Your indoor air is often more polluted than the air outside. Since we spend most of our time indoors, our exposure to poor indoor air quality puts us at risk for a number of ailments.

Using an air purifier will help create cleaner, healthier air in your home or office, so you can enjoy better indoor air quality. Answer these questions before you purchase one:

1. Why Do I Need An Air Purifier?

Air purifiers are the best way to clean your air indoors, which can be polluted and full of triggering particles like pollen and dust. They also help maintain a healthy environment by removing pet dander, mold spores, ragweed and and more.

Some models are designed for specific purposes:

Specific Needs

Allergies: If you have allergies, you should choose an air purifier designed for allergy relief. They typically have multiple filters, including HEPA filters, to remove indoor allergens.

Asthma: If you suffer from asthma or if your symptoms are triggered by odor and chemical pollutants, you’ll want to consider an asthma air purifier or an odor and chemical air purifier. These air purifiers contain added odor and chemical filtration as well as HEPA filters for allergen particle removal.

Smoke: Smoke air purifiers are specifically designed to remove smoke, fireplace soot, and other associated fumes that could aggravate existing respiratory conditions or cause unpleasant odors in your environment.

Pets: Select air purifiers are designed specifically for handling pets–they remove pet dander, odors, and hair. View pet air purifiers here.

Chemical Sensitivities: If you are extremely sensitive to chemicals, you might consider an air purifier for multiple chemical sensitivities (MCS). These models contain even more odor and chemical filtration and are often manufactured with materials that will not off-gas chemicals into the air and aggravate your symptoms.

• 2.What Size Air Purifier Do I Need?

The second thing to look for is an air purifier that’s built for the size of your room. If you put an air purifier built for a small room into a large one, it won’t be able to filter air as well.

Some manufacturers list the recommended area in their specifications sheet, which is an easy way to find out if that model fits your room. Some list a number called CADR, which stands for Clean Air Delivery Rate.

CADR is an independent test result from the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) in the US. The number is expressed in cubic feet or meters per minute, and it measures for tobacco smoke, pollen and dust filtration. The higher the CADR number, the more air it filters per minute for that particle.

Note that CADR doesn’t measure the effectiveness of the size of particles being filtered, that’s where you still need to have that separate HEPA filter specification.

per minute for that particle.

Note that CADR doesn’t measure the effectiveness of the size of particles being filtered, that’s where you still need to have that separate HEPA filter specification.

3,  Where Should I Put My Air Purifier?

In most situations, we recommend that you place your air purifier in your bedroom since that’s where you spend most of your time.

Keep in mind that portable air purifiers are designed primarily to purify the air in one room only, so you may need to invest in additional units for other rooms.

Alternatively, you can choose a unit that includes caster wheels, handles, and other portability features to make it easier to move it from room to room.

Whole house air purifiers are becoming popular choices for clean air in every room of your home. These units connect to your home’s existing HVAC system to purify your indoors as you heat, cool, or ventilate your home.

4, How Much Maintenance Do Air Purifiers Require?

The main type of maintenance required with air purifiers is replacing air filters. How often do you need to replace them?  

HEPA Filters: HEPA filters last about one year depending on use.

Carbon Filters: Activated carbon filters typically last 6 months.

Pre-Filters: Pre-filters generally last 3 months, but some filters are washable for long-term filtration.

Other types of air purifiers, such as our AirFree air sterilizers, use heat or ultraviolet light to purify your air and kill germs and allergens. These models never need filter replacements for your convenience.

5,what’s the most important thing of an air purifier?

You can skip on everything else, but the one thing you must have in an air purifier is a High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filter, which can remove more than 99.97% of 0.3-micron particles.

PM10 particles can be trapped by your nose or throat, but PM2.5 particles are so small that they can slip through and lodge in your lungs, causing all sorts of health problems.

To trap and filter PM2.5 particles, you’ll need that HEPA filter. Without it, any air purifier is really just decoration. We recognize that air purifiers with HEPA filters can cost more, but if you want to get something to do a job, then you need to know that it actually does that job.

Beware of air purifiers claiming to be “HEPA-type,” “HEPA-like,” or “99% HEPA,” which are not true HEPA filters and not as effective.

In Summary

Before buying an air purifier: Get one that is equipped for your room size, filters out the particles in your home, and is easy to use.