In setting up a home and family these days, pets generally have become essential, with most people having them as an extra companion, and harboring them indoors or outdoors. Talking of cats, they are sweet and lovely to have around but could cause certain triggers. Here comes the need for the best air purifiers for cat allergies and dander.
Cat dander could be a general problem, as it contaminates the environment. One might, in this case, look for the best air purifiers for pet dander allergies, to ease these effects in the home.
Certain products in the market out there today could carry claims by the manufacturers to be the best air purifier for pet allergies and asthma even (pets might be a trigger for some asthmatic patients), but we all know that many of these products don’t actually live up to expectations when tested.
For this reason, we have come up with this article to ease your research burden and help you make the right choice.
This article, although applicable generally, narrows down the general pet pool to cats. Cats are one of the most common pets in homes today, with their fluffy nature ensuring that the atmosphere in the home always has flying around, dander, which could be a real mess, though it can be easily counteracted with the presence of the best HEPA air purifier for cat dander.
Hepa filter is an essential part of an air purifier intended to be used against cat dander, which is why we have carefully selected only the best HEPA air purifiers for our list.
Also Read: American lung association air purifiers recommendations
Top 5 best air purifiers for cat dander and allergies
1) Betterair Biotic800 Probiotic Air Purifier
Special features: organic probiotics, diameter 10 x 5 inches, beautiful design.
Although a home is meant to have the cleanest environment, suitable for humans due to regular cleaning and it being an actual living space, it cannot be compared to the fresh air found in a garden or plant inhibited area that is free from pollution.
This is so because of a balance that exists between the micro bacteria in the ecosystem (both harmful and beneficial). Now imagine an air purifier unit that keeps your air clean by creating the same balanced ecosystem inside your home, and you would have the BetterAir biotic 800.
This unit was developed after several years of research by the Better industry, featuring a groundbreaking technology that works more like a humidifier, rather than the conventional air purifier we are all used to.
The device is very small in size and portable, with a footprint of about 10 x 5 inches in area, meaning it would fit into small spaces in the home and can easily be moved around depending on where it is needed.
The front side features a few control buttons that turn on and off the device and helps you condition its performance to your desire. It can also be mounted on the wall of the home, for those interested in a more permanent way of installation.
Biotic 800 makes use of a probiotic cartridge that creates an ultra-fine mist which is then released into the environment to reset its ecosystem. This ultra-fine mist consists of good bacteria, that consumes the same food as the harmful bacteria in the environment, leaving them a shortage of food supply and hence lesser in population. Their absence reduces environmental pollution and hence allergens causing particles like dander, dust mites pollen, and mold spores.
This air purifier is very easy to use, only requiring a change of the enviro-biotic filters every three months of constant usage and is suitable for room sizes of up to 400sqft, which is pretty large. It returns the environment to a natural balanced less harmful state, with the good bacteria ruling, and hence clean fresh air thriving.
This gives your home a condition naturally and safely like never before, removing the limitation of regular filters not being able to filter and circulate 100% of the air in the room, and also the air condition depending directly on the effectiveness of the filter in the unit being used.
- probiotics,
- easy to use,
- portable and mobile,
- suitable for medium to large-sized rooms.
- it is expensive.
Also Read: Best Air purifier for construction dust
2) Winix 5500-2 Air Purifier with True HEPA
Special features: smart sensors with display, sleep mode, plasma wave technology, remote control, energy star rated, AHAM CADR certified, weigh: 15.4 pounds.
If you have ever looked up an air purifier at any time, then you should be familiar with the winix brand, which for a long time has been known to produce top-notch products for the consumers on the market.
The 5500-2 features the conventional air purifier design, with suction fan for drawing in air, while several filters have been arranged to do the work of purification before it is released back into the atmosphere.
The unit weighs 15.4 pounds and spans almost as high as a regular table from the ground, making it not the lightest or most mobile for moving around the home.
This unit possesses a True HEPA filter, which can capture about 99.97% of pollutants in the air, although it contains two more layers of filtration before the HEPA filter. The first layer is the pre-filter that is responsible for removing large particles off the atmosphere, like dander, giving it one of the best air purifications for pet system, while a carbon filter for advanced odor control (AOC) deals with smells from cooking and pets generally. These two filters also work to give the HEPA filter a longer-lasting life.
Air filtration that helps in the eradication of dander and allergens is also enhanced by the presence of a plasma wave technology, whose job is to without ozone break down allergens, odors, chemical vapors and other pollutants that could trigger allergies or cause allergic reactions.
The unit comes with smart sensors that monitor the level of contamination in the atmosphere and a digital display which expresses its percentage on its screen. The auto mode is a really good feature, in which the machine works to automatically ensure a minimal level of contamination in the atmosphere, saving you the stress of having to toggle through several fan speeds, depending on pollution.
With filters for pets (HEPA), this is among the best air purifiers for pets out there, effectively dealing with pet dander and other contaminations they might cause. It is easy to use, being suitable for medium to large-sized rooms of up to 360sqft, and being able to be controlled by a remote from a distance tops it all up comfort-wise, while it comes with a one-year manufacturers warranty. The filters last a good time, but it is quite expensive to purchase a replacement, which is a big letdown on this cool product.
- auto mode,
- smart sensors,
- filter replacement indicator,
- carbon filter,
- true HEPA filter,
- plasma wave technology,
- easy to use,
- suitable for medium to large-sized rooms,
- quiet operation.
- costly replacement filters,
- poor mobility.
3) Hathaspace Smart True HEPA Air Purifier
Special features: smart air quality sensor, weight: 12 pounds,
This product shares a few similarities with the winix, especially in the looks, being just about the same size and just slightly falls short in weight. The unit spans just below a regular sitting room chair in height, which makes mobility around the home quite uneasy.
Asides from that, it does have a beautiful look, certainly adding a touch of life to the home in general with its stylish, aerodynamic curves around the edges and the elegant black and white colors, while being apt in cleaning the air in the atmosphere.
The device boasts of a 6 stage filtration system, with each stage dealing with different kinds of pollutants in the atmosphere. This comes in handy when dealing with pets generally (like cat dander). It is built to serve medium and large-sized rooms, and with a CADR of 160, this unit can completely replace the air in the atmosphere up to two times per hour when placed on the highest setting.
It is a HEPA air cleaner that makes use of a Nano cold catalyst filter (equivalent to a pre-filter) as its first stage of air filtration and is responsible for removing large particles like dander and dust before it reaches the HEPA filter.
The next stage consists of an activated carbon filter, with a sole purpose of dealing with smoke, odors, and gases in the home, as well as volatile organic compounds (VOC) found in newly purchased products.
An anti-bacteria filter then follows next to capture bacteria and fungi in the air before it moves on to the true HEPA filter that finally deals with whatever is left in the air that got through the filters before it.
Further air filtration can be done with the activation of two additional purification stages in the ionizer and UV-C light sterilizer, which attacks contaminations on a microcellular level.
There is also an inbuilt smart sensor that can detect and display the air quality level of the home at every point in time, and an auto mode to back it up, kicking up performance in a case of high atmospheric contamination levels and dropping to just doing a bit part in right conditions.
Overall, it’s a suitable device that is easy to use, giving you optimal breathing comfort, meeting your very needs in due time, while offering a quiet service to avoid disturbance.
- 6 stage filtration system,
- activated carbon filter,
- anti-bacteria filter,
- true HEPA filter,
- ionizer, auto mode,
- suitable for medium to large-sized rooms,
- UV-C light sterilizer
- poor mobility
4) Airthereal Pure Morning APH260 Purifier
Special features: item weight; 10.41 pounds, sleep mode, CADR rated
Pure morning APH260 almost looks like the towering type humidifier, with a length that spans about 21.2 inches off the floor, but doesn’t follow with their narrow type body design that allows them to fit into small spaces.
It has a reasonably sized footprint, meaning although it wouldn’t take up much space at home, it would conserve much for you either. It is CADR rated, with a152 by AHAM standards, meaning it guarantees an impressive air circulation rate, covering up to 355sqft which is the norm for many room sizes today.
The unit possesses a 3 stage filtration level in the pre-filter, HEPA filter, and Carbon activated filter, though it boasts about seven embedded filters in total. The pre-filter like another, deals with the large-sized contaminants as the first level of defense, before the air goes through a true HEPA filter that captures microns of size 0.3 and above with an efficiency of 99.97% and finally a carbon activated filter for smells and odors. This carbon filter is infused with Nano minerals, cold catalyst filter, photocatalyst filter, and molecular sieve, reinforcing the several layers of filter to give maximum performance.
It also comes with a smart sensor for monitoring and indicating the current quality of air in the room. With an embedded digital interface, this unit can give a display, according to the level of contamination sensed by the smart sensor. APH260 also possesses the timer feature unlike any on our list that allows the user to choose a working duration for the device for up to 12 hours.
Embedded with the manufacturer’s packaging of this unit, is a two-year warranty that has you covered in case of malfunctions. This makes for a good deal, though most users might find it’s suitable for a small to medium-sized room a turnoff. Asides that, it is straightforward to use and lightweight enough to be moved around easily.
- auto mode,
- 3-stage filtration,
- smart sensor, timer,
- HEPA filter,
- carbon filter.
- only suitable for small to medium-sized rooms.
5) Germ guardian AC4300BPTCA 22” 3-in-1 True HEPA Filter Air Purifier
Special features: CADR rated, energy star rated, height: 22 inches, item weight: 9.45 pounds, certified frustration-free.
The germ guardian AC4300BPTCA is a tower type humidifier with about 22 inches and a few centimeters off the ground; it can work and release air directly into the environment where it easily reaches individuals in the home.
This unit is also fairly light in weight with about 9.45 pounds, meaning it wouldn’t be a significant obstacle that cannot be moved around with ease in the home, and with a certified energy rating, the unit is friendly with power consumption.
It contains really long-lasting filters that can be used for up to 8 months, depending on the air contamination level, and boasts of a 3 stage filtration system.
The pre-filter like that of most humidifiers out there deals with large airborne particles like dander before the air is then forced through a special germguardian true HEPA filter that removes particles of 0.3 microns and smaller.
The unique thing about this filter is that it has been infused with anti-micro bacteria treatment, meaning this filter also works to inhibit the growth of mold, mildew and other bacteria that could give the filter a lesser life.
The charcoal filter and presence of UV-light acts as the other line of defense, wherein the specialty of this product exists. The unit is specially rated by AHAM for pollutants, one of which is tobacco smoke, which is dealt with by the carbon filter in the unit. The UV-c light bulb is to be replaced every 10 to 12 months too.
An 8-hour timer feature is also built in to allow the customer to choose the working period and duration of the unit, which further helps to regulate energy consumption. The filters should be vacuumed at least once a week as per maintenance.
The major drawback about this unit though is its capacity to only adequately serve small size rooms of up to 153sqft, which is a real turn off for those looking to use it in for standard apartments. Aside from that, it is a fairly excellent product with enough automated features to place it among the crop of digitally manufactured air purifiers.
- 3 stage filtration,
- five-year warranty,
- HEPA filter,
- carbon filter,
- UV-C light,
- long-lasting filters,
- timer.
- suitable for small-sized rooms only.
Also Read: best air purifier on the market
How long does pet dander stay in a house
If you have ever had cat troubles at home, then you should know that getting rid of the animals isn’t the immediate effective solution. In all, kicking out the animal from your home environment, although it would mean there would be a stoppage of pollution supplied in the environment, it doesn’t account for the pollution already present.
Studies have shown that it could take about 20 to 30 weeks in order to fully get rid of allergen concentration in environments with cats as pets, and may vary for different pets due to some having more allergen contaminant levels than the others.
Also Read: Best air purifierd for smells
Does air purifier help with cat allergies?
An air purifiers basic purpose is to deal with the several impurities in the air around the home, and yes, it includes cats and allergic reactions it might cause.
The filters it has being designed with is responsible for trapping pollutants produced by cats, which are mostly dander as a result of their hairy nature. Air purifiers do reduce allergy-causing agents and hence allergic reactions in the home.
Also Read: Best air purifier for the price
Can cat allergy and dander cause asthma?
The cause of asthma as a serious health condition, could be as a result of several medical reasons, which could be traced by a medical professional. Though a long line of medical problems causes it, it can be triggered by several environmental conditions like allergic reactions, which is where pet, precisely cat allergy falls in.
Being exposed to air contaminated by cats or their dander could be a form of a trigger, depending on the person involved, and should be treated with urgency. The cat’s allergy or dander in itself is not the fundamental causative factor of asthma in the individual though.
Also Read: Best dust mite air purifier
How to remove cat dander from the house: a quick DIY method
There are a few ways in which one can actively remove dander around the home while cleaning, some of which are;
Wipe all surfaces regularly:
Dander mostly doesn’t remain floating around the air in the atmosphere, instead because of its relatively heavyweight, it falls to surfaces around the home, like the furniture or windows. Therefore it is essential to wipe surfaces regularly to reduce the amount of dander around.
Vacuum with HEPA bag:
It is essential also to use a vacuum cleaner, as it gets into places where the human cleaning hands wouldn’t normally reach while picking up particles that aren’t visible at all or legible enough for the eyes to see. As HEPA bag should be the dumpsite of the vacuum, this is so because dander is really tiny and can slip through regular bags, which would just be a waste of efforts. Hepa bags, on the other hand, does an excellent job in holding on to particles.
All in all, our recommended best air purifiers for cat allergies remains the most preferrable way to tackle cat impurities in the air.
Final Verdict: Best air Purifiers for cat allergies and dander
The Betterair Biotic800 Probiotic Air Purifier gives an overall better performance with the application of a groundbreaking technology that isn’t used by most air purifiers these days, providing the most natural way of removing contaminants in the atmosphere. This makes it the undisputed top products on our list and is well worth the cost.
Winix 5500-2 Air Purifier with True HEPA comes close to the betteair in performance, though it doesn’t quite measure with its natural manner of approach. It possesses several automated features that would make using it pretty easy while maintaining several defense filter layers that remove particle contaminants effectively from the environment.
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