the health, well-being, and comfort of your family.

Contact an AC professional at One Way Air for an inspection of your HVAC system and indoor air quality today.

WHAT DO AIR PURIFIERS DO?

WHAT DO AIR PURIFIERS DO?