Whole House Air Cleaners Report - Why They Do Not Work!

As you search for that perfect air cleaner to				conditioning systems to kill mold and bacteria.
protect your family from dust, pet dander and				They do not remove dust, particulates or airborne
other airborne allergens, you will run across many				allergens from the A/C system, air ducts or from
different types of air cleaners, air purifiers, air				the indoor environment! These units are supposed
filters and air filtration systems. One of the most				to be installed so the ultra-violet lights are shining
interesting and eye catching products on the				onto the evaporator coil on the air return intake
market is the Whole House HEPA Air Cleaner				side to prevent mold and bacteria growth on the
Filtration System. This report also includes Whole				evaporator coil and surrounding area, yet many of
House Air Filters and Whole House Air Purifiers.				these units are installed improperly into areas of
There are many of them on the market!				the air handler or air plenum where they can not
Unfortunately human nature often kicks into high				do much good. Beware of UV light systems that
gear when the wonderful offer of a central whole				produce ozone! Many of these UV light systems
house air cleaner is advertised as a way of				produce ozone at levels that cannot be controlled!
keeping your entire house clean with just one				Too much ozone can be an irritant to people with
single gizmo! THE FACT IS THESE AIR AIR				asthma and lung problems! I have experienced
CLEANING MACHINES JUST CAN'T CLEAN A				ozone producing UV light systems that created so
WHOLE HOUSE! There are five types of air				much ozone it burned my eyes and throat.
cleaning products that are advertised to clean a				And I do not have asthma or any lung problems
whole house. They are: HEPA air filtration bypass				at all! Some of these units are also produced with
air cleaners Electronic air cleaners Self-Charging				non-ozone producing UV bulbs. However please
electrostatic air filters Ultraviolet light systems				note, if an air conditioning system is clean and
Portable ozone-ionizer air purifiers This report will				installed properly and it has a high quality self
explain the truth about how each of these				charging electrostatic or pleated air filter in it to
products actually operate and what benefits they				protect the air handler and evaporator coil from
really do provide for you. Also included are the				dust, the chance of the evaporator coil and the
proper steps to take for a clean indoor air				rest of the system becoming contaminated with
environment.				dirt, mold and bacteria will be greatly reduced. We
Myth #1. Whole house HEPA air cleaner / bypass				recommend properly cleaning your air conditioning
systems - These somewhat expensive systems				system and duct work while installing an upgraded
are flawed in design from the beginning. The idea				quality air filter instead of an ultra-violet light
behind these units is to pull a portion of the air				system. Please know that ultra-violet Light units
stream from the return side of your furnace or				for your air conditioning system are not whole
air conditioning system, clean it and then return it				house air cleaners even though people will claim
into the supply side of the furnace or air				that they will keep your entire home clean!
conditioning systems ductwork. Most of the time,				Myth# 5. Whole house Portable ozone ionizer air
it involves taking up to 30% of the air from the				purifiers - Some air purifiers include both needle
return ductwork. The air is then cleaned with a				point and radio wave ionizers that can ionize the
high efficiency filter such as a HEPA and/or				air in mutable rooms in your home or building.
carbon filter. The cleaned air is then returned into				These units produce negative ions that are sent
the supply ductwork of the air handling system				into the air. Negative ions work by attaching
(bypassing" the air handler unit). Such an air				themselves to small floating particles in your
cleaning system under this design poses many				indoor air forcing the particles to quickly drop out
areas of failure. First of all, you are assuming that				of suspension and then down to the ground or
the majority of the airborne contaminants in your				onto any surface below. These purifiers will drop
living space are drawn into the heating and or				smoke, dust, pollen and animal dander from the
cooling system.				floating indoor air environment and down to the
However, home heating/air conditioning systems				surface below to be vacuumed. However if your
are designed to heat and cool. They are not				bedroom is in the area being ionized, floating
designed to pull dust, dander and allergens into a				particles including allergens can drop onto you while
HEPA air cleaner from the narrow return				sleeping in bed. This can cause problems for those
ductwork at far distances. Note that the great				with allergies and asthma. Some of these
majority of homes have only one air return per				machines also produce adjustable levels of ozone.
air conditioning system. So without having a				Ozone is that fresh smell that occurs after a
means of returning the air from each and every				thunderstorm when lightning cuts through the
room to the air handler, the overall effectiveness				oxygen splitting some of the oxygen in the air
of these HEPA air cleaner systems is nullified. This				into ozone. Ozone does a wonderful job of
is because the majority of rooms will not be able				removing all kinds of odors such as smoke odors,
to have dirty air pulled from them. So the "whole				musty odors, pet odors, food odors, chemical
house" air cleaner will only be able to clean the				odors, and body odors. The ozone works by
dirty air that makes it into the return side of the				oxidizing the odors. However, since ozone is an
ductwork. This is a very limited amount! Secondly,				oxidizer it can be an irritant to those with asthma
in order for the HEPA air cleaner to work at all,				and lung disease if turned up to high. So if you or
the fan for the HEPA cleaner and the fan for the				a family member has asthma or lung problems,
air handler unit must run all of the time.				ozone -ionizer air purifiers are not for you! IF
THIS MEANS HIGH ELECTRIC BILLS! Having both				YOU'RE A SMOKER THEY REALLY DO A GREAT
blower units running constantly uses significantly				JOB OF QUICKLY REMOVING FLOATING
more electricity than portable systems located in				CIGARETTE SMOKE, CIGAR SMOKE AND
individual rooms. Lastly, and more importantly,				ODORS FROM INDOOR ENVIRONMENTS.
even in an ideal world where the air from all over				Please remember that these air purifiers do not
the house is making it back into the return duct				filter the air and they are not whole house air
work through multiple air returns, a bypass				cleaners even though people often claim that they
system is only cleaning up to 30% of the return				are! THE ANSWER, What You Can Do For a
air because it is only receiving up to 30% of the				Clean Indoor Environment As explained above,
return air. This means, even if the HEPA air				there is no one single air cleaning system that will
cleaner unit is running at 100% efficiency for all				keep your entire home or building dust or allergen
contaminants, only 30% of the entire air going				free. If you have a central air conditioning or
through the return duct work is actually being				furnace system in your home or building and you
cleaned. Therefore, when you look at the system				have the desire to keep it as dust and allergen
as a whole, it is only 30% efficient. Plus the entire				free as possible, follow the four steps below for a
air return duct work from the air vents in the				clean and healthy indoor environment.
rooms to the HEPA air cleaner system will
become filthy because the air entering into the				1. Keep you ducted air conditioning system or
return duct work is not being filtered! Also these				furnace clean and install a quality self charging
whole house cleaning systems require expensive				electrostatic air filter or pleated air filter in the
pre-filter replacements to protect the even more				main air return or air handler unit to keep your
expensive HEPA filter! The bottom line here is				system clean for the future. If you desire to
that Central HEPA filtered types that install into air				have your air ducts and air handler unit properly
conditioning / furnace systems cannot properly				cleaned visit the National Air Duct Cleaners
clean the air in an entire house or building!				Association at NADCA Dot Com and interview
Myth #2. Whole house electronic cleaner systems				some of the members in your area so you can
(Also Called Electrostatic precipitators) - Electronic				choose the right air duct cleaning company that
systems are made to fit into the air return side				will best fit your needs.
of the central air conditioning system or furnace.				2. Purchase and place a quality HEPA air cleaner or
They can only filter the air that is brought into				HEPA air purifier in the most important areas of
them from the air return duct or area that leads				your home or building that need to be the most
to the electronic cleaner unit. These units use				dust or allergy free. Most people place HEPA air
electrically charged metal or fiber cells that attract				cleaners or HEPA air purifiers in the bedrooms,
dust particles onto them. Unfortunately this old				family room and office area if there is one. If you
technology is outdated and it does not work well!				have a mold problem in your living space or if you
This is because after a light amount of dust				need a unit that will kill and reduce mold bacteria
covers the surface of the charged cell grid, the				and viruses, make sure you purchase a portable
rest of the incoming dust and allergens will pass				air cleaning unit that includes a non ozone
right through the air cleaner and back into the				producing ultra-violet light system. When choosing
indoor environment for people to breathe! Also,				a portable HEPA air cleaner or HEPA air purifier it
Central Electronic Cleaners with Charged Collector				is important to look for brands and models that
Cell Grids Produce Non-Adjustable Levels of				are quiet while producing the highest air exchange
Ozone! This can be an irritant to people with				rate per hour in any given sized room or area, at
asthma and lung problems! Since most homes and				the lowest aftermarket filter replacement cost.
buildings have only one central air return per				We feel that the highest quality HEPA units on the
system or zone, these electronic cleaners cannot				market are made by Austin Air, TRACS and EZ
pull dirty air from rooms or areas that are more				Air.
then a few feet away from the air return that is				3. If possible replace all carpeting with ceramic tile
attached to or leading to the electronic air cleaner.				or hardwood floors. {Tile is best} New carpeting is
Major companies that produce these electronic				loaded with toxic chemicals that will outgas for a
cleaners are Honeywell, Trion and Aprilaire. THERE				period of 2-3 years and old carpeting is often
IS NO WAY that central electronic cleaners can				loaded with dust and allergens that include molds,
pull the dirty air from across the house or from				bacteria, dead skin, animal dander and dust mite
the inside of bedrooms and or offices that are				allergen. All of these problems are major triggers
away from the central air return area in your				for allergies and asthma! If the carpeting must
home or building! They Are Not Whole House Air				stay, VACUUM OFTEN! Use a quality HEPA
Cleaners!				vacuum cleaner that is sealed tight so the fine
Myth #3. Whole house self-charging electrostatic				dust does not blow back into your indoor
air filters. These air filters are custom made to				environment while you are vacuuming. Sweeping
size to replace your existing throw away air filters				ceramic tile or hardwood floors is not the best
in your furnace or central air conditioning systems				way to clean as it causes the dust and allergens
air handler unit or air return. They are made from				to fly back into the air. Vacuuming all surfaces
multiple layers of poly propylene fiber which allow				with a quality HEPA vacuum cleaner is the best
them to become electrically charged when air				way to go. We feel that the Airstorm HEPA
flows through them. They can then grab dust and				vacuum cleaner is the highest quality HEPA
allergens onto them like a magnet. These air				vacuum cleaner on the market.
filters are durable, washable, reasonably priced and				4. Un-clutter your living space and keep it Clean.
they can last for many years. They are				This is very important! Also get rid of all feather
wonderful for keeping your air conditioning or				pillows and wash all of your bedding in HOT water
heating system and ductwork clean as they can				as least once a week to limit dust and Dust Mite
catch and remove very small particles of dust				allergen from building up. Dust Mite allergen is very
and allergens from the air in your home or building!				reactive to people with allergies and asthma. It
However, just like the less effective throw away				must be reduced as much as possible! If you
filters, self charging electrostatic air filters can only				have pets, do not allow them into your bedrooms
clean the air from the air handler unit or from the				to spread their animal dander. Look at your
air return area they are operating from!				bedrooms as a safe haven to sleep in if you are
Self-charging electrostatic air filters cannot pull the				allergic to your pet dog or cat. If you do have
dirty air from across the house or from the inside				pets and follow these four steps, you will have a
of bedrooms and or offices that are away from				much better chance of being able to keep the
the central air return area in your home or building!				pets that you love and live with. It is our hope
They Are Not Whole House Air Filters!				that this report will be helpful to you in creating a
Myth #4. Whole house ultra-violet (UV) light				healthy, clean, more allergy free indoor
systems for central air conditioning units - These				environment for your family or workplace
ultra-violet light systems are installed into air				employees!

PuriAir

Whole House Air Cleaners Report - Why They Do Not Work!