Do Air Help With Allergies?

If you’re considering investing in an air purifier to help with allergies, there’s a few things you need to know. Below we’ll cover exactly how air purifiers help people with allergies, what type of allergies they can be beneficial for and important features to look for in an air purifier to ensure it can effectively remove allergens from the air.

How Air Purifiers Help Reduce Exposure to Allergens

Allergies come in many forms, however all involve an allergic reaction to an substance in their environment. For many people this typically involves inhaling airborne allergens such as pollen, dust, pet hair and mould spores.

Air purifiers can assist to reduce the amount of airborne allergen particles in a room by drawing in air, passing it through a filter which captures any contaminants, then releasing the purified air back into the room.

Air purifiers are available with a number of filtration types, however if you suffer from allergies, we strongly recommend you opt for an air purifier featuring a HEPA filter. HEPA filters can remove 99.97% of all airborne particles that are greater than 0.3 microns in size – which means it will capture all common respiratory allergens.

It’s important to check the manufacturers specifications to ensure the air purifier you’re considering has a sufficient clean air delivery rate (CADR) for the size of the room you’re planning to use it in. CADR refers to how efficiently an air purifier can remove pollutants from the air so if you’re planning on using your air purifier in a larger room – look for a unit with a high CADR.

What Exactly is An Allergy?

According to aph.gov.au, over four million Australians suffer from allergies, going as far as to call it a significant public health issue.

Allergies specific to the respiratory system are known as Allergic rhinitis – otherwise known as Hay Fever – these are the type of allergies which air purifiers are most helpful with in relieving the symptoms of exposure to airborne allergens.

Features of the Best Air Purifiers For Allergies

As mentioned above, the best air purifiers for allergies feature HEPA filters – however additional features to look out for are pre filter systems, which are beneficial for capturing larger airborne contaminants such as pet hair which prolong the lifespan of the HEPA filter. Some air purifiers also feature activated carbon filters, which remove odours, VOCS and smoke.

Other specifications to look out for are a high air changes per hour (ACH) score which is a measure of how many times an air purifier can circulate through all the air in a room within a one hour period. For larger rooms, look for a unit that has a high ACH score.