The air in the typical home contains particles such as dust, mold spores, pollen, pet dander, bacteria and/or viruses, as well as gaseous particles resulting from combustion appliances and cooking. While your furnace air filter helps remove these particles from your air, portable air cleaners can effectively remove a larger number of particulates than your furnace filter alone. If you suffer from allergies, asthma, COPD or other respiratory ailments, utilizing these portable devices in your Twin Cities home will improve your indoor air quality and help bring relief from painful and annoying symptoms.
Portable units will remove particles from the air in a single room. Install air cleaners in the rooms in which you spend the most time, such as your bedroom, living room or home office. There are several types of air cleaners on the market:
- Mechanical air filters use a fan to move air through a filter that traps airborne particles. The most popular mechanical filter – and the most effective – is the HEPA filter. HEPA filters trap at least 90 percent of particles with a size of 0.3 microns and larger.
- Electronic air cleaners give an electrical charge to particles to remove them from the air. Electrostatic precipitators capture charged particles on a collection plate in the unit, while ionizers send charged ions into the air. This causes particles to adhere to one another, making them heavy enough to fall from the air and collect on the surfaces of your room to be cleaned manually, ideally with an electrostatic dusting cloth.
- Gas phase air filters remove odors and gaseous pollutants from your air. These filters use activated carbon granules to trap irritants. These can be used in conjunction with HEPA filters to clean your air more effectively.
For more expert advice on improving your indoor air quality through the use of air cleaning devices, please contact us at Marsh Heating & Air Conditioning. We’re dedicated to helping Twin Cities area homeowners improve their indoor air quality through excellent service and top-of-the-line products.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about air cleaners and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
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