In recent times, the usage of air purifiers has become very rampant in houses, cars, and offices, even in public places. This is due to the constant increase of pollutants released into the atmosphere, from traffic to pest to industrial to smoking to cooking; there is no end to the sources of pollutions on our planet.This has made people take significant actions to keep their life healthy, leading to the high amount of air purifier been used in most homes today.
Although an air purifier has many advantages and it is beneficial to our health, there are many questions you might want to ask about the air cleaner. That is why we have put together in this article the answers to several questions like do air purifiers dry out the air, whether air purifier can make you sick or not , whether it can cause a sore throat or if it can aggravate health conditions.
Can air Purifier pose any danger or side effect of drying out the air?
Short Answer:
The straightforward answer is NO. Air purifier can neither add to nor remove moisture from the air.
Long Answer:
Air Purifiers doesn’t remove moisture from the air like a dehumidifier. It is a device whose principal function is to trap air pollutants particles like dust, pet dander, mites, mold etc. It makes use of a fan device or ionizers to draw in air and then disperses it into the atmosphere, after filtering and removing all the harmful particles and It doesn’t affect the humidity level in the air by any means.
For a device to dry out the air, it would have to remove moisture from the air by drawing it into the machine and passing it over a cold evaporator coil or a rotor, therefore cooling it below its dew point before releasing it back into the atmosphere.
Using a dehumidifier at a high extradition rate in your room for a long time is what could lead to having dry air in the atmosphere and can cause multiple problems like dry skin, nose and throat, therefore, it is often essential to get auto-sensing units that are capable of detecting the humidity level.
Another machine that dries out the air is the air conditioner because it sucks in the air in the atmosphere and gives out fresh, dry air. Therefore, if you are finding your air dry, it might undoubtedly be due to the dehumidifier or your air conditioner. Air purifiers are not designed to remove the moisture in the air.
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Can an air purifier make you sick?
You might have been wondering whether it is the installation of that new air purifier in your house, that has made you pick up specific illness more often than you do on a typical day, or maybe you are wrong, and it isn’t.
Well, you are right, certain types of air purifiers could cause you to be sick. These types of product are determined by the mode of air purification, i.e., Ionizers, UV-C technology or HEPA filter.
Although not all air purifiers are harmful to your health, but there are various types which would be discussed explicitly on why some can work wonders for your health, while others can be unsafe
How can air purifier be harmful and aggravate health conditions?
The following are the three major types of air purifiers and how they affect or benefit our health.
- Ozone generators:
These types of air purifiers operate by generating a large amount of ozone that is released into the room. The ozone is meant to kill germs and living organisms in the atmosphere.
The ozone generators might be harmful to your health, ask me why? It generates a substantial amount of ozone that can cause long-term damage to the body when inhaled over time, affecting the respiratory system majorly.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has clearly stated that ozone is a lung irritant and don’t recommend using it in homes. Although it works effectively against odors, it operates at a level that is harmful to humans and can cause chest pain, throat irritation, worsening asthma, cough etc.
- Electronic air purifiers:
These devices attain air purification by drawing air into its self, which becomes electronically charged. When it is released into the atmosphere, it attracts dust and other pollutants to itself, therefore making them too heavy to remain in the atmosphere and causing them to drop on the nearest surface of any physical substance in the room such as a wall, ceiling, furniture, curtains, etc. examples include UV light, ionization, and electronic precipitation.
The major harmful drawback about using the electric air purifiers is that after the particles it attracted are dragged down to various surfaces or the floor of the filter, with time they could accumulate and form dirt. This is called the “black wall effect”. Eventually, the dirt would be kicked back into the atmosphere since ionization doesn’t filter particulates out of the air or kills molds and viruses.
- Mechanical filtration:
In mechanical air filters, the air is drawn into the device and forced through filters that remove the airborne particles. There are few types of these some of which includes HEPA filter, HVAC filters, ceiling and mounted air purifier and portable air purifiers.
This type of air purifier is the safest because it purifies air without releasing any harmful substances into the atmosphere, but instead, it draws in air and passes it through several filters thereby removing the harmful particulates.
The significant challenge though is that it needs to absorb most of the air in the atmosphere to effectively purify it and since its most portable in size and faces obstructions in the room, airflow might not reach most of the room.
Can I have air purifier next to bed?
After finally finding the best air purifier, you might want to ask if you could place it next to the bed for safety sake.
Yes you can place it next to your bed, but it should be with precaution.
If you would place it next to your bed, it should be kept at least 6 to 10 ft from the head of your bed with the directional registers pointed towards you. Placing it any closer could make you feel drafty and taking it farther away might mean you would not enjoy the full benefit of breathing in filtered air.
The unit should be placed squarely on the floor, and you should ensure that no objects are placed in-between the air purifier and your bed because they could be a source of hindrance to proper air filtration.
Some electronic devices that run on similar wavelengths can cause interference so avoid placing air purifiers close to devices like televisions, microwaves and stereo equipment though they are friendly to computers and other small appliances.
Can I use Humidifier and air purifier in same room?
Yes. There is no harm in having an air purifier and humidifier all in one room, as a matter of fact, it is a right combination.
In a situation where there is dry air, although you might have an air purifier around it wouldn’t be of much help because it simply cleans the air and you would still be prone to things like a de-moisturized skin, and breathing problem. To counteract the dryness in the air, you would need a humidifier.
So the air purifier and humidifier combo can purify the air you breathe along with adding moisture to it, therefore cleaning the air in your home and never leaving it dry.
Can air purifier cause sore throat?
A typical air purifier that makes use of a HEPA filter would not cause you to develop a sore throat, as a matter of fact, they are designed to do the opposite. The HEPA filters in air purifiers help prevent a sore throat because they get rid of bacteria in the air that makes you sick without drying off the air.
There are some air purifiers (ozone and ionic) that can cause irritations, but this is not the same thing as a sore throat. In case you already have a chronic respiratory condition like asthma, when using the ozone or ionic air purifier, you might notice some irritations it causes because they emit charged particles into the atmosphere to clean it.
Along with the charged particles are ozone residues which are the secondary cause of throat irritation to people who already have respiratory issues, but if you don’t have a condition like this, then you would most likely not notice any side effects.
In summary – Can air purifiers dry out the air?
Here is the recap of everything explained above
- Air purifier does not have any capability whatsoever of remove or adding to the moisture content;
- Ozone generators that are presented as air cleaners can cause some harm to your health;
- It is even advisable to use humidifier alongside your air purifier.
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