Looking forward to buying an air purifier but don’t know what specifications to check for? Or bought an air purifier but not using it to its full potential? Don’t worry we have got your back. A lot of air purifier consumers are being fooled by air purifier companies who keep only profit in mind. They sell you devices which are of no use or of exaggerated features which you don’t need at all

An air purifier is a simple device comprising a fan that sucks air in and blows it out. It has a filter that cleans the air. But this plain sailing operation can affect your lungs. Indoor air is 4 times more polluted than outdoor air and to keep your lungs safe you need to gain at least some substantial information about your purifier. Let’s begin!

As discussed earlier a filter is the core of an air purifier responsible for cleaning the air and filtering out pollutants. HEPA (High-Efficiency particulate Arrestance) filters must remove 99.97% of particles that have a size of 0.3 microns or more. Check for this specification and then buy.

Pre-filter: Buy a purifier with pre-filters Incorporated into the purifier architecture. Pre-filters prevent large particles from entering the primary HEPA filter, increasing the longevity of the filter.
Also look out for a higher number of CADR (Clean Air Delivery Rate)that determines the volume of filtered air, the purifier can blow out. Air Changes per hour abbreviated as ACH checks how fast the purifier can purify the air in a given space per hour. An ACH rating of 6-8 is a must.

A high CFM (cubic feet per minute) is preferred as it gives a measure of how many cubic feet of air move through the unit per minute. If you have already bought your air purifier without checking these parameters, there is little you can do about it. However you can do the following:

• Close the door of the room where your purifier is working. Often we see air purifiers installed in open space like in lobbies or classroom of a school which is a total waste of your money.
• Clean the pre-filter and replace the HEPA filter if required. Place your purifier in a spacious room for a better purification
• Monitor your purifier’s efficiency with an Air Quality Monitor, placing it on the opposite side of the room. You can buy AQI monitors online at reasonable rates.

Your lungs are the core of your body, keep it running and act smart.

Jayantika Mitra

Jayantika is an Associate Product Manager passionate about positioning the right products to the right audience at the right time. She kickstarted her career as a content writer and has written blogs on pollution, fashion, news and recent technologies. In her free time, she likes to read books, write articles, travel and hike.

She interned at SimplyPurify from Oct 2017 to Dec 2017 as a content writer