Ozone air purifiers work by releasing ozone into the air. Ozone is a molecule that has three atoms of oxygen as opposed to oxygen that has only two atoms. The additional oxygen atom in ozone has the ability to separate from ozone and attach itself to molecules of harmful contaminants. When this happens, the chemical composition of the harmful particles changes and becomes such that it is not harmful to breathe anymore. This is the basic principle on which ozone air cleaners work.
Features Of Ozone Air Purifiers
They contain an ozone generator that releases ozone into the air for purification.- Ozone purifiers are filter-less purifiers.
- Ozone air purifiers do not require the air to be circulated within the purifier for purification purposes.
- They emit a peculiar smell that is due to the release of ozone.
- It can be available with other purification technologies incorporated into one air purifier.
Ozone Air Purifier Benefits
- Since an ozone air purifier does not need the air to be circulated through a main air filter, it can purify large amounts of air in a considerably shorter amount of time than most other air purifiers.
- They help to not only remove but destroy harmful bacteria, organisms, and chemicals in the air.
- They are especially effective in removing gases and horrible odors such as cigar smoke, kitchen fumes etc from the air.
- These air purifiers are very effective for use in pubs, saloons, and bars, where there is a lot of pollution due to cigarette smoke and other contaminants. In such places, an ozone purifier can make the air cleaner and free from any unpleasant smells.
- They can reduce the presence of mold spores from the air and can thus help to minimize asthmatic symptoms, hay fever, allergies etc.
Many people notice how the natural air, feels and smells, so much more clean and pure, after lightning storms and heavy rain. This is because, due to the lightning, ozone or activated oxygen is released into the air, which makes it feel so much purer. An ozone air purifier can duplicate that kind of feeling in your home or office, by releasing the same type of activated oxygen molecules into your indoor air.
Salt Crystal Lamps
One of more popular natural air purifiers is the salt crystal lamp. The idea behind these salt crystals is that they are natural ionizers which release negative ions into the air naturally. These negative ions will then interact with the positive ions that are caused by working electric devices around the house, such as computer monitors, dryers, TV sets and radios. Thus, a salt crystal lamp acts as a natural air purifier by balancing out the concentration of positive ions within a room and improve the surrounding air quality. Be sure to look for Genuine Himalayan Crystal Salts for best air purifying effects.
Beeswax Candles
Another type of natural purifiers is beeswax candles. When beeswax candles are burnt, the fuel produces negative ions which will then interact with positive ions that exist in the form of tobacco smoke and allergens. These interactions will cause the ions to drop down to the ground and away from the air that we breathe. It is important to get only 100 percent beeswax candles for this to work. Yellow beeswax is a better choice as they are only lightly refined as compared to white beeswax which has been chemically bleached.
And, Believe It or Not…
Finally the last choice for natural air purifiers are indoor house plants. Yes, believe it or not, NASA has discovered that certain plants contain air quality improvement attributes. Just to name a few there is the gerbera daisy, the English ivy, the Spider plant and the Madagascar dragon tree – plants which are capable of absorbing chemicals that are released from cigarette smoke, paint, adhesives and even floor coverings. These chemicals include formaldehyde and benzene, which are capable of causing irritation to the eye and skin and are suspected contributors to anemia and cancer. Having natural greens in the house could turn out to be more than a pretty sight, they could end up saving your life.
Buying a home air purifier does not entail just going to a store and asking for an air purifier for your home. Although it is a relatively simple task, you need to consider the following, while choosing a home air purifier.
Things to Consider: Finding the Right Home Air Purifier
- The enormity of your health problems: Since home air purifiers are typically bought to clean indoor air so as to have a healthier body, your health problems will be an important consideration when choosing home air purifiers.
- If you have light allergies, then you can make do with a cheaper and smaller home air purifier, but if you have serious allergy problems, then a similar purifier may not work for you.
- If you are asthmatic, you need an air purifier that has a gas filter. A gas filter helps to remove smells and gases from the air, which are a leading cause of asthma attacks.
- If you are sensitive to chemicals and react badly to them, your choice of home purifier will depend on whether or not your body reacts with the different materials used in different types of air purifiers.
- Area to be purified: The size of the room that needs an air purifier will determine the size of the device. If you want to purify the air in your entire home, then you can choose from in-duct air purifiers, or portable air purifiers that can be moved from room to room.
- Technology used: There are various technologies used in different house air cleaners. You can choose from ozone air purifiers, filter-less air purifiers, UV air purifiers etc. The choice will depend on what type of allergens you want to get rid of, and also if you need to remove odors along with other contaminants.
- Cost: Your budget will determine your choice to a great extent. If money is not a concern, you can go in for a top-of-the-line purifier with multiple purification technologies. If you do not want to spend a lot of money, you can choose a small portable home purifier according to your immediate needs.
The amount of pollution in and around your home, the number of people living in the house, whether or not you have any pets, are all miscellaneous conditions that will also affect your choice of air purifiers for your home.
With use, these filters can attract a large number of dust particles and other matter. The microorganisms and germs that are present in the trapped particles accumulate in the filter, which then becomes a place that is conducive for such germs and bacteria to grow and reproduce. These harmful microorganisms, if left unchecked, can be released into the air, contaminating the very air that the air purifiers were meant to clean.
Due to this danger, the filters of air purifiers need to be serviced and cleaned thoroughly and repeatedly. Many a times, you need other equipment such as UV lamps, in the vicinity of the filters, to destroy the germs produced therein. All this can be very frustrating, time consuming and also very expensive.
But you need not contend with filters of air purifiers if you don’t want to. All the above mentioned hassles can be dealt with by using filterless air purifiers.
Features Of Filterless Air Purifiers
- As the name suggests, a filter-less air purifier does not have any filter to trap particulates and dust.
- Filter less air purifiers use technologies such as ionizers, ozone generation, and UV rays to purify and clean air.
- A filterless purifier may contain metal collection plates for purification. One plate charges the particles in the air, and the other plate traps the charged particles to remove them from the air.
Benefits Of A Filterless Air Purifier
- They are relatively maintenance free. There are no filters that need to repeatedly be cleaned r serviced. Some filter-less purifiers do contain metal plates, but these are also very easy to clean and can be washed in your regular dishwasher.
- Filterless air cleaners do not have any components that can become a breeding ground for any kind of germs, bacteria, or other microorganisms. These air purifiers thus help to keep the air clean without adding to the contamination in the air.
- They are available with many different types of purification systems, and you can choose one depending on your individual requirements.
- A filter-less air purifier is relatively less noisy than one with a filter as there is less restriction of air flow.
How An Electrostatic Air Filter Works
Air which passes through the filter produces friction which causes static charges between the hairs of the fibers within the filter. This static charge attracts particles in the air which is passing through and captures it within the metal plates of the electrostatic air filter.
With this, once these filters are cleaned with water through a water hose once in a while, they can then be used again. As they don’t suffer much wear and tear, these electrostatic air filters are also given a lifetime warranty by their producers. Apart from that, the external construction is made from non-corrosive material which will not degrade due to heat from prolonged usage.
Additionally, electrostatic air purifiers are also very cost efficient as they do not require much energy to operate. Therefore, using these electrostatic filters will not hike up your electricity bills. These filters also come in many sizes and shapes, are easy to install and are also environmentally safe as they do not emit ozone into the air for cleaning purposes. Finally, with an electrostatic purifier, you will be sure that your home will be free from any pollutants which may cause allergic reactions to those within your home. Therefore, with an electro static air filter, everyone in your home will be able to breathe easier and feel fresher as well.
Biozone Commercial Air Purifiers
Commercial air purifiers by Biozone for instance are perfect for industrial uses where large spaces of heavily contaminable areas need to be kept in control. Several units of Biozone ATC 3 for instance, are able to cover up to 14000 square feet of space, which is sufficient to maintain the air quality within industrial factories that are prone to air pollution. Nevertheless, commercial units cost a lot more than their domestic counterparts and could rake as high as $2000 per unit. As expensive as they are, these indispensable products yield great importance in ensuring a better place to work or stay in.
IQAir Air Purifiers
Commercial air purification systems are of the utmost importance in hospitals and dental institutions. Certain commercial purifiers by IQAir like IQ Air Dental Pro and IQAir CleanRoom are designed specifically for use in hospitals and dental institutions that require the cleanest and purest of air. They help to maintain fresh air quality which in turn promotes a healthier environment for the staff and especially the patients. Having perfect air quality does not just eliminate risks on contamination in areas of the hospital; it also serves to prevent infection control. In emergency wards, ICU units and critical rooms, the quality of air is extremely crucial in order to create an environment that is conducive towards the patient’s recuperation and therefore is an issue that is dealt with seriously.
Although reviews do help, they should be used to short list some air purifiers and not to make the final decision about the best one. Here is no such thing as one best air purifier for everybody. Each person’s requirements, in an air purifier, are different from others, and thus you can only select one that will be best for you. What is the best air purifier for one a particular household may not be the best purifier for another.
Factors For Choosing The Best Air Purifier
- Size of the area: The size of the room, office, or home will determine the best air purifier for that space. If you have a large room, then you cannot use a purifier that is not efficient enough for big spaces. In such a situation, the air purifier best for you will be one that can effectively purify air even in large areas.
- Filtration technologies: There are many different kinds of filtration technologies used in different air purifiers. These include, heap filtration, ionic filtration, ozone generation, UV air purification systems etc. The best air purifiers use more than just one type of technology for air purification. The more the technologies used in a particular air purifier, the better it is likely to be in purification of indoor air.
- Health concerns: The choice will also depend on the type of health problems that you are facing because of bad indoor air quality. Depending on what you are suffering from, you need to decide whether you want an air purifier that attacks air borne particulates, or one that removes germs from the air, or both. An air purifier that helps to minimize your health problems is the only one that can be considered the most suitable air purifier for you.
So, in choosing the right purifier for you, pay attention to your individual home and health requirements, and not to something that you saw on television, or heard somewhere, about some ‘best air purifiers’.
Here we have put together some air purifier reviews of some of the top air purifiers available in the markets. This is an unbiased and objective view, which should help you in making the right choice.
- ORECK XL Professional Air PurifierThis air purifier from Oreck is a very nice looking and attractive-to-the-eye system, which is of course the first thing that we noticed about it. On using, it was very silent and also did an efficient job of air purification. It is a nice compact unit and perfect for those who hate bulky looking appliances.On the negative side, the fragrance feature, which is a very nice addition, would have been much better had it actually worked! Also had some price issues with the supplier, even though the unit was ordered from the Oreck website.
- Friedrich C-90A Air Purifier ReviewThe Friedrich uses an electrostatic plate for air purification, which is very effective, but does generate a very small amount of ozone. It has an activated carbon filter that efficiently removes unpleasant odors and fumes. It is a filter-less air purifier, thus your maintenance expenses will be low.The Friedrich can be quite noisy, and could have been a bit better in the looks department. All-in-all, a good buy if you do not have very acute allergy problems.
- IQAir HealthPro Air Purifier ReviewThe price of this air purifier did make us go ‘ouch’ but the cost is definitely worth it. Even though it is one of the more expensive air purifiers in the markets, it is a very good buy because of its super high efficiency in getting rid of particulates and other harmful microorganisms. The filter change indicator is a good addition.The only negative, if you can call it that, would be its price.
- Honeywell HEPA 50250 Air CleanerVery good air purifier, provided the space is not more than 300 sq.ft. It is also very quiet and reasonably priced. It does lack a bit in style, but overall, a good buy for small areas.
Hopefully, our reviewing of major air purifiers will help you.