How to Maintain Great Indoor Air Quality With Home Air Purifier

 

The air purifier is a great innovation for homes. Just plop it down next to a window or doorway and let it do its job (like a portable reverse-extractor fan with a filter). As its name implies, it purifies the air through air filtration, improving indoor air quality and making it safer for you to breathe. It gets rid of pollutants like pollen, smoke, dust, pet fur, and mold which can set off some nasty allergies or otherwise cause your health to decline. But all that nastiness in the air has to go somewhere after being removed. 

And indeed, it does. Every air purifier has a filter (think of it as a net with really tiny holes) through which air passes. The filter doesn’t allow particles bigger than a certain size to pass through, so the purifier sucks in contaminated air through one side and lets out fresh, safe air from the other. And the particles it filters? They’re stuck on the outside of the filter, unable to pass through and bother you. 

And you don’t have to worry about the particles dropping off to the ground when you turn off the purifier. The manufacturers have thought of that and added a simple solution: see, the purifier has a perforated cover on the outside. It allows air, along with all its garbage, to pass through. The garbage gets stuck inside (due to the filter), and even if they drop when the filter is turned off, they don’t drop to the ground around the filter. Instead, they land between the cover and the filter, inside the purifier. 

You probably know what this means, don’t you? It means the longer your purifier works, the more dirt piles up in the purifier. Eventually, it can get to be too much for the purifier to hold and still release the amount of air you’ve come to expect from it. This is because the dirt begins to act as an unwanted extra layer of filter, except it barely lets air through. This means your air purifier doesn’t get as much air as it should, and it can only let out as much air as it receives. 

To maintain the quality of air you’ve come to expect and love, you’ve got to take care of your air purifier. Don’t let dirt build up in it and cause problems. It’d be like biting the hand that feeds you. 

Taking care of your air purifier 

Have your purifier’s user’s manual available. Nothing can take the place of the manufacturers’ advice on the best way to coax maximum effectiveness and longevity from your purifier. Still, there are a few things you need to know since you’re reading this: 

• Ensure you clean the filter regularly. Due to the build-up of debris, just like the trash, you’ve got to empty the purifier every once in a while. This creates room for the next batch of debris and allows the purifier to take in and release as much air as it’s rated to. Get the best value for your money and let it work well for you. 

But how do you know when to clean out the filters? You do this at your discretion, but ensure you clean it every 4 to 6 weeks for optimal performance-convenience ratio. Of course, this depends on how long you use it, how many pets you have, and the season, among others. You can refer to the user’s manual for instructions on how to safely clean the filter. As you clean, gaze upon the dirt you would be breathing otherwise and give your purifier a warm kiss in appreciation. 

• Don’t keep objects on the purifier. The bodywork of most purifiers is plastic. Keeping objects on them will eventually weaken the frame. Some manufacturers even put the purifier’s user interface up top (some touch-activated). Placing objects on them has the tendency to damage them. If the purifier doesn’t have a remote function, that leaves you with a nice and useless plastic box taking up space in your home until you can get it fixed. 
• Change the air filters regularly. When you should do this depends on what kind of filter your air purifier uses. Carbon filters have to be changed every 6 to 8 months. True High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters should be changed every year. When you buy your purifier, you have to know what kind of filter it uses. It’ll help you take better care of your purifier and maintain the air quality you need. Your owner’s manual will have more information. 

Pair the air purifier with an air conditioning system 

Air conditioning systems are designed to regulate temperature and humidity. When temperatures get too warm outside, you can simply retreat into your home and set the thermostat at your preferred temperature. 

The process of cooling the air causes humidity (water content in the air) to change to water. This ensures that the air getting into your home isn’t too humid and uncomfortable. You can also use a humidifier or dehumidifier to further regulate humidity in your home. 

But these air conditioning systems don’t purify the air. If there is some smoke outside your home, it will simply be sucked in and cooled by your air conditioner. If there is smoke in your home, it’ll take a long time to be cleared by the AC. This is why you need an air purifier. The air purifier will take up the slack and clean up the air to make it healthy for you. 

Some ACs come equipped with built-in air purifiers. This takes away the need to buy an AC and air purifier because the job for two is done by one. 

When choosing an appliance to regulate your indoor air quality, you must first consider what the problem is. Air purifiers are not all-powerful. They can’t do much about paint fumes or smells. Those properties are contained in molecules. HEPA filters are rated for particles larger than 0.1 microns in size. That’s 30 times smaller than pollen but nowhere near the size of airborne molecules. 

If you’re not sure what appliance to use or for the particular problem you have or need an air filtration system installed, we can handle that for you. Precision Air Solutions is a company run by professionals who can install and repair your atmosphere control systems, ranging from HVAC to air filtration systems. If you require our help anywhere in or near these cities, you can book an appointment with us or call (707) 741-1993. Our customers know us for our prompt response and satisfactory work.