More and more people appear to be suffering from allergies in the West. It is uncertain exactly why people are becoming so sensitive to common items, which only troubled a very small percentage of mankind for tens of thousands of years. Some people say it is because our world is so clean, so clinical, that our bodies have forgotten how to deal with a bit of dirt and others point to the increased amount of air pollution. So could air purifiers be the solution?
If you have an allergic reaction, the first thing to do is to work out which substance you are allergic to. This is not easy to do alone, so you will almost certainly need some professional medical help. Or you could begin by trying to eliminate dust from your house and see if that helps. You would begin to do this by cleaning or replacing any filters you already have on the air conditioning and central heating and then turning the appropriate one on. Clean the vacuum cleaner’s filter too and replace the bag, if it has one. Then vacuum the house thoroughly from top to bottom.
If this does not have the desired result, you may be allergic to pollen, mold or tobacco smoke, if there is a smoker in the house, or maybe environmental pollution from cars or and near-by industry. Try fitting an electrostatic furnace filter and running your heating or cooling system 24 hours a day to see if that clears it up. The filters can eliminate 90% of household dust and some other allergens.
The majority of airborne mold particles can be removed from your air by the use of specialist air purifiers. These air purifiers usually raise the ozone levels too, which has the effect of eliminating smells and killing some bacteria. However, for a longterm solution, you will have to seek advice from a professional to clear up the source of the mold, which is usually dampness caused by leaking pipes or damp brickwork, caused by a bridged cavity wall.
Second-hand tobacco smoke is disagreeable enough, but it can bring about an allergic reaction too. If this is the source of your problem, you could try one of the liquid air purifiers. This type of air purifier is very effective at its job. Some air purifiers purport to kill viruses too, but beware of such claims. The claim is usually based on the use of ultraviolet light, but any UV light producing less than 24,000 microwatts of UVGI is unlikely to be effectual.
Unfortunately, there is no one total solution to the problem of air pollution, because there are so many types of particles that cause allergies. Carpets can be a major source of allergens, as can all fabrics, particularly if you keep pets. Fleas, their larvae and house mites love carpets, curtains and upholstery, so you have to steam clean these at least once a year and spray them with a long-lasting insecticide containing permethrin or remove the carpets altogether and get leather furniture.
It is best to know which allergy you are fighting, but if you carry out the cleaning methods mentioned above and use one of the ozone producing air purifiers, you will have gone a very long way to cleaning the air in your home and defeating allergies.
Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with split air conditioning systems. If you are interested in Home Air Conditioning Systems, please click through to our site.