An air purifier's cleansing actions are quite simple. Imagine your eyesight was increased by 100 percent and bacteria particles that were invisible became visible. An air purifier sees those particles, eliminating them in several ways.
Knowing Your Purifier
The main component of an air purifier is the filter. The filter can trap viruses, bacteria and other harmful particles. Filtering the air is made possible with sieves. These sieves sift through the air, and when the sieve detects impure air, it traps the particles in the filter.
High Efficiency Air Filters
Breathing the cleanest air available requires a High Efficiency Particulate Air filter. This filter is made with extremely fine sieves. The size of the sieve is important because the finer the sieve is, the more it can trap. According to the website Engineers Edge, sieves used in HEPA air filters are guaranteed to trap 99.97 percent of particles and allergens.
UV Light
Filtering the air is only one of many ways to purify it. UV purifiers do not trap allergens and bacteria--they eliminate them. According to the website The Field Report, UV is capable of destroying bacteria by disrupting its DNA. This disruption is made possible by UV light's low wavelength which is effective at killing microorganisms. The UV light is most commonly used after air filtration to snare any missed particles.
Electronic Air Filters
Electronic air purifiers provide an ionic charge to the impure particles, allowing them to cling better to the purifier. Once the particles have clung to the purifier, they are transferred to collection plates. Removing the pollutants from the collection plates is achieved by wiping them clean. However, according to the EPA, these are only about 20 percent efficient in removing particles.
Negative Ion Air Fitlers
Chemical injection technology doesn't trap pollutants. It moves them. A negative ion, which is an ion with an extra electron, is charged by the purifier's high voltage needle. Charging the extra electron means it will also charge the next thing it touches, which is bacteria in this case. The bacteria also become charged and they can then cling to any other household object such as walls, clothes or linens. This can be harmful to your health. A May 2005 article in Consumer Reports magazine titled New Concerns About Ionizing Air Cleaners detailed serious concerns about air Ionizers.
