Definition
Air purifiers suck the room air through a filter and thereby cleanse it of a number of particles that can potentially cause or aggravate allergies. These include not only the typical allergens such as animal hair, house dust and pollen. Pathogens can also be filtered from the air.
When choosing an air purifier, it is important to choose the right filter size or strength. Only if the filter is fine enough, all relevant substances can be filtered out of the room air. Since many allergy sufferers have problems especially at night, the air purifier in the bedroom is recommended.
What are the benefits of an air purifier in case of allergy?
Air purifiers are an extremely effective means of providing allergy sufferers with virtually pollen-free indoor air. To achieve this, the air is sucked in by the air cleaner and passed through a filter. In this filter, the small particles that contaminate the air are trapped.
These are mainly pollen, but the air is also cleaned by other substances. In general, air purifiers help against pollen, animal hair and house dust. These particles cause many problems for allergy sufferers because they react directly to the proteins they contain.
But other irritating substances can also be filtered by the air purifier, so that the lungs of allergy sufferers can be additionally protected. This applies especially to pathogens such as bacteria, viruses and mold spores, which like to settle in the already irritated airways of allergy sufferers. Smoke from cigarettes, for example, can also be partially filtered out of the air, thus avoiding additional lung damage caused by the harmful substances. While most allergy sufferers already have problems with their allergy outdoors (especially with pollen allergies), this effect is usually intensified even more in closed rooms, where a versatile mixture of potentially allergenic substances comes together. Therefore, an air purifier for the domestic environment is highly recommended.
Which air purifiers are available?
Air purifiers are available in various shapes and sizes from a wide variety of companies. When choosing the right air purifier, the most important thing is the choice of filter. For allergy sufferers, three different filter techniques are useful: The HEPA filters are so-called High Efficiency Particulate Air Filters.
These are glass fiber mats that filter even the smallest particles from the air. However, they are not able to remove odors, fine dust and gases from the air. Activated carbon filters, on the other hand, are particularly effective against odors, but can also filter pollen, dust and pet hairs well.
Common to both methods is that the filters have to be changed regularly. Allergy sufferers must be particularly careful not to inhale the harmful substances when changing them. An elegant alternative is the ionizer.
Here the particles in the air are negatively charged and then electrically attracted by the air purifier. The big advantage is that this method does not require a filter, so it is especially popular with allergy sufferers. Air filters, which are equipped with aroma to improve the smell in the room, often cause severe allergic reactions and are therefore not suitable.
Another criterion for an air purifier is the size, which should be adapted to the size of the room. Also the volume of the cleaner can be an important criterion depending on the location. This topic might also be of interest to you: therapy of an allergy
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