Should You Leave the Air Purifier On All Day?

Though you may find air purifiers from different manufactures, they are all designed for the same purpose – i.e. filter “polluted” air inside your home.

Air purifiers, also known as air cleaners filter indoor air pollutants such as dust, pet dander, pollen, smoke from the air and significantly improve the air quality and also help reduce allergy and asthma attacks.

To get the maximum result out of air purifiers, it is highly recommend that you leave it all day long.

Each unit is different and unique. In order to find what is best for your model, we highly recommend that you consult your purifier’s instruction manual. If you lost your user’s manual, visit the manufacturer’s site and enter the model information to find PDF format manual.

Should you leave the air purifier all day?

a) All day use - Almost all air purifier suppliers and manufacturers recommend that you run your air purifiers all day long for maximum operation. For example, Crane, an air purifier manufacture says that running your air purifier all day long will offer you benefits throughout the year.

Honeywell, another air purifier manufactures, says the same thing, recommending people to run their air cleaners as much as possible, or all the time for maximum efficiency. For energy efficient operation, run your air purifiers on medium settings. Use the high settings for quick air circulation and filtration, while low setting is recommended for quiet operation.

b) Effectiveness - Leaving the air purifier on all day long does not mean it will clean an entire home. This is because of walls and other partitions present inside your living space.

In addition, air purifiers are available in different sizes. Depending upon its size, the air cleaner can clean air in spaces ranging from 100 to 5,000 sq. ft. If you are installing a less powerful air purifier on a large room, it may not absorb be able to clean your room completely.

If this is the case, you need to perform the air purification on a room-by-room basis. That means installing one unit each in the rooms you occupy the most (living room, bedrooms, or kitchen).

Other factors that affect the effectiveness of air purifiers are fan speeds, insulation quality, in-room airflow, and the amount of pollutants in your living spaces.

c) Energy consumption - An air purifier with an average HEPA – or high efficiency particulate air – filter consumes about 50 watts of electricity on its lowest settings and 200 watts on its highest settings. On the other hand, an average computer uses 365 watts of electricity.

Therefore, most air cleaners will be energy-efficient, even if you let it run all day.

To find more energy-efficient air purifiers, look for air purifiers with the Energy Star seal. These air purifiers are more energy-efficient than air purifiers that comes without the certification.

d) Filters - Although running air purifiers are highly recommended for maximum efficiency and operation, doing so may also cause air filters (the main component of the purifier) to run their course more faster than sporadic operation.

However, this should not be a problem for you because most air filters, and also HEPA filters, need replacement only once every 3-5 years. Only pre-filters and carbon filters need replacement every 3-6 months of time.

Final thoughts

If you need higher output (more clean air for breathing) from your air purifiers, you should let your air purifier on all day long. The pros outweighs the cons – maximum operation and output delivery, less power consumption, and the fact that filters need changing only after few years.

On the other hand, leaving the air purifier on all day long does not mean it will clean your entire room. You still need to be careful where you place your air purifiers because there could be walls and other partitions in your house preventing air filtration process. You may need to install one unit each in places you occupy the most.

Comment below if you think it is a good idea to leave your air purifier on all day?

Did you like our post? If you did, you may also like to read our best air purifier reviews.

How to Buy an Air Purifier

How to buy an air purifier

An air purifier, or filtration machine, are great home improvement appliances that removes irritants present in the air.

Although all air purifiers are good for your health, however, not ALL models are useful. In this guide, we will explain you what you should consider and what to avoid while purchasing an air purifier from the markets.

Here are few tips to remember while shopping for an air purifier:

What you should look for:

Clean air delivery rate, or CADR: It delineate two things:

1. the maximum square footage recommended in which you can use the filter – a good baseline for choosing a room unit
2. how quickly it can three known types of air pollutants: smoke (number ranging from 10 to 450), pollen (25 to 450), and dust (10 to 400).

The higher this value, the faster, although not necessarily more comprehensively, the purifier filters the air.

What to avoid:

Ozone: Some air purifiers generate ozone from its sweet-smelling fragrance. They are marketed as air fresheners in the market. Do not try to purchase these types of air purifiers.

Ozone is harmful to your lungs.

If you were searching for the best air purifiers in the market, do not look elsewhere.

We have meticulously written in-depth and honest reviews of 10 popular air purifiers. These reviews will explain each products strong and weak point so that you know which model to go after depending upon your requirements and budget.

In addition, we have also mentioned the best place to purchase air purifier to get up to 60% discounts.

Looking for air purifiers? Read our air purifier reviews.

How to Clean Air Purifiers

HEPA filter is short form for high efficiency particulate air filter. It was designed to capture very small airborne particles - dust, moles, bacteria, virus, etc - that are not usually captured by other standard air filters. The filter can capture these particles and prevent you from having allergies, asthma, and other health problems.

HEPA filter can significantly improve the quality of the air in your living rooms, kitchen, and bedrooms. In order to keep it working for a long time, probably more than 1 years, you need to frequently clean HEPA filters.

This article is going to show few simple steps that you can take to clean the HEPA filter in a matter of minutes and maintain its efficiency for a long period of time.

But before that, let us tell you what you need to begin.

You will need trashcan, can of compressed air, garden hose, and water supply.

And here is how to clean your HEPA filter:

Step 1:  Turn off your air purifier and unplug it from the power supply outlet. Unfasten the clips on the side of the unit to open the air cleaner. You should see the HEPA filter inside.

Step 2: Remove the filter by taking out of the HEPA air purifier. Take the filter somewhere else, probably in the next room to clean it properly.

Step 3: Lay the filter on top of a trashcan and using the compressed air blow out any loose dust that has accumulated on the filter. Clean both sides of the filter by turning it over and switching it back and forth until you are certain all dust are removed.

Step 4: Turn on the water supply and clean the HEPA filter. Spray the water gently over the filter using a garden hose. Moderate the force of the spray by pressing your thumb over the end of the hose. Be careful not to damage the filter with excess force of the spray.

Step 5: Place the filter leaning against the wall in a shadowy area where wind can blow through to both sides of it. Leave the filter there for few hours to let it completely dry.

Step 6: Finally, place the HEPA filter back in the air purifier once it is dry. Slide it back in place and close the lids on the unit. Plug the electricity cord of the air purifier back in and switch it on to ensure that it is working properly.

Tips: Do not expose the filter in direct sunlight or lay it flat on the ground to avoid damage to it.

We would like to hear from you.

Tell us if you know any tips on how to clean HEPA filter in the comment box below!

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Air Purifier: What is Air Purifier and How Does it Work

Air purifiers, you probably have heard them before. However, despite the fact that you have heard it before, do you know what air purifiers are and what they do? Many people do not. Air purifiers, also commonly known as air filters or cleaners, offers great number of benefits to you and your family, but before you reap the benefits, you must also familiarize yourself with air purifiers – i.e. what they are and what they do.

Air purifiers, also commonly referred as air cleaners, are electronic machines. These electronic devices have one goal – i.e. to clean the air. They clean the air by eliminating the unwanted or harmful air particles. Air contaminant is also another word used to refer to air particles. However, no matter what they are called, one thing is: they are harmful for your health or to those who frequent your home. That is why it is highly suggested that all homes have an air purifier or filter installed in them. In fact, some householders are even urged to use air purifiers in their home.

Now, why on earth would someone be urged to have an air purifier in their home? And who are those individuals and who are doing the urging? If you are wondering, let me give you some facts. There are large numbers of householders who are insisted to have air purifiers in their homes. These individuals probably have pets or other in-house smokers living with them. It has been found that, proven after multiple case studies, that pets and cigarette smoke causes unhealthy air particles to form in the air. Using an air purifier or filter, those harmful particles can be completely eliminated or reduced.

In addition to those having a house pets or cigarette smoker, people with allergies also advised to purchase an air purifier for their home. Air purifiers eliminate common dust particles floating in the air, which are main cause for allergies. In addition to keeping air clean, air purifiers or filters may also help reduce an allergic reaction to pets or pet hair.

Though it is very important to understand who can benefit from having an air purifier, you may also be thinking about exactly how they operate/work? Different purifiers work in different ways. This is because these different types of air purifiers are produced by different manufacturers. Each manufacturer will develop their product in their own specifications, and therefore, there are many makes and models of air purifiers found in the market today.

Despite the differences, a many different air purifiers use ionizers or filters. These filters filter out unwanted or harmful air purifiers by preventing them from passing through the system. What that means is that only clean, safe, and breathable air is allowed to pass through the air purifier.

If you are thinking about purchasing an air purifier or a cleaner with all of the benefits, and there is a high chance that you will, you are advised to shop carefully. You will find that many air purifiers boast to be the best, but only few are. You may also be tempted to purchase a low-costing air purifier because you are under budget, but you are advised to be cautious while doing do. You see, cheaper air purifiers are very low performing. The high-performing air purifiers, on the other hand, could be quite expensive, as their filters need to be replaced every few months. If that is the case, make sure to check the cost of the replacement filters. (Sometimes, you will find that the filters may cost more than the machine originally did.)

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Do Air Purifier Really Work? Top 7 Myths Demystified

Several common misunderstandings need to be clear about what an air purifier, or air cleaner, can and cannot do. This article is going to do that for you, now.

Myth #1

You will never ever need to dust again.

This is the most common misunderstanding among many people. If it was true, then the fan in the air purifier would be really strong, not to mention noisy, that it would literally create a dust storm in your home. Not someone suffering from allergy would want to do.

You still need a good HEPA vacuum cleaner and microfiber dusting cloth to clean your floors and furniture.

Myth #2

Allergy sufferers do not have to do anything if they have air purifiers in their homes.

Air purifier is NOT the ultimate solution to your allergy problem. The allergy problems could still persists even if you have air purifiers in your homes. Some allergens like pollen are heavy and fall to the furniture and floor before air purifiers have time to catch them.

You still require frequent clean up and rearrangement of your home environment to make your living space more allergy friendly.

In addition, you may require purchasing allergy relief products like steam cleaner or a dehumidifier for free cleaning and lower dust mite growth and humidity control mold.

Myth #3

Air purifiers will suck up all odors out of your home so that you never have to care about your everyday hygiene.

Many people think that after having an air purifier in their homes, they do not have to take care of their everyday hygiene – i.e. not empty litter box, leave dirty clothes on the floor, and let food rotting in the kitchen tables for months ends, and expect air purifier to pick it up.

Air purifiers only works for odors that have several pounds of high garde carbon in them. Other than that, a good hygiene and frequent clean up and removal of the cause of the odor is a better solution.

Myth #4

HEPA-equipped air purifier must do great job.

Sadly, HEPA filters vary in size and construction quality. Other design factors in air purifiers may also prevent it from doing a truly great job, letting unpurified air leak back to the room.

Myth #5

If you have allergies of dust mites, you need to get air purifier

The first thing you do is not buy an air purifier, but a dust mite cover for your bedding where dust mites tend to gather in warm moist environments. Air purifiers can and will only capture dust mite particles that have become airborne.

Myth #6

If you have allergies, you should never open your windows.

Not true, every house needs a certain amount of fresh air exchanges every day. If you do not have an automatic fresh air exchanger, you are best off opening the windows for an hour each day. Let the air purifier take care of that for you.

Myth #7

Air purifiers with HEPA filters remove odors.

Hepa filters helps remove odors is another myth. Only air purifier that has several pounds of carbon contained in a separate filter is going to remove odors, and only few air purifier types is actually capable of doing that.

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Air Purifier vs. Air Cleaner

When you are searching for an air cleaner for your homes, you might have come across two terminologies – air cleaner and air purifier – on the search results of Google, leaving you confused which one you should purchase.

They are the same. The terms air purifier and air cleaner are interchangeable.
If you understand what air purifiers are, you can easily find the ‘right’ one for yourself.

Before finding the ‘right’ air purifier, or air cleaner, let us understand the common types of air pollutants often found in homes. Having this knowledge will make it easier for you to find the ‘right’ air purifier or air cleaner that effectively clean air.

Types of air pollutants:

a) Airborne Particles: Many people are looking for air cleaners or air purifiers to get rid of airborne particles such as dust mites, fungi, bacteria, pet dander, mold spores, pollen, and plant spores. They aggravate conditions like allergies and asthma.

They vary in size but all microscopic. They are measured in microns (1 micron = 1/25,000 of an inch). 

HEPA filters are the most effective in getting rid of these airborne particles because they are able to pull 99.97% of airborne particles that measure as small as 0.3 microns.

Airborne particle types and its sizes:

•    Smoke (0.003-0.04 microns)
•    Bacteria (0.3- 3 microns)
•    Fungi (0.5 -5 microns)
•    Pet dander (0.3-100 microns)
•    Mold (2-20 microns)
•    Pollen (10 to 100 microns)
•    Dust mite (10 to 40 microns)
•    Plant spore (10 to 70 microns)

b) Volatile Organic Compounds, of VOCs

VOCs are vapors or gases emitted by household items. It may be released by paints, varnishes, adhesives, glues, carpets, and disinfectants.

To ensure that a household product contains VOCs, check for ingredients like benzene, toluene, chloride, formaldehyde, and ethylene. Some air purifiers are designed to filter VOCs from the air, while others are not able to do the job.

If VOCs is a major air pollutants you want to rid of, we highly recommend that you search for air purifiers with filters that pull VOCs out of the air.

c) Gases and Odors

Some air purifiers are capable of eliminating gases and odors from the air. They remove gases and odors, such as aerosols, cooking odors, kitty litter, toxins, and tobacco smokes, with “activated” carbon filters, which are found in almost all air purifiers.

These carbon filters utilizes a process called “adsorption” to force these odors and gases to become attached using a special chemical reaction.

d) Microorganisms

There are air purifiers in the market today designed specially to remove microorganisms from the air. There are also air cleaners capable of killing microorganisms, using UV rays and other advanced technologies.
Microorganisms are bacteria, pathogens, antigens, mold, and viruses.

Types of Air Cleaners

There are three types of air cleaners, or air purifiers available in the market today – whole-house air filters, whole-house air cleaners, and portable air purifiers.

a)    Whole-House Air Cleaners: These types of air cleaners need to be directly wired into one’s home electrical system – cooling and heating system. However, installing this system is not a job of an average householder. Rather, a professional has to install this system for you. The home must also have a force-air ducts in order to make it work.

b)    Whole-House Air Filters: This air cleaner type offers an alternative way for cleaning massive amount of air at one time. It was designed to the standards furnace filter. This option is somewhat effective, but not as efficient as other types of air cleaners in eliminating nearly all types of air pollutants from your home.

c)    Portable Air Purifiers – Portable air cleaners/purifiers are highly efficient machine to clean air in single room environment. There are many affordable portable air cleaners available in the market today, making it affordable to place one in each room.

Whether you call it an air purifier or an air cleaner, there is one single component that is found in all units: “air filters.”

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Where is the best place to place my air purifier?

Airborne pathogens, dust, toxins are always floating in the air undetected. That is when air purifiers come in handy and does it job - clean the air and make it toxin free.

Air purifiers offer health benefits for people.

People with asthma, sinus, allergies, and elderly people benefit immensely from installing air purifiers in their homes, especially in their bedroom. It improves air quality and helps them to sleep deep and relaxed.

While bedroom makes the best place for air purifiers - you will be breathing deep while you're sleeping - some models can be installed on the wall or in the center of the room.

Recommended place for your air purifiers:

Air Purifier: How does it work?

Air purifiers clean “polluted” air inside your rooms.

According to a Achoo Allergy and Air Products, many people spend 90% of their time indoors, and the air inside is 5-10% dirtier than outside. That is why having an air purifier system in your home is very necessary.

Air purifiers engage in "air exchange."

The fan built inside the unit sucks in polluted air, filters it by sending the air through the "filtration process", and releases clean air back into the room. Each machine is capable of filtering a single-room environment, small or large. If you need to clean multiple rooms, you need to have one air purifier in each room.

Uses of Air Purifiers

Having an air purifiers in your room is like having a 24/7 protection system to your and your family's health. It protects everyone (especially people with sinus, asthma, and allergies) from airborne toxins such as dust mites, mildew, mold spores, pet dander, airborne bacteria, odors, gases and volatile organic compounds that are usually found in household products such as paints, varnishes, adhesives, disinfectants, and cleaning supplies.
Because many people spend most of their time indoors, it is a good idea to have air purifier in your rooms to protect yourself against contamination, allergies, and asthma that arise from "polluted" air.

The best place for your air purifier
You can place air purifiers anywhere inside your home, but placing it inside your bedrooms and living room would benefit you the most.

If you are placing air purifiers inside your bedroom, make sure to place it about 6 to 10 feet far from the head of your bed, with the air purifier facing towards you.

Anything closer than this distance will cause you to feel a draft; any further away from this recommended placement and you might not be able to receive the full benefits of breathing filtered air.
The unit must be placed squarely on the floor.

Some air purifier needs to be placed in the middle of the room. If this is a problem, look for air purifiers that comes with 360-degree filtration system, like <product name> that can be placed 6 inches to a foot from the wall.

Other models can be placed near the wall, or right up against the wall, without a problem.

Here are few tips you need to remember when searching for a air purifier for your home.

a) Search for an air purifier with a "sealed system," which will keep the air and dirty air separate.

b) Keep air purifier running 24 hours a day, on it is highest setting (it could get quite noisy though).

c) Turn the machine all the way up when you're not inside your room, and turn it down to its lowest or medium settings when you're inside.

d) Before buying the air purifier, make sure to check for its warranty, types of filters used in the system, and how often they need to be replaced and cleaned.

e) It is highly recommended that you purchase an extra filter at the same time you purchase your air purifier so that when one stops working, you will have a back up and there will not be any breaks in air filtration in your room.

f) Note down the expiry date of the filter and keep it visible in a place you can see daily (on the wall of your room, for example) so that you know the what to do when the times comes.

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