How to Choose your Air Purifier

Choosing the correct air purifier to deal with whatever your specific problem is doesn't need to be a headache.
Although there seem to be hundreds of different air purifiers out there, they all tend to fall into one of three main categories which we have listed below for you to understand a little better and hopefully help you to make the right choice. Don't forget to visit our Air Purifiers FAQ's page after reading this which gives the invaluable Breathing Space answer to most of the questions we get asked every day.

The Three Main Types Of Air Purifier

Ionizers (Ionisers)
Ionizer air purifiers are generally inexpensive, but also the least effective air purifiers because they simply make the particles fall to the surface in the room. So your air will feel fresher, but the impurities/allergens are still in the room and open to inhalation. Nowadays an Ionizer is generally only found as an added extra on a Hepa Air Purifier (see below). If you have an Ioniser already you will probably have noticed a build up of black deposit around the machine where the particles have been attracted to the unit and stuck to the nearby surfaces. In general an Ioniser on its own is not the most effective way of cleaning a room, but an Ioniser as part of a Hepa Air Purifier is a good idea and a much more common sight nowadays. Click here for more information on ionisers.
 
Hepa Air Purifiers ( High Efficiency Particulate Air Filter )
Hepa Filter air purifiers offer hugely better air cleaning efficiency than Ionizers. The contaminated room air is sucked into the machine and through the HEPA filter by a fan. The filter collects over 99% of the contaminants (allergens,pet dander,dust mites, etc) and the cleaned air is then pushed back out to recirculate around the room. The upside of a good hepa air purifier is it's ability to filter out huge amounts of airborne contaminants for a relatively low cost. One downside however is the noise factor, a cheaply made Hepa machine can sound up to 10 times louder than an equivalent well made one. The more specialist brands like Airgle or Blueair for example tend to be quieter than the mass produced lesser known ones.  The Blueair range of Hepa Air Purifiers are simply the most powerful, quiet and energy efficient units you can buy with awards galore from all over the world. With any Hepa based machine, you will need to replace the filters regularly to keep the air cleaning efficiency at it's highest level. So always check the replacement filter costs before buying. 

Air Sterilizers (air sterilisers)
Air Sterilizers like the Airfree Air Purifiers clean the air to the highest possible degree when it comes to the tiniest, most harmful pollutants like viruses and bacteria. They are also completely silent in operation and have no filters to replace. The downside of this type of unit however is that it shouldn't be moved from room to room regularly as it takes too long to 'get up to speed' after being repositioned. Also, if your problem is larger 'visible' dust particles then these units are not actually the best option as they are not designed to remove these larger heavy particulates. In this case you should opt for a Hepa air purifier (as above). In summary, choose an air steriliser if you are concentrating your efforts on one specific room such as a bedroom and want the unit to be silent and able to destroy viruses, bacteria and other tiny weightless harmful pollutants. Visit the Why Choose an Airfree? Page for more help on this.

Air Purifiers to Avoid!
Avoid anything that makes a song and dance about things like having a 'Five Stage Air Purification System!' etc. These are almost always low quality, mass produced items with little or no genuine independent proof of their worth. Be careful, as sometimes they are priced fairly high too, which gives the impression that they must be somehow better than other less expensive machines. If in doubt always check for independent test results - not the manufacturers own 'test' results as these carry little genuine credibility. Ultimately the best air purifiers will only use a  one or two stage filter system ( never five, six or seven).

Small Air Purifiers with Big Claims
Be wary also of compact air purifiers which claim to be able to purify large rooms. This is a physical impossibility. If you think about it a very small air purifier can only contain a very small fan. A small fan simply cannot move enough air through the filter frequently enough to actually work. Yes, granted there will be some level of clean air coming out of the machine, but the majority of air in your room will remain untouched and unfiltered as the air purifier is simply not able to reach the farthest corners of the room. Again, don't be fooled by a compact air purifier with a fairly high price- the laws of physics still apply!

Still stuck?
Well don't be, you can view all our air purifiers by clicking  View All Units , or visit our Air Purifier FAQ's page for the most common questions we get asked, but the best way to make the right decision is to just pick up the phone and give us a call on 01207 507444 and tell us what your specific problem is and we will have you pointed in the right direction in minutes. Remember, we love to talk to our customers.