As a homeowner, you must first know what to look for in an air purifier before buying one. An air purifier is a device that boosts indoor air quality by removing contaminants. As a result, it reduces the chances of health issues like asthma and allergies.
When buying an air purifier, know your need to get one with the technical specifications that suit you. Also, ensure the filters are quality and the machine has manageable cleaning requirements and maintenance costs. Lastly, get a device you can afford.
Benefits of Having an Air Purifier
Before mentioning how to choose air purifier gadgets, you should first know their importance. It helps you be keener during the buying process. Although some homeowners live without an air purifier, some advantages you get when you buy it are;
1. Reduce Chances of Getting Asthma
Asthma is a respiratory problem caused by inflamed bronchial tubes. Pollutants like dust, pollen grains, and pet dander can cause asthma attacks. The patient’s airways get irritated during the attack, leading to breathing difficulties.
Indoor air has many pollutants because there is little air circulation, and your family members can suffer asthma attacks. Homeowners can use air purifiers to trap pollutants and improve air quality.
2. Reduce Odors
There are many causes of indoor odors. For example, your rooms could be stuffy due to mold caused by leaking windows and doors or from leaking gas, paints, and aerosol sprays.
Odors make the rooms uncomfortable to live in. Worse, they reduce the comfort of your visitors and give them a bad first impression of your home. However, you don’t worry about these odors with an air purifier. It absorbs any unpleasant smells and leaves the rooms fresh.
3. Improve Sleep
Your family members will not sleep well with all the coughing and asthma attacks. Odors also reduce the quality of sleep. Failure to have a good night’s sleep can lead to low productivity during the day due to drowsiness.
If you suspect your home’s air quality is low and causes sleepless nights, buy an air purifier. It has filters to trap pet dander and dust, reducing the chances of getting asthma attacks. As a result, there will be less coughing and sneezing in rooms with clean air, hence improved sleep.
How to Choose Air Purifier: Air Purifier Buyers Guide
Once you know the importance of having an air purifier, you will be keen on the quality of the device you plan to buy. Besides, the many types of air filters in the market won’t confuse you when buying. This buying guide will help you make a good purchase.
1. Know Your Needs
Homeowners buy air purifiers for different reasons. It could be because they have a cat and want to reduce cat dander in the house. Others invest in air purifiers after noticing that the air is dusty and has many allergens.
Knowing why you need an air purifier helps you understand the features to look for in the device. For example, you need a machine with good filters to trap the dust and cat dander. Before buying, also ask about the air filter’s cleaning needs. For example, some filters require you to clean after a day or two, which is too much work.
2. Consider the Filtration System
The filters in an air purifier are one of the essential parts of the device. They are responsible for cleaning the air by trapping dirt, dust, and other contaminants like allergens.
Consider filters with HEPA ratings. These are perfect for removing pet dander and dust. You can also choose a device with activated carbon filters if you want it for the kitchen.
3. The Cleaning Requirements and Maintenance
Cleaning electronic devices can be complicated and tricky. Some require you to hire an expert to do the cleaning, costing you money every week or month. When buying an air purifier, ensure you consider the cleaning requirements of the device.
Buy an easy-to-clean air purifier to avoid the extra cleaning charges. Ensure the filters are easy to remove and don’t require you to change them often. However, the cleaning frequency of the air purifier will mostly depend on how polluted the air is.
Maintenance of the device is another important factor you shouldn’t ignore. For example, some low-quality air purifiers are cheap but can cost because of their maintenance requirements. Instead, you would buy an expensive device that will last and requires minimal maintenance.
4. Energy Consumption and Noise Level
You might be unable to sleep well because of dusty rooms, but having a noisy air purifier will also cause discomfort. First, check the noise level of the machine. You can test it while at the store to see if you will comfortably sleep when it is on. The best air purifier should have the highest noise level of 40 decibels.
Most homeowners forget to check the energy consumption of electronics. Buying a non-energy saver consumes too much power leaving you with high energy bills. The device could also consume a lot of power if it is faulty.
5. Smart Features
Manufacturers are using more digital devices like a thermostat to make controlling and setting it easier; therefore, ensure that your air purifier also has smart features that you can control remotely.
For example, you can get an air purifier with Wi-Fi connectivity. This allows you to connect the purifier with other devices like phones and computers. You can therefore change the settings of your air purifier using Google Assistant and Alexa.
Also, consider getting an air purifier with a timer. With this one, you will set the time for the unit to turn on and off. When the machine can turn itself off, there will be more energy saving.
6. Size
Where do you want to put the air purifier? If you are buying for the entire house, it must be big enough to purify the air in all the rooms. However, get a small one if you buy the device for your bedroom.
Final Words
Knowing what to look for in an air purifier is essential before making a big purchase. While energy consumption, noise levels, room size, and device maintenance are considerations worth making, consulting a residential HVAC expert is the most reliable solution. You’ll get all your air purification needs affordably and efficiently.
