Air purifiers for the apartment: how to choose? Air purifier for allergy sufferers: reviews, prices

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

More and more often, the conditions of urban life, characterized by polluted air, poor ecology, which leads to poor he alth and constant depression, force residents of megacities to drop everything and move outside the city to breathe clean air in the bosom of nature and not think about problems associated with constant fuss.

Another option is to move from a gassed industrial area to a quiet suburb without the noise of cars, trains and factories, with birds singing and the wonderful scent of lilacs in spring, and in winter with quiet picturesque streets and the crackling of snow under your feet, which you can no longer hear in the city.

Air purifier is an indispensable accessory

Unfortunately, not everyone has the opportunity to move out of town. So what does it mean that there is no way to breathe clean, and not polluted, he alth-damaging air?

There is a way out, it will allow you to turn your apartment into an oasis in a big metropolis,fragrant with natural freshness. Yes, now there is an opportunity to improve the conditions and create a good microclimate at home, and without much effort, because the inventors have worked for this. Today, modern technologies make it possible to purify the air of an apartment from harmful impurities. Of course, the device cannot replace the sound of the sea wave or the singing of birds, but it will definitely make the air clean. We are talking about a residential air purifier, and in this article we will help you choose this device.

How does an air purifier work?

Air purifier-humidifier for an apartment is a simple device, easy to use, requiring no special skills to maintain. It kills all germs in the air, while anyone can use the device. An air purifier for allergy sufferers and those who often suffer from colds is just a godsend.

The principle of operation of the device with a removable filter is based on blowing air through several special filters, depending on the type of pollution. For example, some of them can remove gas or smoke from an apartment, others will clean it of dust, plant pollen, and animal hair. The air cleaner model uses carbon, mesh, photocatalytic filters. The strength of the air flow can be adjusted using the buttons or switch located on the control unit, or in auto mode.

Which air purifier is best?

Air cleaners with replaceable filters, which are in the greatest demand - productsfollowing brands: Daikin, Boneco Electrolux, Bionaire, Sharp Air, Comfort, Air-O-Swiss, Venta, Toshiba, Bork. In general, the choice is large, and you can find a model that meets all requirements. The cost is from $ 80 for a basic model and up to $ 1,000 for an elite one. The optimal air purifier for an apartment - the price of which is $ 200-500 (with an additional option for ionization and humidification), which has a multi-stage cleaning system and a control panel.

Premium-class models are whole climatic complexes that combine in one case several devices of different functionality that can work separately or simultaneously.

When choosing an air purifier, be guided by your needs, and also consider the size of the area that you need to clean with the selected model.

Also on sale are air cleaners without replaceable filters, the main purpose of which is purification by passing air through water. They are also called "air washers". They cost a little more.

"Air wash" runs it through wet cartridges. Such devices not only carry out the option of cleaning the air from pollution, but also increase its humidity to the optimal standards for humans - 50-60 percent.

Apartment air purifiers with replaceable filters are best for high levels of pollution, and if your main goal is to increase the humidity in the room, then in this case you need to use a humidifier.

Leadersmarket producing air purifiers

Today, many people want to buy the best air purifier for the apartment. A review of the modern market shows that the following brands are the most popular: Boneco (from $220), AOS ($250-500), Ballu (from $180), Venta ($250-800). For such a price, you can get not just a model that purifies and humidifies the air, but a universal device with additional options that regulate the noise level. In addition, there is a silver air disinfection function, and a remote control is also attached to the model.

Special attention to the quality of products among air purifiers, and most importantly, the money requested for them, deserve such brands as Sharp and Daikin, the Aic air purifier is not bad. The products of these brands primarily purify the air, and the humidification function is additional, which does not prevent them from doing their job just fine. There are no differences in the quality of humidification in the model range, only cleaning systems differ.

The best Sharp air purifiers for apartments are equipped with a classic HEPA filter, ionizer and deodorizing filter, while Daikin has a proprietary Flash Streamer system that not only eliminates dust, odors and allergens, but also effectively destroys viruses, including the swine flu virus.

The Swiss company IQAir is considered the best manufacturer of professional air purifiers. Household air purifiers from this company haveHyperHEPA filters that are 100 times more effective than conventional HEPA.

Filters in air cleaners

The filter is the key element of the purifier device. The degree of purification and the performance of the equipment depend on its type. Let us consider in more detail what types of filters are used for what, which ones are better. Let's start with coarse filters that clean large mechanical particles. They are a simple fine mesh. Such a filter is needed to clean large particles of wool, sand, poplar fluff, hair. Also, this filter protects the device itself from getting these particles inside. As you use the grid, you need to clean or blow it, then it can be used repeatedly. For the normal functioning of the equipment, the mesh must be cleaned once every 3 months.

Carbon adsorption filter

This filter contains activated carbon, which is an adsorption element commonly used to combat toxins. Carbon adsorption filters successfully neutralize bad odors in the air. But, unfortunately, they do not protect against nitrogen oxides contained in urban air, so they are used only as additional ones.

Carbon filters absorb impurities. Therefore, they must be changed periodically. Their service life is from 3 months to one year, the cost is 30-40 dollars.

Electrostatic filters

These filters are used for more perfect and deep air purification, which is performedas follows: through the positive electrode, which is represented by a positively charged grid, air is driven through, and polluting compounds remain on the negative electrodes. These are reusable filters that can be rinsed with water for reuse. Their main disadvantage is the release of ozone during their operation. It is a highly toxic gas, despite all its disinfectant and healing properties.

HEPA filters

These filters are a guarantee of effective and deep cleaning, which, in addition to being used in everyday life, are also used in medical devices, medical laboratories and institutions. These filters have earned a lot of positive feedback. They capture up to 97% of allergenic particles larger than 0.3 microns and various pollutants. HEPA filters are disposable, service life is 1 year, after which they need to be changed. Cost - 25-35 dollars.

Power and noise level

One of the advantages of air purifiers is their low power consumption, typically 50-70 watts, while low-cost models in consumer demand - 20-35 watts.

Also worth noting is the low noise level, which is important as many air purifiers run non-stop, including at night in the bedroom. In any cleaning device, as a rule, the fan is noisy, and manufacturers have taken this into account by creating units with night mode, when the fan speed is reduced to a minimum, and the volume is 37 dB. This level of noise is not distracting and does not interfere with sleep. In addition, hemay depend on the variant of applied filters.

For example, to run air through a HEPA filter, you need a fan with more power, and therefore more noisy. Nevertheless, manufacturers claim that the noise level is not higher than the standard value. There are air purifiers for the apartment with almost silent operation at night (in the "Sleep" mode). The volume is only 16 dB.

Where to place the air purifier for the apartment?

Customer reviews say that most often cleaners are installed on a windowsill, floor, table, bedside table, etc. Some devices can be hung on the wall.

Additional options and functions

Here are some additions that we promised to write about at the beginning of the article. Thanks to them, the use of the air purifier becomes convenient and pleasant:

• Timer - Used to turn off appliances such as apartment air purifiers and set operating periods.
• Remote control panel - needed to switch the operating modes of the device.
• Fan speed setting - this option is used to switch the air cleaner modes, for example, to night mode, as a result of which the speed and the level of noise produced are reduced to the minimum value. There are "Sleep", "Turbo" modes, etc.
• Pollution detectors - installed in some models, for example, on an air purifier for allergy sufferers, they serve to determine the degree of air pollution by dust or gases. In case of exceeding the established level of harmful substances in the field"vision" of the detector automatically turns on the unit. The clogging detector also controls the intensity of the fan by reducing or increasing its speed
• Display. Most air purifiers are equipped with a liquid crystal display, which displays data on the modes and operating time of the device;
• Indicators. Sometimes air purifiers for an apartment have additional indicators that are designed to display important information about the operation of the device. Premium-class climate complexes are often equipped with such devices.
• Fragrance. The aromatization option is available in air purifiers of various classes. Devices can be equipped with an additional fragrance, although its presence is not required. You can add aromatic substances to the water yourself, unless, of course, the device of the purifier allows them to be used.

Air purifier operating rules

Air purifier manufacturers recommend timely replacement of filters for the full operation of the device.

In the event of unpleasant odors, the filters must be replaced before they expire. If the air contains a lot of impurities, then you need to wash or change the filters more often.

Even the most modern and powerful air purifiers, unfortunately, do not saturate the air with oxygen, so you need to regularly ventilate the rooms.

Easy breathing!