Is In-Home Air Purification Worth It?

If you’ve heard about in-home air purifiers, you’ve probably wondered whether they actually do anything to improve your indoor air quality. Do they actually clean your household air? Do they really eliminate the microscopic-sized particles they claim to capture? At Dust Doctors, we know many homeowners are wary of air purification systems, simply because they seem a bit too good to be true. To help you better understand the capabilities of these systems and whether they’re a smart choice for your home, we’re delving into the details about air purification below.

What Is An Air Purification System?

An air purification system is essentially a super-powered air filter. Much like the filter on your HVAC return vent, the filter housed within an air purification system is designed to trap suspended particles in your household air. But, unlike your HVAC filter, an air purification system contains a much more effective filter.

What makes the filter more effective? Most air purifiers use HEPA filtration, which is designed to capture up to 99.7% of particles sized 0.3 microns or larger. If you’re not familiar with microns, the average human hair has a diameter of approximately 50 microns. So essentially, a HEPA filtration system captures all but the tiniest microscopic particles floating around your home.

Because even the most well-designed filter won’t capture every potentially harmful particle in your household air, certain filters also come equipped with UV technology. UV rays work to kill bacteria, fungi, viruses, dust mites, and mold spores, keeping your indoor air as clean and high quality as possible.

Air Purification Systems: What Are Your Options?

When it comes to improving your indoor air quality with an air purification system, you have a couple of options:

●        Whole-Home Purifiers. A whole-home air purification system is designed to boost indoor air quality by operating within your HVAC system. Because the HVAC system already controls airflow throughout your home, the filter provides additional filtration and sanitization as forced air passes through your ductwork.

●        Portable Air Purifiers. Portable devices can be situated anywhere inside your home. If you routinely use specific rooms, placing purifiers in those rooms can help cut down on indoor allergies while keeping electricity costs low.

While some homeowners prefer the convenience and transferability of portable air purifiers, whole-home units typically provide more extensive filtration. If you or any members of your household have airborne or indoor allergies, a whole-home system is usually the more beneficial option.

Improving Indoor Air Quality: Is Air Purification Worth It?

Is maintaining healthy indoor air worth it? In a word, absolutely! While owning an air purification system inevitably presents an additional electrical expense, the tradeoff is more than worth it. If you spend considerable time indoors, you expose yourself to a number of potentially harmful particles, including:

●        Volatile chemicals

●        Dust mites

●        Pollen particles

●        Pet dander (air purification is especially useful if you have pets)

●        Dead skin cells

●        Mold spores

●        Fungal growths

And, while your HVAC filter can tackle a small percentage of those particles, it’s not designed to eliminate the thousands (perhaps millions) of microscopic particles that are currently floating around your home. In a nutshell, when it comes to your health, if you put good in, you’ll get good out. Just as eating a healthy, balanced diet helps ensure vitality and longevity, breathing clean, pure air helps ensure optimal health, too!

At Dust Doctors, it’s our goal to help Twin Cities homeowners maintain the best indoor air quality possible. While we’re well known for comprehensive duct cleaning, we’ve made it our mission to offer a comprehensive suite of services designed to keep your household air as pure and fresh as possible. Whether you’re looking to install whole-home air purification or think annual duct cleaning can help you and your family breathe easier, make our team your first call!

To learn more about our services or to schedule your appointment, feel free to give our team a call at 651-319-9777 or connect with us online, and we’ll be in touch with you shortly!