Understanding the top air purifier benefits can significantly improve the health and safety of your indoor environments. Not only do air purifiers offer a range of advantages, from filtering harmful particles to improving overall air quality, but they also enhance the livability of your space.
There are numerous air purifier benefits a quality unit can bring to your home or workspace. Firstly, they clear the air of harmful chemicals, manage allergies, and help you sleep better at night. Additionally, air purifiers are capable of filtering virus particles from the air, significantly reducing viral load. This, in turn, gives your immune system a better fighting chance against COVID-19 and other contagious diseases.
The Top Air Purifier Benefits for Healthier Living
1. Remove Common Air Pollutants:
Importantly, one of the primary air purifier benefits is their ability to remove invisible, often odourless air contaminants.
2. Prevent Exposure to Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)
Furthermore, volatile organic compounds, commonly found indoors, pose significant health risks.
3. Fight Bacteria and Viruses, Including COVID-19
Equally critical is the ability of air purifiers to filter airborne viruses and bacteria.
4. Manage Pet Allergies
Especially for pet owners, a significant air purifier benefit is the reduction of pet dander and allergens.
5. Reduce Asthma Triggers
For asthma sufferers, air purifiers are incredibly beneficial as they reduce common asthma triggers.
6. Protect Your Immune System
Moreover, air purifiers contribute to a stronger immune system by filtering out harmful pathogens and chemicals.
7. Remove Tobacco and Cannabis Smoke
Another important benefit includes the removal of tobacco and cannabis smoke from indoor environments.
8. Kill Mold and Mildew
In addition, controlling and eliminating indoor odours is another significant benefit offered by air purifiers.
9. Control Indoor Odours
In addition, controlling and eliminating indoor odours is another significant benefit offered by air purifiers.
10. Improve Sleep
Lastly, improving sleep quality by reducing allergens and irritants in the air is one of the crucial benefits of air purifiers.
Continue reading to learn more about each of these benefits, including what type of air purifier you need to look for.
The 10 Most Important Air Purifier Benefits
1. Remove Common Air Pollutants
One of the top benefits of air purifiers is that they remove the invisible, often odorless air contaminants we unknowingly breathe in every day, such as formaldehyde, benzene, and particulate matter. These air pollutants come from commonly used household products like glue, paint, and detergents. They have a wide range of damaging effects on our bodies, including dizziness, headaches, confusion, drowsiness, a rapid or irregular heartbeat, and a weakened immune system. Long-term exposure to these air pollutants can result in illness, including several different forms of cancer.
2. Prevent Exposure to Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are gases emitted from certain liquids or solids. We are regularly exposed to VOCs in both our homes and offices, as concentrations of them are 10 times more likely to appear indoors vs. outdoors. VOCs refer to a wide variety of chemicals found in printers, cosmetics, paint, air fresheners, as well as many other household products.
The effect of VOCs on our health varies greatly and depends on many factors, including the level of exposure and the length of time exposed. Headaches and nausea, memory impairment, visual disorders, and eye, nose, and throat irritation are the immediate symptoms that follow exposure to some organic chemicals. Long-term exposure can damage the liver, kidneys, and central nervous system, and is suspected of causing various forms of cancer.
Quality air filters scrub the air, removing VOCs so that we’re not inviting chemicals into our lungs with every breath.
3. Fight Bacteria and Viruses, Including COVID-19
Air purifiers can only filter airborne viruses and bacteria from the air if they have the right specifications. The coronavirus is approximately 0.125 micron in diameter. A Super HEPA filter removes 99.9% of all particles at 0.1 micron in size, whereas a regular HEPA removes 99.97% of all particles at 0.3 micron.
Air purifiers help to diminish viral load in an indoor space. Viral load refers to the quantity of a virus in the air. An air purifier in your home or office will constantly filter the air you’re breathing, removing virus particles so that if you do become exposed to the virus, you’re less likely to get sick since the viral load is low.
Look for an air purifier with a Super HEPA filter to ensure your unit is capable of properly filtering virus particles. Your unit should also have a deep-bed activated carbon filter to remove harmful chemicals that put strain on your immune system, and a Germicidal UV bulb to kill airborne viruses and bacteria.
Learn more in our article: Air Purifier For COVID-19: How Does It Work and What to Look For.
4. Manage Pet Allergies
Allergies are never pleasant, but if you’re allergic to the pets in your home, they can be almost unbearable. You can’t give your furry loved ones the attention they deserve if you can’t breathe comfortably in their vicinity.
Air purifiers filter the dander and microscopic flecks of skin regularly shed by cats, dogs, rabbits, hamsters, birds, and other common pets out of the air, enabling you to enjoy more time and comfort with your animal friends.
5. Reduce Asthma Triggers
At present, over 3.8 million Canadians are living with asthma—that’s about 10% of our population. In addition, 317 Canadians are diagnosed with asthma every day.
There’s an overwhelming abundance of asthma triggers in the air we breathe. Common allergens and irritants include dust and dust mites, pet dander, pollen, air pollution, and cigarette smoke. Seasonal allergies can also worsen asthma. Air purifiers target each of these triggers, removing them from the air so you and your family can all breathe comfortably.
6. Protect Your Immune System
We are exposed to viruses, bacteria, and chemicals every day, and it’s often the health of our immune systems that determine whether or not we get sick. Smoke and household chemicals and solvents weaken your immune system, increasing the likelihood you’ll become sick if exposed to a virus such as COVID-19.
Keep your immune system strong with regular exercise, a healthy diet, and properly filtered air. An air purifier protects your immune system by filtering out harmful chemicals, air pollutants, and bacteria, giving you the best shot at combating contagious viruses.
7. Remove Tobacco and Cannabis Smoke
Smoking, cigarettes or otherwise, is an activity best suited for the outdoors, but if you live with a smoker or are a smoker yourself and can’t bear to stand outside in our frigid Canadian winters, an air purifier can filter the smoke from your home’s ambient air. Removing smoke from the air cuts down on odors while protecting the lungs of you and your loved ones.
8. Kill Mold and Mildew
Mold is very common in buildings and homes. It grows most predominantly on surfaces in humid conditions where there is little ventilation. Mold, in the form of spores, can also enter your home through open doorways and windows, vents, as well as heating and air conditioning systems. If mold spores land in a place with extreme moisture, such as areas where water has leaked from a roof or potted plant, they will grow.
If you have mold growing in your home or office, it could be making you, your family, or your coworkers sick. Common symptoms of exposure to airborne mold spores include eye and skin irritation, wheezing, nasal stuffiness, fever, and shortness of breath.
Air purifiers filter airborne mold spores, and they work as a preventative measure to ensure mold doesn’t develop in the future.
9. Control Indoor Odors
Activated carbon filters remove bad smells from the air, and they do it without covering up the odors with other harmful chemicals. Air fresheners simply mask odors, which means they aren’t getting rid of the problem, only covering it up. If you have harmful chemicals or air pollutants in the air, you need to get rid of them to protect your health. Unnatural air fresheners, such as spray products or oils, may actually increase indoor air pollution with the release of VOCs, posing a health risk after long-term exposure.
An air purifier with activated carbon will reduce smells from smoking, pets, cooking, and household repairs by removing the particles from the air. Filtration systems can also help mitigate basement smells by managing pollutants and mold spores that create an unpleasant, musty odor.
10. Improve Sleep
There’s a lot in the air that can leave us congested, regardless of whether or not we live with asthma or allergies. While congestion at any time of day is annoying, nasal congestion at night when we’re trying to sleep is the absolute worst.
Congestion at night is associated with decreased learning and productivity at work and school. And an extra cup of coffee in the morning doesn’t cut it. We need our sleep. It’s estimated that a lack of sleep costs the Canadian economy 80,000 workdays and $21 billion a year. Air purifiers remove air pollutants, chemicals, and allergens that contribute to sleepless nights and poor quality sleep.
In conclusion, exploring these 10 air purifier benefits offers insights into how these devices can transform your living or working space. Quality air purifiers not only enhance your immediate surroundings but also contribute to long-term health and wellbeing.