| > | | | | drop right out of the air. You then wipe, mop, and |
| There are several types of air purifiers that you | | | | vacuum the material off the surfaces, as part of |
| can use to improve the quality of the air in your | | | | your regular chores. Ion-generating home air |
| home, from smaller units that can be placed on a | | | | purifiers produce some ozone, so be aware of |
| tabletop, to whole house air purifiers that benefit | | | | emission rates. |
| the entire house at once. | | | | Ozone Generators |
| Room Air Purifiers | | | | Ozone units work by sending ozone out into your |
| Room air purifiers replaced tabletop units in the | | | | home. The ozone reacts with some chemicals in |
| 1990s as the leading type of home air purifier. | | | | the air, effectively canceling them out, but |
| Tabletop units proved to be mostly ineffective, | | | | producing some byproducts that can be harmful in |
| because of the inadequate volume of air being | | | | greater or longer exposures. Buy a unit that emits |
| moved through the unit. Room air purifiers are | | | | 50 parts per billion or fewer. |
| almost as portable, and they are a lot more | | | | Whole House Air Purifiers |
| effective. There are three basic types of home | | | | Manufacturers design whole house air purifiers to |
| air purifiers made for single-room use. | | | | be installed in a central heating, air conditioning, or |
| HEPA Filtered Air Purifiers | | | | HVAC system. The benefit of a whole house air |
| HEPA stands for High Efficiency Particulate Air. | | | | purifier is that it is out of sight. A filter is located in |
| Most often made of charcoal, a HEPA filter is | | | | a return air grille or plenum. Anytime the fan in |
| placed upwind of a high-velocity fan on the unit, | | | | your central system kicks in, air is moved through |
| which forces the contaminates into the filter, | | | | the filter, effectively cleaning some of the air |
| catching debris such as dust mites, tobacco | | | | throughout your house. A whole house air purifier |
| smoke, pollen, and other pollutants. | | | | doesn’t run all the time, since central air |
| Ion Generators | | | | fans only kick in when the temperature drops too |
| Ionic units work by sending negatively charged | | | | low or climbs too high. For an all-around air |
| ions out into your home. The ions attach to | | | | cleaning, install a whole house air purifier. But if you |
| chemicals and particles in the air, causing them to | | | | want to focus on one room, a room air purifier is |
| become attracted to the surfaces of your house | | | | much more effective. |
| as well as to each other. The pollutants simply | | | | |