October 18, 2024
AUX heating in Hanover, MD

Air purifiers can be a great way to improve the quality of the air inside of your Hanover, MD home. Portable units exist and can be moved from one room to another. However, there are also whole-house air purifiers that address all the air inside your home at one time. Air purifiers are a piece of equipment that is often misunderstood. This leads to many people choosing not to use them. Let’s debunk some of the most common myths about air purifiers.

1. Air Purifiers Eliminate the Need to Dust

While air purifiers can do a great job at removing particulate matter from your indoor air, there will still be some degree of dust and particles that remain on the surfaces of your home. It’s a good idea to keep up with regular cleaning of your interior, including dusting and vacuuming. These cleaning methods, combined with air purification, can help promote a much healthier environment in your Hanover residence.

2. Air Purifiers Kill Germs

This myth isn’t entirely incorrect. There are some types of filtrations and technology that can reduce bacteria, viruses, and pathogens that are in your home. However, more basic units may lack this ability. If you’re concerned with germs, opt for an air purifier that uses HEPA filters. Because of how tightly woven these filters are, they remove up to 99.97% of particulate matter in your indoor air. This includes bacteria and viruses, which become trapped in the filter.

You can opt for an air purifier that includes UV-C light technology. As air passes through UV-C light, microbes are inactivated by destroying their genetic material. This can help reduce the number of illnesses that are passed throughout your home.

3. Air Purification and Ventilation Are the Same

Air purifiers are designed to remove particulate matter from the air. Ventilation refers to the process of air exchange between the inside and outside of your home. Some degree of ventilation is necessary to maintain healthy indoor air quality. A home that has a very airtight seal will allow particulates, carbon monoxide, moisture, and volatile organic compounds to build up over time. As we are exposed to these contaminants, our health can be affected. Poor indoor air quality caused by reduced ventilation can lead to symptoms such as allergic rhinitis, coughing, fatigue, headaches, inflammation, and more.

If your home would benefit from increased ventilation, there are several changes that can be made. Aside from just opening your windows for a period each day, you can utilize the exhaust fans that are in your bathrooms and kitchen. These fans expel air from the interior of your home to the outside, allowing for fresh air to replace it. A ventilation system can be installed in your home. Through a series of mechanical fans and vents, old air is removed while fresh air is brought in.

4. Air Purifier Size Doesn’t Matter

Many homeowners assume that an air purifier will reduce particulate matter regardless of its size or how powerful it is. Portable units remove a minimal amount of particulate matter because of their size. Also, it’s inconvenient to have to move this unit around from one room to another. A whole-house unit should be selected based on the square footage of your home.

Other considerations include the contaminants that you’re dealing with. If your home has many volatile organic compounds in it, there are smokers living in your home, you have several pets, or pollution in the area is a concern, it will likely be beneficial to upgrade your purifier to something that’s powerful enough to handle all these concerns. Our team at Beltway Air Conditioning, Heating, & Plumbing can help you determine what type and size of whole-house purifier you need based on an indoor air quality report and the specifics of your home.

5. Air Purifiers Filter Everything

With so many different potential contaminants affecting the inside of homes, it can be difficult to decide what kind of air purifier to invest in. It’s important to note that not all purifiers do the same thing. Some are very effective when it comes to removing particulates from the air. This includes pet dander, dust, mold spores, pollen, etc. Standard filtration won’t remove things like volatile organic compounds. To remove VOCs, you’ll want to invest in air purification that uses things like activated carbon filtration. Formaldehyde and other chemicals are absorbed by the activated carbon, preventing it from circulating in your home.

6. Air Purifiers Are a One-Time Investment

A lot of homeowners justify the cost of an air purifier because they think it’s a one-time investment. While this is a very smart investment to make for your health and well-being, there is a certain degree of maintenance and upkeep that your purifier will require over time. Depending on the type of system that you have, you’ll likely need to replace its filters periodically. Some filters are much more expensive than others. HEPA filters tend to be more expensive than a traditional pleated filter, but they do a better job at promoting healthy indoor air. Activated carbon filters are also pricey, but they’re a great way to reduce your exposure to VOCs.

Extremely advanced purifiers can result in hundreds of dollars being spent on filters each year. If this isn’t something that you can keep up with, it’s a good idea to choose a purifier that uses more affordable filtration. We can help you determine what kind of unit will remove the specific contaminants in your home while also helping to stick to a reasonable household budget.

There are some purifier units that utilize washable filters or electrostatic plates that need to be cleaned and dried before re-inserting them into your air purifier unit. This is a great way to reduce maintenance costs over time.

There may also be repairs and maintenance that are needed along with the routine maintenance of your HVAC system. You can have our team look at your air purifier when we’re at your residence for annual maintenance. We can clean the interior components of your purifier, inspect everything, and make repairs as needed.

7. Air Purifiers Address Indoor Humidity

Unfortunately, air purifiers aren’t an effective tool to use if you’re dealing with too much or too little moisture in your home. In this situation, you’ll want to investigate having a whole-house humidifier or whole-house dehumidifier installed onto your HVAC system. This is another great way to promote healthy indoor air. Air that is too moist can hang on to a greater amount of particulate matter. Dry air can cause your sinuses to feel dry and irritated.

If you would like to learn more about using a whole-house air purifier in your Hanover home, reach out to our team here at Beltway Air Conditioning, Heating, & Plumbing. We offer the installation, maintenance, and repair of air purification and filtration equipment. We also service all types of heating and cooling equipment. We perform duct cleaning, indoor air quality testing, thermostat service, and more. Contact Beltway Air Conditioning, Heating, & Plumbing today to schedule an appointment.

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