Do you have asthma?
Have you thought about getting an air purifier?
But want to know do air purifiers help with asthma?
If so, this post is for you.
Below, you’ll find out once and for all will an air purifier help with asthma.
We put this article together to help you make the right decision about using an air purifier in your home to improve the indoor air quality and your health.
Do Air Purifiers Help with Asthma?
According to research, air purifiers do help asthma. An air purifier can be an effective device for helping relieve asthma symptoms in adults and children. This study indicates that HEPA air purifiers can reduce indoor particulate matter concentrations by approximately 25% to 50% which can help reduce asthma symptoms and exacerbations.
Some key things to keep in mind for how well will an air purifier help with asthma include:
- Airflow rate of the air purifier
- Filter design and type
- Size of the allergen particles
- Location of the purifier indoors
If you use the best air purifier for asthma and allergies in your home, there’s a good possibility that it will decrease your asthma-related symptoms and the chances of having an asthma attack.
In some cases, individuals who suffer from asthma experience a better living environment after adding an air purifier to their home.
However, you need to understand that an air purifier isn’t a way to cure asthma. Currently, no remedy exists. So, you have to just manage your asthma symptoms and air purifiers can be part of that health treatment plan.
Now that you know the answer to the question, “do air purifiers help with asthma?”, let’s now look at how air purifiers actually do it.
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How Can Air Purifiers Help with Asthma?
The way an air purifier helps with asthma is actually quite simple.
When you turn the air purifier on, it draws the surrounding air into the unit.
Not only does it bring in the surrounding room air, but it also brings in all of the pollutants and particles that floating around in the air too, including pet dander, pollen, dust, mold spores, and airborne chemicals.
As the air is sucked through the air purifier, it’s pushed through a series of filters that trap the contaminants.
This process prevents allergy-triggering particles from recirculating back into the room.
Once the air has been cleaned, it’s pumped back into the space for you to breathe in.
To get the best home air purifier for asthma that’s portable and efficient, you’ll want to make sure that it’s equipped with a True HEPA filter, which we’ll cover next.
But if you want the best whole home air purifier that cleans the entire air that flows through your HVAC system by attaching to the furnace, then you’ll want a unit that has at least a MERV 13 rating.
What is a True HEPA Filter?
True HEPA filters are a more advanced type of standard HEPA filters.
This means that True HEPA filters can catch and trap more air contaminants.
A True HEPA filter has the potential to remove 99.97% of particles that are 0.3 microns and larger. This covers the vast majority of pollutants that might irritate your lungs and trigger an asthma attack, including dust, allergens, mold spores, pet dander, and smoke.
Of course, not all air purifiers come with a True HEPA filter.
Some air purifiers come with a standard HEPA filter, which doesn’t collect ultrafine contaminants.
Lower-grade HEPA filters can only trap particles as small as 2 to 5 microns in size, which is between 500 to 1,500% less efficient.
So if you’re particularly troubled by mold spores, for example, then you’ll want the best air purifier for mold and mildew that includes the highest-grade True HEPA filter.
The same thing is true for anyone who wants to reduce the level of pet dander particles floating in the air. The best air purifier for pets will contain this type of filter as well.
What About Ionizers?
You might have heard of a type of air purifier called an “ionizer” that can also help reduce air pollutants that might trigger asthma.
While this option is less expensive than other air purifiers on the market, it’s actually not a good choice for people with asthma.
An air ionizer can irritate the lungs and respiratory tract of asthmatics and people with COPD or bronchitis.
If you suffer from asthma, running an ionizer could make matters worse and potentially lead to an asthma attack.
So, if you have asthma and are looking for an air purifier, you need to stick to traditional options that come with a True HEPA filter.
If you’re looking for more information about how ionizers work and their potential hazards, we’ve put together an in-depth article that you might find useful here: Are Ionizers Bad for Asthma?
Can Air Purifiers Remove All Contaminants?
The answer to this question is both yes and no.
Air purifiers are designed to remove airborne particles, which means they won’t suck in any particles that are trapped in your furniture, curtains, or carpet, as explained in our guide on how air purifiers work.
If you happen to walk across your floor, sit on your furniture, or open your drapes, these acts could cause the particles to be released into the air.
Should that occur, the air purifier can then draw them in and remove them.
Just remember that a True HEPA filter is the only one that can remove the widest range of contaminants from the air in your home.
If you use an air purifier that only comes with a standard HEPA filter, it may not remove all particles that trigger asthma, including ultra-fine dust, pollen, pet dander, and mold spores.
You often find this lower quality type of filter in an air purifier with reuseable filter. That’s because the material is not as dense as a replaceable True HEPA filter.
Now keep in mind that most air purifiers work without any feedback on the level of pollutants detected inside the room. They just cycle the air through the filters and remove the airborne particles. You can see the efficiency of this process by inspecting the filter and seeing how dirty it gets.
If you want to know exactly what contaminants are in the air you’re breathing, consider reading our air quality monitor reviews guide as these devices are made specifically for measuring and reporting the level of pollutants in the air.
How to Get the Most Help for Your Asthma with an Air Purifier
To ensure that you’re getting the most value out of the best air purifier for asthma and allergies, it’s in your best interest to use the device in the rooms that you frequent most often.
This might mean getting more than one air purifier so that you can place a separate unit in your living room, bedroom, or basement (if you’re in this area often).
Having air purifiers placed throughout your home is the best way to remove contaminants from the air and keep yourself healthy.
If you don’t want to buy more than one air purifier, or cannot afford it, you can also opt to carry the same air purifier from room to room with you.
However, some air purifiers are quite large, and taking it with you around the house can be cumbersome.
Regardless if you choose to buy one or more air purifiers for your home, you’ll still reduce the number of particles there are to irritate your asthma.
And with fewer airborne particles, the fewer chances you’ll have of experiencing an asthma attack.
Will an Air Purifier Help with Asthma? (Answered)
Now you know that answer to the question, “do air purifiers help with asthma?”
While air purifiers will help with asthma, the trick is to find an air purifier that will work best for you at removing the pollutants that impact your asthma the most.
By finding an air purifier that’s equipped with a True HEPA filter, you’ll no longer have to worry about if or can air purifiers help with asthma because you’ll experience the relief first-hand.
After using an air purifier in your home, it will be easy to tell if the indoor air quality has been improved because you’ll be able to breathe easier and suffer from fewer asthma symptoms.
As a reminder, air purifiers are not a cure-all for asthma but research indicates that these machines can definitely help reduce the symptoms.
