If you’ve spent the summer sneezing and wheezing inside your home, it may be time to invest in an air purifier. These devices reduce dust, pollen, and other allergens inside the home.

The tricky part is figuring out what to buy. Air purifiers come in many different sizes and forms and use different technologies to clean your air. You can spend a few dollars to several hundred dollars for devices that may or may not solve your problem.

Here are some things to consider when deciding what type of air purifier is right for your home.

Furnace Filters

If your home has a furnace, you may already have an indoor air purifier in place; your furnace filter! Some are designed to filter out dust, mold, allergens, pet dander, and other pollutants from circulating around your home while others just help keep the furnace operating smoothly.

Be sure to change your furnace filter often. Typically, filters should be changed at least four times per year. If someone in your home suffers from allergies, it might be necessary to replace it more often.

Be sure to change your furnace filter quarterly

Types of Air Purifiers

Mechanical Filters – These filters remove particles from the air just like a furnace filter, but some may be more effective. These types of air purifiers are not reusable.

Electronic Air Cleaners – This type of air cleaner uses an electrical field to trap particles. They are typically made of woven polyurethane and polypropylene fibers with aluminum grates and come in a variety of shapes and sizes to fit over HVAC system vents and returns. When air passes through the fibers it generates electrostatic charges that act as a magnet in attracting airborne particles. This type of filter can be cleaned and reused.

Ionic Air Purifiers – These types of filters operate by releasing negatively charged ions into the air, which stick to positive charges inherent in pollutant particles. This causes the particles to stick to each other and settle out of the air onto objects in the room.

Location of the Air Purifier

Another big consideration is whether you want a whole-house air purifier or one or more portable units that can be set up wherever you wish in the home. We can install whole-house units onto your furnace. Portable units are noisier and less thorough in purifying the air throughout the home but they can sometimes be more convenient. A whole-house cleaner requires installation by one of our HVAC technicians but is much more effective in decontaminating the entire home.