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So you're looking to buy an air purifier, but you're wondering which one do you get?
Not a problem.
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Let's talk about what you should know about air purifiers in general.
Then I'll let you know about some picks as chosen by the editors of CNET.
If you want to jump to the recommendations, just go to this time code over here.
Very generally a purifier sucks in a regular air that contains all kinds of fun stuffs like mould, smoke, or dust mites.
Then that air goes through a filter.
The filter grabs a bunch of the stuff From the air, then the purifier pumps out the filtered air air purifiers can use different kinds of filters.
You've probably heard of a heppa filter.
heppa stands for high efficiency particulate absorbing These HEPA filters can capture 99.97% of airborne particles, 0.3 microns or larger for size comparison.
Human hair has a diameter of approximately 70 microns.
A Human red blood cell is about 7.5 to 8.7 microns in diameter.
So that means I have to filter can capture a lot of little particles like dust, pollen, mould and bacteria.
According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, that 99.97% rate of capture of particles, with the size of 0.3 microns spec Is the worst case if a particle is larger or smaller than that size, they are trapped at an even higher efficiency.
Some machines use carbon filters, these capture odors and gaseous pollutants that can get through half a filter If the carbon gets saturated it releases what was captured back into the air.
CNET asked multiple researchers and they said that most consumer air purifiers simply do not have enough activated carbon to be an effective odor filter for more than a short period of time.
What about ionic filtering?
What is that?
Let's turn to the EPA for help here.
The machine will charge particles in a room.
Then those particles are attracted to surfaces like walls, tables, floors, you.
Those particles aren't in the air anymore.
Now some devices attract the charged particles back to the unit.
These ionizers can produce ozone if not consistently cleaned.
And ozone is not something you really want to be breathing.
The oxygen in the air that we like to breathe is O2.
Two oxygen molecules bonded together.
ozone is a molecule composed of three atoms of oxygen.
Ozone can damage your lungs.
low amounts of ozone can cause chest pain, coughing, shortness of breath and throat irritation.
It's toxic.
Okay, so now we know about the filtering stuff.
How do you compare these air purifiers?
The US Environmental Protection Agency does not certify or register air cleaning devices.
So that's great.
Where do we go now?
The EPA highlights the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers or AHAM, as a resource on specific devices or manufacturers.
Some air purifier makers will place an AHAM seal on their bucks.
The seal will contain Three clean air delivery rate numbers, one for tobacco smoke, one for pollen and one for dust.
AHAM says that the higher those numbers, the faster the unit filters the air.
The downside is that not every air purifier maker uses AHAM's ratings.
Notably Dyson has its own standard And one of the most important things that you should be looking at is square footage.
How big an area does the air purifier claim to clean?
If you've got a little office space, you might be fine with a small desktop kind of unit.
If you are trying to clean a really big room, you are going to need a more robust unit.
Let's get to the recommendations as picked by cnet.com.
Let's talk about the Dyson TP four Dyson makes pricey products and this is no difference coming in at over $500.
The TPO four features a heck of a filter inside that cylindrical base.
Unfortunately, Dyson does not provide clean air delivery rate or cater numbers.
Now why is that?
A Dyson rep said quote, cater as measured by some current methods is not an accurate representation of a real home and quote, the company has developed its own testing procedures to quote, replicate a more realistic setting and quote That includes a testing room that has over double the footprint of AHAM's testing rooms along with nine sensors placed around the space versus AHAM's single sensor.
If you would believe it, Dyson says its TPO4 performs well according to Dyson's own metrics.
This device is also certified by the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America.
That foundation is a not for profit org founded in 1953.
They claim they are the leading patient organisation for people with asthma and allergies.
The TPO for also features an oscillating fan and a neat little display that can show you the air quality.
It also connects to dice an app on your phone if you want to take a look at reports or control the device.
Let's talk about the Conway AP 1512 HH Hefa Air purifier.
It does not look like the Dyson.
It kinda looks like a washing machine.
So it washes the air and I don't know where I'm going with that.
Anyway, the Conway AP 1512 HH Can handle a room of around 361 square feet from what we have seen the Conway is one of the best air purification options around.
It does have an ionic system but you do not have to turn it on if you don't want to and this device is less than half the price of the Dyson TPO4 And now let's talk about the Honeywell home HPA 300.
This chunker weighs 21 pounds, so don't plan on carrying it around with you because that's not what you do with air purifiers.
The home HPA 300 can take on a room of around For 165 square feet, it also is one of the quieter models you can find.
Okay, so you've seen some of our recommendations.
Now you may be wondering, is getting an air purifier even worth it?
Well, according to microbiologist and VP of scientific Communications at the American Council of science and health, quote, Unless you have some sort of medical condition like asthma or allergies, I just don't think an air purifier is worth the money.
And now why is that?
Well, human lungs filter the air Breath too but if someone in your house is asthmatic or his immune is compromised, yeah an air purifier can be really helpful.
Remember that new products are introduced all the time, our recommendations can change so don't forget to check back at CNET.
COM for the latest, I'm Ian Zacktanos see you online.
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