Portable Air Cleaner Makes It Easier To Breathe

By Jill Faulkner


If breathing is difficult even in a home a portable air cleaner may help. These devices filter the contents of the home. They are not all created equal however. Some merely offer a mechanical filter that traps a few particles, while others are designed to eliminate odors or gases from the air. Before shopping it is important to decide the features that are wanted or needed.

It is important that consumers know how serious their problem is before making a purchase. For the cleanest atmosphere in a home, choose the right unit to do the job. Asthma and chemical allergy sufferers usually need a different type of filter than those who suffer from allergies due to pollen and dust. Some chemical allergy sufferers have found that certain HEPA filters actually make their problem worse as the glue used to manufacture the filter is released into the room.

Be sure to consider the volume of the room to be treated. To keep the atmosphere clean it must pass through the filter several times every hour. Even if a machine uses the greatest of filters it cannot be effective in a room if it is too small. At a very minimum the device should provide two full exchanges every hour.

The location the device will be used is also important in determining the best choice. In bedrooms where noise can be a factor, a smaller unit that exchanges a minimum amount of air may be desirable. In family rooms where traffic is higher, the device should have a higher exchange rate.

Consumers may want to consider that units rated at the minimal exchange rate for a room must operate on high most of the time. However, selecting a larger device offers more effective initial cleaning and allows the unit to be set to a lower speed. The reduced fan speed may reduce the output of noise.

Some units provide built in sensors that monitor particulate matter coming into the machine and adjusting the fan speed as appropriate. These devices start on high but run lower much of the time. Unfortunately, most consumers find the currently available devices are not as efficient at making this measurement as they would hope.

The two critical measurements of a unit's effectiveness are the number of exchanges made per hour and the percentage of pollution removed with each exchange. The second factor is the device's efficiency. With the higher the efficiency machine, fewer particles are released back into the room. A HEPA filter is rated to remove 99.97% of particulates 0.3 microns or larger. However, once the filter is installed in a device, there are many other factors that come into play. Many devices using HEPA filters allow as much as 50% of the particles to flow around the filter without passing through, giving a poor performance.

If an individual has difficulty breathing at home a portable air cleaner can be helpful. These devices are designed for effective removal of certain pollutants. Selecting the correct device can help to improve one's home atmosphere making breathing easier.




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