If you or someone in your home suffers from asthma, you may find yourself looking for ways to help prevent those asthma attacks and make breathing a lot easier on the asthma suffer. Is air purifier good for asthma?
In researching for ways to help reduce those asthma symptoms you have probably come across those ads for air purifiers that claim that these appliances can help asthma suffers breath better and find yourself wondering if these ads are true?
Here is the truth of how an air purifier can help asthma sufferers and just how much help one of these appliances can be in preventing the asthma attacks.
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Is Air Purifier Good For Asthma Sufferers Or Does It Make Their Condition Worse?
The Air Quality in Most Homes
Studies have shown that air quality in most homes is not as good as it should be to ensure the health of you and your family.
Homes are filled with contaminants that can have a huge effect on your entire respiratory system and your health in general. These contaminants may include:
- Fumes from toxins used in the building of your home or furniture.
- Fumes from chemical cleaners such as bleaches, and other detergents.
- Smoke particles from smoking or wood stoves
- Dust, pet dander, feces from dust mites and other insects
- Mold and mildew spores
- Strong cooking odors that linger in the air.
- Pollen being carried indoors
All of these contaminants can affect anyone’s respiratory system and Asthma sufferers are even more prone to be affected by these contaminants due to the fact that they have a disease that affects their respiratory condition to begin with.
So the less contamination you have in your home, the easier it will be for asthma sufferers to breathe.
What Air Purifiers Can Do
Certain types of air purifiers can help to remove some of these contaminants from your home.
However, you need to remember that there are several different air purifiers, and each purifier may remove different contaminants.
But no air purifier can remove them all and in fact, even the best air purifier can only remove those contaminants, which are airborne and come within range of the air purifier.
You also need to remember that some air purifiers such as ozone purifiers can actually trigger an asthma attack, so you want to avoid this type of air purifier, especially if you or someone in your home suffer from asthma.
Best Type of Air Purifier for Homes with Asthma Sufferers
Probably the best type of air purifier for homes with asthma sufferers is a filter air purifier such as Alen BreatheSmart HEPA air purifier. HEPA filter is probably the best because this type of filter is considered to be 99.9% effective at removing contaminants from the air.
However, you need to keep in mind that this type of air purifier is only good for removing dust, pet dander, smoke particles, and pollen and mold spores from the air.
They will do little if anything for removing fumes in the air, which also can trigger an asthma attack.
In addition, they won’t be able to remove any contaminant that is not in the vicinity of the purifier as the filters can only trap those contaminants that pass through the purifier itself.
An air purifier that is designed for the home and is tied into the heating and cooling system is the best option for cleaning the most air in your home as room purifiers only clean the air of the room the purifier is placed in.
Air Purifiers Can’t Do It Alone
You also need to know that air purifiers simply can’t remove all the contaminants on their own and there are several other steps you also need to take to make breathing easier for the asthma sufferer including:
- Making sure your home is well ventilated to help reduce the amount of toxic fumes and odors in the home.
- Remove carpeting that can harbor contaminants, which then get stirred up whenever you walk across the carpeting or even vacuum.
- Keep your furniture and books free of dust
- Don’t use candles or air freshener sprays or plug-ins in your home.
Just remember that while air purifiers can help asthma sufferers to breathe easier, they simply can’t remove all the contaminants in your home.
So, you need to combine their use with other procedures to ensure that your home is as free of contaminants as possible.
More Air Purifiers to Consider
GermGuardian AC4825 22” UPGRADED 3-in-1 Full Room Air Purifier, True HEPA Filter
LEVOIT LV-PUR131 Air Purifier with True HEPA Filter, Air Cleaner for Large Room, Allergies, DustLEVOIT LV-H132 Air Purifier with True Hepa Filter, Odor Allergies Eliminator for Smokers
