- Air purifier for allergy sufferers: how an air purifier works
- Air purifier for allergy sufferers: how to choose the best one?
- Air purifier for allergy sufferers: how to use it
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The air purifier is a recipe for allergy sufferers suffering from both seasonal hay fever and year-round inhalation allergy. The right air purifier will cope with almost any allergen, especially pollen and dust mites, and will also help with an allergy to animal hair. Which air purifier should you choose to work with allergies?
Contents:
- Air purifier for allergy sufferers: how an air purifier works
- Air purifier for allergy sufferers: how to choose the best one?
- Air purifier for allergy sufferers: how to use it
Air purifieris not a whim, but a necessity in the case of inhalation allergy. Purifying the air of allergens allows allergy sufferers to reduce such troublesome allergy symptoms as allergic rhinitis, cough, shortness of breath and breathing problems, or watery eyes - as statistics show, only in Poland such symptoms are declared by up to 4 out of 10 people.
In many cases it is a seasonal problem that disappears with the end of pollen and flower pollination - however, long-term and cyclical exposure to allergies may cause chronic respiratory diseases.
The most common effect of ignoring allergies is asthma, which, combined with the further influence of allergens on the respiratory system, may lead to worse complications. Studies have shown that people who contracted non-infectious respiratory diseases in childhood, i.e. allergies and asthma, are 1.5 times more likely to develop cardiovascular disease, which can also result in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
The ideal solution for any allergy sufferer would be to exclude the allergenic factor from his environment. However, how to avoid invisible pollen of shrubs, flowers and trees, especially since the period of the most and most severely causing allergic reactions may be from February to June, or dust mites present all year round? The answer is simple: with the right air purifier.
Air purifier for allergy sufferers: how an air purifier works
The principle of air purifiers is simple: they suck air inroom, then clean them of allergens and other pollutants (including particles present in smog) and blow them away. Many air purifiers available on the market also remove unpleasant odors.
Air cleaning devices are equipped with either single filters or multi-stage filtration systems: pre-filters that retain larger particles, carbon filters (retain suspended dust and various odorous particles, as well as carcinogenic benzo (a) pyrene) and - in many models - HEPA filters on which the finest pollutants, such as allergens, viruses, PM 2.5 smog particles are deposited.
Good purifiers can be turned on around the clock, which does not mean, of course, that they are active all the time: they turn on automatically when the sensors placed in them detect that the air condition has significantly deteriorated.
Air purifier for allergy sufferers: how to choose the best one?
The air purifier should not be bought lightly: the models available in stores differ greatly, but in order for the purifier to serve people with allergies, it must have the appropriate parameters.
- The most important of them is the filtration system, the element of which must necessarily be a HEPA filter, which stops small inhalation allergens, such as house dust mites, pollen, animal epidermis. Apart from it, an air purifier for allergy sufferers must also have a carbon filter that absorbs gases and volatile organic compounds, present, for example, in cleaning products or cosmetics, and which can also cause allergies. When looking at the filters a given model is equipped with, it is worth checking immediately how long they last (some need to be replaced even every three months) and how much they cost.
- Air quality indicator and pollution sensor. The first one informs about the air condition in the room, the second one automatically starts the device (or increases its power) when the pollution level rises above the norm.
- Adequate cleaning efficiency, determined by the CADR indicator, is another important parameter. CADR tells you how much air will clean a given air purifier model in an hour. Many manufacturers, apart from the information about the CADR indicator, also provide the maximum area of the room in which a given model of the purifier should be placed.
- Automatic mode, night mode. By setting the purifier to automatic mode, the amount of allergens can be reduced to a minimum: the device switches itself on when it detects unwanted particles in the air. Thanks to the night mode, the purifier will also work at night without disturbing your sleep(because it will then switch to the quiet mode and turn off the lights and the LCD screen). It is worth choosing a model whose volume in the night mode does not exceed 30-35 dB.
Allergy sufferers can also use an air purifier with a humidifier, but it is important to regularly clean the device according to the manufacturer's directions to avoid the growth of potentially harmful microorganisms.
Air purifier for allergy sufferers: how to use it
In order for the air purifier to help in the fight against allergies, it must also be properly used. Even the most efficient purifier will not clean the entire apartment effectively, so - if the finances allow it - it is better to buy two or three less efficient ones and place them in the allergy sufferer's bedroom and the room where he most often lives.
It is also important that the equipment has the filters cleaned or replaced as often as recommended by the manufacturer (or the relevant indicators on the device will inform about it) - dirty or worn filters will not be able to properly clean the air.
The air purifier should work around the clock, also at night and when nobody is at home: allergens that enter the apartment during this time will settle on the filters, and not on furniture or walls. It is also important that it stands at a distance from the walls and furniture, which allows for free air flow.