The real key to addressing any Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) issue is the removal of the source of the pollutant or irritant if possible. We understand that if you love your cat to which you are allergic you have to deal with the dander but, if you are allergic to mold spores your first step is to either remove the source yourself or have it addressed professionally. Secondly, if you have a whole house forced air system you need to make sure that your system is well maintained and that the filter is a high quality one that is changed regularly. Now that you understand the basic types of air purifiers and the ground rules for IAQ we can address air purifier applications.
Asthma Air Purifiers
This is a tough medical condition with which to deal and we can only address the asthma that is induced by poor air quality not that induced by exercise or stress. The asthma triggering irritant may be either a particle such as pollen or a chemical or smell. Therefore, we must utilize both mechanical and adsorption air purifier technology. This translates to HEPA and activated carbon air purifier media.
Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS) or Chemical Allergies
For these issues we cannot emphasize enough the elimination of the source of your sensitivity. While air purifiers will help, the constant irritant will increase your sensitivity. After you have addressed the source, the air purifier technology that will be of primary importance is adsorption. There are a number of models that specifically address MCS.
Pollen, Dust, and Mold Allergies
This is one of the most common applications for home air purifiers. All of these pollutants can be classed as particle pollution and can be handled by Novus Air, RCI Technology used in Nasa. If smells or odors also tend to trigger your allergy then you should consider using the air cleaners recommended for addressing the symptoms of asthma.
Pet Allergies
Since we are assuming you will not get rid of your pets we will emphasize the cleaning of their bedding and other items such as toys and play gyms to reduce the source of the pet material as much as possible prior to installing any air purifiers. Pets, particularly cats, tend to clean themselves by licking their fur. This leaves a very fine film of saliva on their fur that dries and then goes airborne as a very fine dust. This is the primary cause of most pet allergic reactions. While this represents a mechanical pollutant and would indicate that RCI Technology of Novus Air was used we have found that our customers are happiest if chemicals or odors are also addressed, particularly if the pet is a large dog, like a Lab, that will exude that wet dog smell on rainy days.
Tobacco Smoke
The smoke from cigarettes and, even worse, cigars is a stew of gasses and particles. It is particularly hard to address with room air purifiers because the source is so active putting out so many pollutants in such a short time. Even if all of the room air went though the air purifier 6 times per hour a Cigar will still overwhelm the air purifiers until it is extinguished. If you are unable to make your smoker go outside there are luckily several home air purifiers that manufacturers have specifically designed to address tobacco smoke and the multitude of pollutants it contains. When tobacco smoke is involved another type to reducing the odor is general cleaning. At least you should wipe down the light bulbs in the room. These attract the smoke when they are hot and the chemicals settle on the bulbs. Each time they are turned on and get hot they then put the chemicals back into the air. Please understand that even with the best air purifiers you should not expect to smoke a cigar next to a room air purifier and not have your wife notice in the next room.
Bacteria or Virus
Generally air purifiers used to address this application are for cases where there is an ill person in the home and we are trying to protect others from infection or as a preventative for people like the elderly that are susceptible to infection. UV light is needed for an air purifier to be effective in addressing these issues. However if all germs and virus are not exploded with UV light long enough or too far, they might not be killed completely. Novus Air designed to destroy bacteria and viruses with non-thermal plasmas sent out to the air.
