Air purifiers & allergies

[jeff0121]

"Hello all, I wanted to ask for some advice. I am considering purchasing an air purifier but I have not found any information that shows they really work for allergies and asthma. I would love to hear from you on your own experiences, and any recommendations you can give to a newbie. I have been reading up on this topic and honestly I am extremely confused. Please help and maybe we can all learn together.

Jeff"

 

[JayKosta]

Are you thinking of a single-room air filter, or a whole-house unit.

And do you know what type of 'exposures' affect you asthma? dust, chemicals, cleansers, etc.
Have you been diagnosed by an MD that you have asthma? Have you been tested for allergies?

Jay Kosta
Endwell NY USA

 

[jeff0121]

Refer to the US EPA report. It says that purifiers do not effectively remove particles over 2 microns. Allergens are much larger.

https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/guide-air-cleaners-home-printable-version

I'm thinking about a single-room air filter.

 

[JayKosta]

I didn't find mention of '2 micron' particles in that document -
https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2014-07/documents/aircleaners.pdf

Perhaps particles that large settle out of the air before reaching the filter - so they are still 'in the room' and haven't been trapped by the filter.

We are satisfied with a single room Honeywell air filter that has cleanable filter (cleaned by removing and vacuuming the filters).

If you use a vacuum cleaner for removing dust - be sure to use good quality filter bags (I prefer bags from the maker of the vacuum), and check the condition of the bag to make sure it is not damaged or full.
We do use a vacuum cleaner, but dusting clothes (e.g. Swiffer) work quite well on solid surfaces, and work by holding the dust on the cloth instead of making it airborne.

There are several good 'anti-allergy' products available - the newer ones might only require 1 per day. I use a 1st generation antihistamine called Chlorpheniramine Maleate 4mg (ChlorTabs). It's 'take as needed', 1 table every 4-6 hours. It's been around for decades and has very few side effects, and has been shown to be safe and effective.

Jay Kosta
Endwell NY USA

 

[JayKosta]

Holiday season often includes allergy/sensitivity provoking items such as scented candles, potpourri, floral arrangements, cleaning products, new furniture, perfume, paint, etc.
If you start experiencing allergy-type symptoms, perhaps it is due to new items.

 

[Mike Ortan]

The air purifier is not directly saved you from allergy but I think it helps you to save from allergy because it removes dust particles that have germs if you remove dust then you will save from allergic germs. Try the best air purifier to save yourself from germs.

 

[froze]

First off, a filter is different than a purifier, even though the industry flings those words around like a cheap suit; a purifier is what hospitals use to remove germs, filters cannot do that, thus a true purifier is very expensive.

My wife has allergies so I put a whole house system made by Aprilaire, it attaches to the house HAVC system, they are sort of expensive by the time you purchase the unit and have it installed professionally; mine cost $600, the filter lasts in our house almost 2 years whereas standard filters last about 30 to 90 days, but the Aprilaire filters are more expensive.

Then we put room filtration units in the rooms we use. We had Honeywell Enviracaire units, which use to last 20 to 30 years, but when those failed and we bought new ones the newer Honeywell units barely make it past their 2-year warranty period and one failed during the warranty, they use to be the best you could buy, but now their reliability has significantly deteriorated over the years. So now we're trying the Levoit 400s and the 600S, they are all now about 3 years old, they run quieter than the Honeywell by quite a bit, and they seem to be collecting as much if not more stuff on the filter medium as the Honeywells did, plus they are less expensive than the Honeywell, not only per unit cheaper but also for the replacement filters.

 

[froze]

You need to attack your problem in three ways.

First, you need a whole house filtering system for your heating and air system. Honeywell makes probably the best one, at least in America, not sure if they're available in other countries, anyways this is an electronic filtering system but it cost nearly $900.

Then add in room units, probably one in each room that you spend time in would be ideal. Levoit currently makes the best ones for the money, plus their filter replacements are cheaper, they make several based on the size of room it will be in. Their smallest one would not be very good. But the Core 400S, Core 600S, and the largest one the EverestAir are large enough to filter very well. However, the EverestAir filters at darn near the same level as the Core 600 does, but the Core 600 is half the price, so that's the one I bought. The other thing I found out is that you can get a universal carbon filter, cut is so it will wrap around the filter with no overlap, and use Velcro strips, the hook side, to keep the ends closed, this will act as a prefilter saving you from replacing the main filter as much. You can control it with your smartphone too.

Third thing you need to do is get an allergy/germ-capable vacuum cleaner, now the waters get a bit more murky, a lot of searching will give you different results. I bought a Shark Pro because it was the best, turns out I didn't think it did that great of a job! There is supposedly only one vacuum cleaner made that really does what it says it does, and that's the Air Storm Plus Hepa Vacuum, but the freaking thing is nearly $1,500, I'm not willing to spend that kind of money because I don't have a very bad problem, you might have a bad problem so maybe that vacuum is what you need?

Of course, frequent dusting and vacuuming is mandatory.