Nothing is worse than feeling under the weather. If you are sick currently or just want to be proactive, you might want to know if there’s anything you can do to fight off germs without any medication.
For instance, if you’ve ever wondered if an air purifier can prevent you from getting sick, then this is the guide for you. With this in mind, let’s take a look at how air purifiers can benefit your respiratory health.
What Is an Air Purifier?
If you don’t know what an air purifier is, there are essential functionalities you should understand regarding air purifiers. Air purifiers clean the air in a room by forcing it through a filter that collects volatile organic compounds (VOCs), gases, and odors.
These filters are usually carbon-based or rely on high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter material. HEPA filters are more effective at catching solid particles like mold spores, dust, and pollen.
Can an Air Purifier Catch Viruses?
When you get sick from dirty air, you can often blame viruses or airborne bacteria. Although HEPA filters are extremely effective at catching solid particles, viruses are too small for them to catch.
Therefore, an air purifier can significantly improve your home’s air quality, but it might not be able to prevent you from getting sick. If there are microscopic viruses in your air, you will probably still get sick from them unless you have an HVAC filter that can catch viruses.
Some Air Purifiers Can Prevent Sickness
Air purifiers with carbon or HEPA filters can’t contain viruses, but other types of air purifiers are designed to catch them. Air purifiers can, for instance, use UV light to kill viruses.
In addition, certain air purifier models combine the power of UV light with HEPA filtration systems for maximum air protection. Other kinds of air purifiers use heat to kill the germs, but heat-based purifiers can’t protect you from gases because they don’t have carbon filters.
Overall, purchasing an air purifier could benefit you significantly if you constantly find yourself getting sick from airborne illnesses. Whether or not an air purifier can prevent you from getting sick depends on the type you have and what your genetic predisposition is regarding specific ailments.