Best Ways To Use An Air Purifier

5 min read

Air purifiers are the best way to ensure the air inside your home is as clean as it can be. But if you aren’t using the unit correctly, you won’t receive all the benefits. Let us show you the best ways to use an air purifier.

Air Purifier Uses

By design, air purifiers take in the air circulating in a room and force it through one or more filters. The filters trap the smallest of harmful particles and send cleaner, more purified air back out. It may be hard to believe, but studies show inside air can be two to five times dirtier than outside air. Harmful air is not just difficult to breathe, but it’s also unhealthy in the short and long-term.

• Millions of Americans suffer from seasonal allergies. Air purifiers can help alleviate those symptoms by pulling pollen, dust and other allergy triggers from the air.
• Parts of the U.S. are plagued every year with wildfires. The smoke it creates can cause severe breathing problems and lead to long-term and chronic health conditions. Air purifiers can help pull that smoke out of the air and send cleaner, fresher air back out. It also helps if you live with someone who smokes inside the home.
• Our pets are part of our family, but the dander they shed can cause allergy issues. Saliva, urine and sweat get trapped in animal fur, and they shed it as well as dead skin. The dander is small and can stay suspended in the air for a long time. Breathing it in can cause an allergic reaction.
• Microbes – like bacteria, viruses and mold spores – can make you sick. Air purifiers can pull these microscopic particles out of the air, helping to keep you and your family healthy.
• It’s not unusual to have an odor in your house – whether it’s coming from the family pet or supper the night before. Some air purifiers use activated carbon to remove odors from the air.

Finding the Best Location

Air purifiers can be significant investments, so you want to make sure you get the maximum benefit from your purchase. Deciding where to place an air purifier is more than just deciding which room to put it in. You have to consider where in the room it will go. You want to ensure the air can flow properly around the unit. Here are some things to keep in mind when deciding where to place your air purifier:

• If you’re putting the air purifier in a bedroom, put it near the bed. You’ll want it in your ‘breathing zone,’ so it will circulate the air around you and help you breathe better and easier.
• If the air purifier is going in your living room, put it near a doorway or window. Those are areas where air flow is the highest and there will be a better chance for the air purifier to capture the maximum number of particles.
• Don’t put an air purifier against the wall or a piece of furniture – leave at least 18 inches of space between them. Placing the unit directly against something will interfere with the air flow and keep it from performing well.
• Don’t put an air purifier behind curtains and furniture. If something is blocking the air purifier, it won’t be able to purify the air in the room.
• Don’t put an air purifier in a corner. Doing so will reduce its cleaning capability by blocking the air flow.
• If it’s a small unit, try to put it at least three to five feet off the ground for maximum air flow and effectiveness. Larger units can sit on the floor, but both sizes should be on stable, even surfaces.
• Keep it away from TVs or stereos. Electronic devices may interfere with your air purifier’s own electrical system and keep it from performing correctly.
• If your unit is equipped with an air quality monitor, it can help you with properly placing a unit. It can help you determine where the air quality in your home is the worst.

How To Run an Air Purifier for the Best Results

Once you figure out the best location for your air purifier, turn it on and leave it on. An air purifier can’t work if it isn’t turned on, so it’s really important that you run your air purifier 24 hours a day, seven days a week for it to be effective. Air purifiers are designed to run all the time and work best if they do. They won’t overheat or break down from continual use. The motors on air purifiers are energy efficient and made to work for many years. So, you should run them all the time, whether you’re home or not.

If the unit is brand new and this is the first time you’re using it, make sure to run it on the highest fan speed for at least two weeks. That will help circulate the air in the room and begin purifying it quicker. After that, turn the unit down to the fan speed you prefer and run it continuously. Some air purifiers come with an ‘auto’ function that will increase or decrease the fan speed as needed, without your oversight. For an air purifier to be most effective, you will want it to circulate all of the air in the room two times per hour.

If you decide to open the windows to let fresh air inside, it’s best to turn the unit off. Air purifiers work best when they’re being used in a room sealed off from the outside. The unit won’t be able to clean the air inside your home with a continual flow of outside pollutants coming in through the windows.

Cleaning & Maintaining an Air Purifier

Like most things, if you don’t clean and maintain your air purifier it won’t work well. To keep it in top notch shape and protect your investment, you should clean your air purifier every two to four weeks. If you clean it regularly, it will keep your air purifier in excellent working order.

Make sure you start by unplugging the unit and then wipe the entire outside off with a dust rag. For hard-to-reach dusty places, you can use a Q-tip or old toothbrush. Then, take off panels where the filters are and wipe the inside of them. You’ll want to check the filters to see if they need changing, as well. If your air purifier has a permanent pre-filter, make sure you wash or vacuum it off regularly.

Most air purifiers have a sensor that lets you know when to change the filter. It’s important that you change filters regularly and on schedule. If you leave a filter in too long after it should be changed, you run the risk of breathing air that isn’t clean. Regular filter replacement also extends the life of your air purifier.

Air Purifier Warranty

Most air purifiers come with some type of warranty. The units are made to last, but because they run all the time there is more opportunity for parts to wear down or things to stop working correctly. Before you buy an air purifier, be sure and check out the warranty. A one-year warranty is fairly standard, but some brands offer three and five-year warranty. Alen offers a lifetime warranty with its products. You can also buy an extended warranty to help cover any issue you may have.

Summary

Air purifiers are a good way to ensure the air you’re breathing inside your home is as clean as it can be. Dirty air is responsible for a variety of health issues – everything from respiratory illnesses to heart problems. Air purifiers can cost quite a bit of money, so you want to make sure you clean and maintain your unit to get the longest life and most benefits possible from it.