Do Air Purifiers Help Remove Mould?

Mould is a common occurrence in Australian households, particularly those in high humidity regions. With greater awareness about the health risks of mould, many Australians are turning to air purifiers to reduce their exposure to this nasty fungus. But do air purifiers help remove mould? In short yes. Keep reading to find out exactly how air purifiers remove mould and features to look out for when buying an air purifier to ensure it’s effective in removing mould spores.

How Air Purifiers Remove Mould

Mould spreads throughout your home by releasing reproductive spores into the air. These microscopic spores attach themselves to surfaces in an attempt to find ideal growing conditions – like high heat and humidity.

Air purifiers can prevent mould from spreading throughout your home, and from being inhaled into your lungs, by passing the air in your room through a physical filter which traps the mould spares before releasing the cleansed air back into the room. Typically, mould spores range from 3 to 40 microns in size. In order to effectively remove mould spores, you must choose an air purifier with a HEPA filter – which are proven to capture at least 99.7% of airborne particles that are greater than 0.3 microns in size.

It’s important to note that whilst air purifiers are effective for removing mould spores from the air in your home and preventing its spread – air purifiers won’t remove mould that is attached to surfaces. In order to completely remove mould from your home you’ll need to address the environmental conditions that are conducive to mould growth via a dehumidifier or other means.

What is Mould?

Mould is a fungus comprised of tiny organisms. These organism thrive in warm, high moisture and dark environments. Mould can grown on a variety of surface types in the right conditions including wood, paper, fabric, carpet and glass.

There are three main classifications of mould based on their relative danger to our health:

Allergenic Mould – the most common type of mould found in Aussie homes which causes allergic reactions in humans.
Pathogenic Mould – is known to cause infections in both healthy and immune compromised people.
Toxigenic Mould – the worst kind, these moulds release myotoxins into the air which are caused a serious risk to your health when inhaled.