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What does an air purifier do?

Home » Home Health » Air Purifiers » What does an air purifier do?

The most basic definition of what an air purifier does is this: a fan draws dirty air in from a room, cleans the air, and sends clean air back into the room. Different types and brands of machines, however, complete this process using various methods. These methods include, but are not limited to:

• Absorption. Absorption works by bringing the dirty air in contact with carbon or some other porous area. The carbon filter absorbs the contaminants, removing them from the air that is recirculated into the room. Absorption, however, will only remove chemicals and some aspects of smoke and odors, providing limited odor control, but does not remove or capture find particles that cause so many problems.
• Mechanical filtering. This method screens the air of particles, using a fine screen, such as a HEPA filter. A HEPA filter removes particles as small as 0.3 microns, and can filter out 99.97 percent of all airborne particles. Mechanical filtering with HEPA filters is often used in conjunction with absorption filters for a higher level of effectiveness.
• Electrostatic. Electrostatic, or electronic, air purifiers use charged plates or an electric field to trap particles. The static electricity causes dirty air particles to stick, just like static electricity, to a plate, thus cleaning the air before setting it free.
• Ion generators. Ion generators use static charges to remove particles from the air. These come as portable units only, and act by charging particles in the room so they are attracted to walls, floors, tables, draperies, and people, instead of floating freely in the air.

While these descriptions are very basic, it’s important to understand that each brand of air purifier has its own system or method to cleaning air. Most of these companies have Web sites that explain, often in depth, how that company’s system works and what type of contaminants it claims to clean. Many offer buyer’s guide that help you to decide which type of contaminant is affecting you, which type of purifier will work for you, and the pros and cons of each type.
Do your homework before purchasing an air purifier, by reading consumer reviews and other studies, and by looking for the type of purifier that will best clean the air of the toxins you’re most affected by. Check out Consumer Reports for more details on air purifiers, and on their ratings and effectiveness.

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