Air Cleaners
Air cleaning is one of three methods of reducing pollutants in indoor air. You can also increase the amount of ventilation in your rooms or remove the source of the pollution. You'll get the cleanest, best quality air if you combine all three strategies. Most people think that by simply keeping a clean house, all pollutants will be kept outdoors. This, however, won't remove all the pollutants typically found in indoor air.
The decision of whether or not to use air cleaners is left to each individual person. The EPA has not currently taken a position on whether or not we should use them in our homes. Regardless of the EPA's current stance, you may want to m move forward and start using air cleaners because they've been shown to reduce the harmful health effects of particles such as dust or light spray mists. Some air cleaners, under the right conditions, can even remove dangerous particles that are large enough for us to breathe into our lungs, such as tobacco smoke particles. If you can get rid of these particles, there's a good chance you can reduce common health problems they cause, like eye and lung irritation, cancer, and decreased lung function.
Air Cleaners and Allergies
Some controversy exists about whether purifiers are effective in reducing allergic reactions caused by culprits such as pollen, house dust, mold, and animal dander. Even if you install an air cleaner, it won't be able to pick up the particles that have already settled onto your furniture, floors, counters, etc. This isn't to say that they can't still help you--they most definitely can. You may want to look into air cleaners that contain special ingredients that allow them to eradicate gaseous pollutants, including radon.
Some air cleaners may be installed in the ducts which are part of central heating or air-conditioning systems in homes. Portable purifiers stand alone in a room and can use mechanical filters (including the typical furnace filter), electrostatic precipitators (which trap charged particles using an electrical field), and ionic charged systems (which act by charging the particles in a room). With ionic charged systems, the charged particles are then attracted to walls, floors, draperies, etc. or a charged collector. There are also "hybrid" devices, which employ several of the methods listed above.
