Portable Air Cleaner Makes Breathing Easier

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.

Begin by determining the seriousness of the problem that needs to be solved. The more serious the problem, the greater the need is for a better quality unit to remove the allergens for allergies. Individuals who suffer chemical sensitivities or asthma may need a different machine than those who suffer allergies. Chemical allergies can be set off by a number of different compounds so some individuals have found the glue used in the HEPA filter causes a reaction.

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.

Keep the location the unit will be used in mind as well. Some are notoriously louder than others. In the bedroom where noise is sometimes a factor, units that can exchange the minimum amount of air may be quieter to operate. However, in family rooms with higher traffic, there may be a need for a larger 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 devices have built in sensors to monitor the particulate matter flowing into the intake. These units begin on high but switch to lower speeds as the number of particles decrease. Unfortunately, the current devices with this feature do not measure a large enough area to provide an effective operation of the system.

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 breathing in one's home is a problem a portable air cleaner may help. These devices remove particulate matter and other pollutants. Choosing the right device can improve the home's atmosphere.




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