Unclean air in your home can result in more frequent colds, respiratory disorders, and even increases in allergy and asthma symptoms. But do you need an air purifier vs dehumidifier?
In some cases, the health of the people in the home can become so critical that something needs to be done, which is why many homeowners today find themselves investing in appliances that will help to improve the air quality in their homes.
For many people, that means choosing between an air purifier and dehumidifier.
Deciding which will benefit your family the most will depend on many things including your specific needs. Here is a look at what both of these appliances can do to help improve your health.
Table of Content
Air Purifier Vs. Dehumidifier – Which One Is The Winner?
Dehumidifier
Dehumidifiers remove excess humidity or moisture from the air. Most people don’t tend to think of a dehumidifier as being able to improve air quality, but that is actually what it does.
First, if the humidity in your home is too high, it can cause great discomfort and even some serious health problems.
High humidity does not allow perspiration to evaporate leaving your skin constantly feeling damp and making your clothing stick uncomfortably to your body.
In addition, high humidity can interfere with breathing and can make those who suffer from respiratory problems such as asthma seriously ill.
By having a dehumidifier that keeps humidity at a healthy level, people in the home are more comfortable and can breathe easier.
Dehumidifiers can also help prevent air contaminants from ever entering your home. Mold and mildew grow in damp environments, so a dehumidifier can actually reduce the chances of mold or mildew ever growing in your home.
No mold or mildew means that there are no mildew spores in the air to be breathed into your lungs.
Having drier air in your home also reduces the risks of certain pests such as cockroaches, woodlice, and dust mites all of which can also cause health problems and add to air contamination if their droppings get blown around.
While a dehumidifier can’t pick contaminants out of the air, they can help your family to breathe cleaner air simply by helping prevent the occurrence of some of the contaminants that can cause your family health problems.
Air Purifier
If your home is not too humid, then an air purifier may be the best bet in eliminating air contaminants from your home.
An air purifier won’t reduce humidity or prevent mold, mildew, but it can remove those air born contaminants by trapping those contaminants in a filter. (Filter air purifiers are the most common home purifiers.)
If you choose an air purifier that contains a HEPA filter, this purifier may clean up to 99.9% of contaminants from the air.
These contaminants include dust, dust mite spores, mildew spores and other such contaminants.
By removing these contaminants from the environment, air purifiers can help keep you and your family’s lungs healthy as well as reduce the risk of allergy and asthma flare-ups.
While air purifiers can remove more contaminants from the air, dehumidifiers can prevent the occurrence of certain contaminants and resolve problems caused by high humidity levels in the home.
Air Purifiers to Consider
LEVOIT LV-H132 Air Purifier with True Hepa Filter, Odor Allergies Eliminator for SmokersGermGuardian AC4825 22” UPGRADED 3-in-1 Full Room Air Purifier, True HEPA FilterLEVOIT LV-PUR131 Air Purifier with True HEPA Filter, Air Cleaner