The Best Air Purifier Technology at Reducing Allergens in the Home

That time of year has struck again, the time of year where your allergies start to spiral out of control and leave you with a load of symptoms that are constantly persisting, both indoors and outdoors. The American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology reported that there are close to 50 million people – about one in-five people that have allergies. Originally allergies were strictly associated with that of outdoor allergens such as pollen that is produced in high volumes and trigger the “seasonal allergies” that many people believe they are experiencing. The “seasonal allergy” symptoms will start with a runny nose, persisting cough, and maybe even a reaction on the skin.

Indoor allergens are among the most prevalent of allergens that people are faced with on a day-to-day basis and is often not something that is considered by those who are combating these allergy symptoms. From mold, to dust mites, pollen, and even pet dander, indoor allergens can be at an all-time level within your personal indoor environment. Therefore, it is important to monitor and continually flush out these allergens from the indoor air – and the ideal method to use to perform this flush out is with an effective air purifier for allergen removal.

In this article we are going to go over the different allergens that you may find within your home’s air and discuss the different air purifier technologies and their effectiveness at eliminating these allergens from the air completely.

Why Are My Allergies So Bad?

Have you started noticing that your allergies are spiking to levels like you have never experienced before? This spike only happens when you are inside your home, and it can persist for way longer than you want – sometimes it can go on for weeks to months on end! Does this mean that you are classified as a chronic allergy sufferer or is your environment to blame? Often times, the severity of allergies is dependent on the environmental conditions and the level of allergens present in the air of this enclosed space.

Allergens can come from a variety of sources inside a home from mold growth, pets that are present in the home, dust accumulation, pests, and even outdoor allergens like pollen that travel into the environment. If you start to experience the worst of your allergy symptoms when you are inside an environment such as your home, then you can correlate the allergy symptoms with the condition of the environment – and then you will need to take action to mitigate and eliminate the allergens from the home’s air and surfaces.

Common Airborne Allergens Indoors

You may be surprised to learn the likely allergens that can be found within the walls of your home. Typically, when we know that we are allergic to something we will avoid it to reduce the potential symptoms that it can trigger – such as if you have a peanut allergy than you avoid eating or being around foods with this ingredient. However, if you have potential allergens that you are allergic to traveling inside your home, then just like you would with any other allergy you will want to remove this allergen from your surroundings, particularly if your symptoms are severe.

When you are in the presence of these potential allergy triggers, it will ignite a response inside the body of someone who suffers from allergies. Allergens that enter into the body will spark a reaction in the immune system, and the immune system will respond hypersensitive to these allergens and elicit allergy symptoms in the body as a means to fight off the allergens.

What are the most common airborne allergens found in a home that you need to be aware of that can trigger allergy symptoms?

Mold

Mold can be found everywhere – outdoors on logs and leaves and even in moist environments inside your home like a bathroom or kitchen. As mold begins to grow and reproduce within the environment, particularly indoor environments, the various forms of mold species will begin releasing mold spores into the air that can elicit and trigger allergy symptoms. These tiny mold spores, that are undetectable by the human eye, will float within the air and upon exposure to humans will stir up an amalgam of symptoms that contribute to a mold allergy.

Dust Mites

Dust mites are one of the most common causes of allergies from house dust and can contribute to significant allergy symptoms in those sufferers. Dust mites live within a home and multiply rapidly in warm, humid conditions. These mites are usually found in pillows, mattresses, carpeting, and upholstered furniture where dead skin will settle on them to feast on the dead skin. A house does not need to be visibly dirty to trigger dust mite allergies, the particles are tiny and will not be detectable by those exposed to the dust mites in the environment.

Dust

Dust that is found in a home is more than just dirt and dead skin cells in the environment – the dust can carry an assortment of allergens that are collected from the environment like pollen, mold, and dust mite droppings. Dust is essentially a large-sized particle that is located on the surfaces and air of the home and will trigger allergy symptoms upon exposure to these allergens.

Pollen

An outside allergen, pollen is a common cause of seasonal allergies that can be brought in on clothes after exposure outdoors, can travel in through an open window, and even be flushed in through the air conditioner. Pollen is the allergen that we associate with “seasonal allergies” because as more pollen fills the outdoor air, more and more people will experience persisting allergy symptoms.

Pet Dander

Have you started noticing that your allergies flare when you are around your pets? A runny nose, watery eyes, and bouts of sneezing can commence after playing with your pet(s). A pet dander allergy can contribute to constant allergy symptoms as the animal will shed tiny skin flakes of dander into the air that will enter into the body and wreak havoc on allergy symptoms.

Indoor Allergy Symptoms

The symptoms that are associated with indoor allergens can vary depending on several factors including the number of allergens present in the environment, the type of allergen, and the overall exposure time to these allergens. The usual symptoms that someone will experience when dealing with indoor allergies will include the following:

• Itchy, stuffy nose
• Clear nasal discharge
• Sneezing
• Scratchy throat
• Irritated and watery eyes
• Cough
• Wheezing
• Chest tightness

Comparing Air Purifier Technologies Against Allergen Removal

Allergens will spread far and wide within an environment, leaving no area untouched – not even the indoor air. As the allergens find their way into the air and on surfaces, it can be both extensive to remove them but also necessary as it can leave to debilitating severity of symptoms in some allergy sufferers. In an effort to combat different pollutants within an indoor air space, including allergens in the air, consumers are turning to air purifiers to effectively aid in the combating of these pollutants in their air.

Air purifiers are devices that are designed to aid in the filtration and removal of airborne contaminants from the air. The popularity of air purifiers has increased in recent years, with more and more people turning to these devices to combat the potentially high levels of pollutants and allergens present in their home’s air. However, the different types and variations of air purifiers is high and each of these air purifiers will use different technologies that are more or less effective at removing different airborne pollutants, and when it comes to allergens the same rings true.

We are going to discuss the different types of air purifier technologies and compare them in terms of effectiveness against allergen removal from the air of your personal indoor environment.

UV-C

The benefits and strengths of UV-C technologies in air purifiers is its ability to effectively neutralize the biological particles that come into contact with the technology. This makes this technology highly effective and successful in places where biological contaminants are high such as a hospitals or water treatment facility. UV-C air purifier technology is also highly effective at removing mold spores as well as viruses and bacteria pollutants in the air. The removal of mold will be helpful in removing mold allergens, but it will not work across all allergens such as the fine particulate matter like dust, dust mites, pollen, and dander.

HEPA

A popular air purifier technology, HEPA is known for its superior effectiveness against fine particulate matter such as allergens. Unlike many other air purifier technologies, HEPA filters are able to capture particulate matter down to 0.3 microns in size at a 99.97% efficiency – which includes most of the allergens that trigger allergies in indoor environments. This technology also has other benefits such as its life, as it provides up to three years protection without the need to replace.

HEPA filters also work really well with UV-C protection as it provides protection on all fronts of pollutants in the air. The EnviroKlenz Air Purifier utilizes both of these technologies, along with their own patented earth mineral technology filter for removal of noxious odors and harmful chemical toxins in the air. EnviroKlenz provides both chemical, gas, odor, particulate, allergen, and microorganism protection – making the purifier a well-rounded selection for allergy sufferers.

Carbon

The popular, and highly-liked carbon filter is among a favorite for those looking for air purifiers. Carbon air filters are designed to remove air pollutants by means of chemical “adsorption”, meaning it adsorbs the chemicals and pollutants into the filter like a sponge. However, as the filter reaches maximum capacity, it will begin to re-release into the air and re-contaminate the environment. A carbon filter is most effective against pollutants including VOCs and other gases – but when it comes to particulate and allergen removal the carbon technology falls short.

Ionizer

Ionizers, or ionic air purifiers contain a technology that disperses charged ions into the air, forming attachments to airborne particles in the air to effectively weigh down these particles and bring them to the ground of the environment. Although this is an effective way to remove pollutants from the air, it is also a dangerous way to do so. These machines produce a byproduct of ozone gas that can exacerbate allergy symptoms, not aid in the minimization of allergy symptoms.

Ozone Generators

A very dangerous, and hazardous air purifier to human health, ozone generators work by intentionally releasing ozone into the air. The ozone undergoes a chemical reaction with the gases in the air in an attempt to reduce the compound and make them less irritating.  The ozone machine dangers create harmful levels of ozone in the environment can actually progress health conditions and ultimately worsen allergy symptoms – and potentially create even more health problems upon exposure.

PECO

A new emerging technology that has been introduced to the air purifier world is the PECO technology patented by the Molekule air purifier. The technology consists of Photo Electrochemical Oxidation that uses light to incite a reaction to capture the pollutants in the air. This technology has many flaws however, it does not do well in collecting allergens within its very small filter and the UV-C lights used within the technology can produce dangerous byproducts back into the air.