Clean air can mean so many different things to people, but having a safe and clean environment to breathe in is so crucial to you and your family. Air quality can be affected by various sources, like emissions from industrial production, exhaust from traffic, cigarette smoke, and smog. Breathing clean air can reduce your risk of stroke, lung cancer, heart disease and respiratory diseases such as asthma. That’s why it’s pertinent to have an air purifier at home to screen out these substances and cleanse the air.
Indoor air may contain over 900 types of unseen gaseous chemicals and particulate matter that is smaller than 2.5 microns (PM2.5). These tiny, invisible pollutants enter through your lungs and into your bloodstream and continue to circulate through your body. Furthermore, according to the EPA, the level of indoor air pollutants may be 2 to 5 times more than outdoor levels and may even exceed 100 times more on occasion.
Some of these pollutants are:
- Pollen: Pollen are fine powdered substances carried through the air to pollinate plants and may cause allergies like hay fever
- Pet dander: Microscopic flakes of skins shed by animals with fur or feather.
- Dust mites: Tiny bugs that live in your bedding, clothing, pillows and carpets and feed off the dead skin and hair of humans and pets
- Tobacco smoke: Fine particles and lingering odours from cigarette smoke can increase your risk of respiratory diseases and cancer
- Odour: Odour that occurs indoors often come from small compounds called volatile organic compounds (VOCs), often released from common household products like paint, fuels and solvents.
- Viruses and bacteria: Viruses and bacteria can also be airborne and circulate in the air indoors
How Air Purifiers Work
In order to deal with these toxins and pollutants, using an air purifier can help to eliminate these substances through the use of filters and technology. Filters screen out and remove unwanted particles in the air to clean the air that you breathe at home. Air purifiers suck in air from the outside via a fan and are passed through these filters to release clean air.
There are several different types of air purifiers out there in the market, each with their own benefits.
HEPA filter
HEPA stands for High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) and these filters capture particles in the air via a very thin multi-layered netting type of filter. Due to the multi-layered properties, it is effective in capturing larger particles via impaction, mid-sized particles captured by interception, and ultra-fine particles that are captured by diffusion.
Charcoal filter
A charcoal filter traps odour, gases and even VOCs in them and removes them from the air. Charcoal is also known as an absorbent, due to its largely porous structure, and can trap many larger particles in its pores. It is often used in conjunction with other types of filters to eliminate odours, fumes and chemicals in the air.
UV purifier
Similar to how hospitals disinfect rooms with Ultraviolet (UV) light, UV purifiers filter air through a chamber filled with UV light that eliminates the pathogens by destroying the molecular bonds in their DNA. The UV purifiers are beneficial at removing harmful pathogens, viruses and bacteria from the air in your home.
Ioniser
An air ioniser can also help to create negative ions that will combine with positively charged allergens to become dense dust particles that will fall onto the floor to be cleaned up later. Purifying the air this way can benefit people with asthma symptoms, allergies and hay fever. Ionisers can also help to relieve tension and improve sleep patterns.
Our Reltec Air Ioniser and Cleanser ionises and cleans indoor air with its activated carbon, Binchotan charcoal and a high-performance washable dust filter, together with the ion-exchange converter in the unit. It can be used for up to 50 square metres, or 600 square feet in closed rooms, and 25 square metres, or 300 square feet in open rooms. To maintain, wash and change the dust filter every week and change the carbon bag every 4 months.Ozone Generator
Ozone generators create ozone, a trioxygen molecule that binds with pollutants like smoke and odour to kill them. Ozone generators work to release ozone to attract the pollutants and destroy them. Ozone has the ability to cleanse and deodorise indoor areas quickly.
The Okamizu Car Air Purifier features a simple plug and play portable air purifier for your car. It effectively kills germs and removes odour, smoke, and chemicals using ozone. The air purifier is manufactured within the ozone safety limits of 0.03ppm (turn off after 5-10 min use each time and circulate air within the car) to ensure that excessive amounts of ozone is not produced for a healthy indoor air environment.
How to Use Your Air Purifier
It’s important to know that although not all air purifiers are the same, they require regular maintenance to ensure they effectively clean the air in your home.
- Follow the instructions to replace the filters in your air purifier as needed. Filters may need to be changed every few months and costs are incurred for this replacement.
- Reusable filters may also need to be washed and cleaned with regular usage of the air purifier.
- Purchase an air purifier that can clean the size of your room. You need to choose a model that has the ability to clean your room size. You may wish to choose a model that cleans a room size that’s slightly larger than yours.
By following instructions to understand maintain your air purifier, you can look forward to cleaner, crisper indoor air in your living space!