The Benefit of Home Purifiers
By Angela Epps
The EPA (Environmental Protection Association) estimates that the air inside your home can be up to ten times more polluted than the air outside the house. Fortunately an air purifier can help reduce indoor pollutants such as air-born bacteria from mold, fungi and household chemicals found in many cleaners used in house cleaning. These pollutants in your home’s air can aggravate asthma, allergies, and sinus problems, especially if your household has children or seniors.
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When considering using an air purifier in your home, make sure that you check the purifier’s CADR (Clean Air Delivery Rate). The CADR is not tested by the company manufacturing the air purifier but by an independent laboratory based on three different particles. Smoke, pollen and dust are released into a room and the ratings are based on how long the air purifier takes to clean the surrounding air. Basically, the larger the room in your home, the higher the CADR rating has to be for it to clean the air in the whole space and for you to receive the health benefits of using it.
It is important to remember that most air purifiers, unless you purchase an expensive industrial one, do not remove gases such as carbon monoxide or radon from your home’s air. Your house should have separate devices that test for these health risks. Along with reducing air-born bacteria many air purifiers have extra health benefits like removing other irritants from your home’s air such as pet dander, pollen and smoke as well as reducing dust (less house cleaning!) and making the air smell cleaner by noticeably reducing odors. |
