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| What Do You Want to Treat? |
| What you want to treat determines the filter type
you need. The more you spend, the more filtration you'll get, both in quality and coverage area. |
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Allergies/Asthma Air Purifiers — Allergy and asthma sufferers can get relief from pretty much any air purifier with a quality HEPA filter, an electrostatic filter, or AirFree's thermodynamic, filter-free technology. The only air purifiers we wouldn't recommend for asthma or allergies are ozone or ionic generators, both of which produce ozone -- a potentially harmful lung irritant for asthmatics, children, or the elderly. Keep in mind that with any air purifier, you get what you pay for: higher-priced HEPA models get you tighter casing for more efficiency, and higher-priced HEPA and Carbon or UV models have more media and higher-quality construction.
Top pick: Austin Air Jr. Allergy Machine
See all: Allergies/Asthma Air Purifiers
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Chemicals Air Purifiers — Folks with severe chemical sensitivities should look for high-end machines that combine HEPA and activated carbon, which "adsorbs" smoke, gases, fumes, and other noxious chemicals through chemical attraction. AllerAir's vocarb series features pounds and pounds of activated carbon specifically engineered to relieve MCS sufferers. The IQAir series is also renowned for its gas-phase media, which filters chemicals and gases as well as molds, bacterias, and bigger particles.
Top pick: NQ Clarifier Standard Air Purifier
See all: Chemicals Air Purifiers
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Odors Air Purifiers — To eliminate odors alone, go for a HEPA/carbon or HEPA/charcoal model or an ion or ozone generator. The latter two are generally much less expensive but much more controversial: they produce ozone, a lung irritant that will affect asthmatics, the elderly, and infants. The HEPA/carbon and HEPA/charcoal models do much more than just treat odors; they eliminate tons and tons of particles along with toxic chemicals and gases.
Top pick: AllerAir 4000 DS Exec Air Purifier - Fast FREE FedEx Shipping!
See all: Odors Air Purifiers
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Urban Pollution Air Purifiers — If you're working in, driving through, or sleeping in an environment with a lot of chemicals, you should look for high-end machines that combine HEPA and activated carbon, which "adsorbs" smoke, gases, fumes, and other noxious chemicals through chemical attraction. AllerAir's vocarb series features pounds and pounds of activated carbon specifically engineered to relieve MCS sufferers. The IQAir series is also renowned for its gas-phase media, which filters chemicals and gases as well as molds, bacterias, and bigger particles.
Top pick: AllerAir 4000 Vocarb Air Purifier
See all: Urban Pollution Air Purifiers
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| Where Will You Use It? |
| You wouldn't buy a huge air purifier for your car, and you wouldn't buy a tiny unit for your welding garage, either. We've matched power and filtration types to the settings where they'll be most effective. Want an air purifier for a big hospital room? You'd want a powerful unit that combines HEPA and UV. Want a unit for your nursery? Make sure it's got HEPA and can cover about 200 sq. ft. And so on. |
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Bedroom or Nursery Air Purifiers — There are few lungs more vulnerable than developing lungs, which is why it's a great idea to give your little one the gift of clean air from a very early age. We've selected HEPA and thermodynamic models that cover smaller spaces -- perfect for nurseries and bedrooms. We do not recommend ionic or ozone machines; they produce ozone, which can be harmful and irritating to lungs at any age.
Top pick: Austin Air Baby's Breath Air Purifier
See all: Bedroom or Nursery Air Purifiers
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| Filtration Type |
| This is the single most important decision you need to make when choosing an air purifier; different filtration systems are best at treating different things. Read on to find your perfect filtration system... |
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HEPA Air Purifiers — The building-block of most respected air purifiers, HEPA stands for High Efficiency Particulate Air, and its filters (when HEPA-certified) remove 99.97% of all particles as small as 0.3 microns. HEPA filters were originally developed by the Atomic Energy Commission for the purpose of removing radioactive dust particles; now we know they trap all manner of allergens, like pollen, dust, pet dander, and mold spores. As with other media, HEPA filters get more effective with more surface area; other important points include the quality of the casing (metal is better than plastic) and the tight fit of the filter within the machine. In high-end air purifiers, HEPA is used in combination with other filtration types: activated carbon or charcoal (for molds, gases, chemicals, VOCs, and odors) and/or UV (for viruses, germs, and microorganisms). One important note on HEPA filters: they must be replaced according to the manufacturer's standards (e.g. every two years) and should, where possible, be used in combination with a pre-filter, which blocks bigger particles and lengthens the life of the HEPA filter.
Top pick: Austin Air Healthmate Jr. HM 200 Air Purifier
See all: HEPA Air Purifiers
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HEPA and Carbon Air Purifiers — Machines that combine HEPA and activated carbon are top-notch models for treating allergens, asthma, molds, odors, VOCs, gases, smoke, chemicals, and bacteria. The more you pay, the more powerful the purifier, which means you'll filter more air over a bigger space more effectively. The entire AllerAir line combines HEPA and activated carbon; the more you spend, the more pounds of carbon you get, with blends specially engineered to treat things like MCS and cigarette smoke.
Top pick: AllerAir 5000 Exec Air Purifier
See all: HEPA and Carbon Air Purifiers
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HEPA and UV Air Purifiers — Hospitals, labs, and people with weak immune systems love the combination of HEPA filtration and a UV lamp, which changes the DNA of microorganisms, bacteria, and viruses to render them harmless. In residential settings, the UV light is a great way to attack mold -- especially in combination with carbon or charcoal. The brand that's made its name with this combination is NQ Clarifier, whose models are trusted by tons of labs and hospitals worldwide.
Top pick: AllerAir Air Tube Exec UV Air Purifier
See all: HEPA and UV Air Purifiers
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Ionic Air Purifiers — Ion generators, like ozone generators, produce charged particles that cling to dust and do a good, low-maintenance, mostly silent job neutralizing things like bacteria, odors, and viruses. They're controversial, however, because they also produce ozone, which is a lung irritant and particularly troublesome for infants, asthma sufferers, and the elderly. Our favorites in this category come from Alen, which has superb filtration with minimal (or non-existent) side effects.
Top pick: Alen A350 HEPA Air Purifier
See all: Ionic Air Purifiers
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Ozone Air Purifiers — They're generally quiet and low-maintenance and do a good job of eliminating viruses, bacteria, and odors, but ozone generators are controversial because they also produce ozone, which is a lung irritant and particularly troublesome for infants, asthma sufferers, and the elderly.
Top pick: Biozone 1000 Home Air Purifier
See all: Ozone Air Purifiers
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| Maximum Coverage Area |
| How big is the space you'd like to clean? You don't need to spend a ton of money to treat your car, nursery, or bedroom, but you don't want to do half the job in a bigger room. Make sure the maximum coverage area of your air purifier roughly matches the space you need to clean; if your ceilings are higher, make sure the CADR rate can keep up, or choose a model with a larger coverage area. |
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