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Lately is seems like you can’t get away from the term HEPA. You can find HEPA filter air purifiers, as well as HEPA filters for vacuum cleaners and air conditioning units just by going to any local hardware or department store. None of that labeling explains what HEPA actually is, though. We’ll examine HEPA air purifiers to get a grasp of what, exactly, HEPA is and means.

Why HEPA And Not Hepa?

HEPA is written in caps because it’s an acronym, like DARE or MADD. The acronym stands for “high efficiency particulate absorbing”. Or, alternately, it could mean “high efficiency particulate arrestance”, which is basically the same thing. In everyday English, HEPA air purifiers either stop or absorb particles of matter that are way too small for the human eye to detect.

How Do Humans Benefit From HEPA Air Purifiers?

Although HEPA air purifiers do clean pollen and dust out of the air, there are many more particles that are not natural to our environment, and that our human respiratory systems do not deal well with. Sometimes we can detect these other particles in the form of allergens and odors, sometimes we can’t. Unfortunately, there are many pollutants that our bodies simply don’t recognize and don’t defend against, which leaves them to damage our lungs and other inner parts. Having a device that can either stop or absorb these dangerous particulates can definitely have a positive impact on one’s health.

Are HEPA Air Purifiers Special Compared To Others?

Not every air purifier is the same. The standard for air purification is generally accepted to be the HEPA standard. This comes from HEPA air purifiers being the most effective air filtration available for so many years. HEPA filter air purifiers are so incredibly good at their job because they are capable of stopping 0.3 micron air particles. There is a point to focusing on that particular size of particle. When it comes to our respiratory systems, particles that are 0.3 micrometers in diameter are both dangerous and difficult to stop or filter.

What’s The Difference Between A HEPA-Type And A HEPA Air Purifier?

HEPA standards ensure that every true HEPA air purifier is up to par. To pass, they must be capable of stopping 99.7% of all 0.3 micron particles. There is a lot of science behind this, and the buyer can expect a price tag that reflects this. HEPA air purifiers are generally not cheap. You can also purchase HEPA-type air purifiers, generally right along side the true ones. These cheaper purifiers are not held to any standards at all. If you purchase a HEPA-type air purifier, you could easily get nothing but a highly ineffective fan. Don’t put too much stock in HEPA air purifier reviews, either. The vast majority of things that we can smell are not 0.3 micron particles, which means our noses have no way to know which is the best HEPA air purifier.

Still not sure that a HEPA air purifier is for you? Visit HEPA Air Purifiers Info for answers to all of your questions.

Remember all those commercials about the Ionic Breeze air purifier? They also made appearances at Radio Shack and The Sharper Image stores. Then they were gone, along with The Sharper Image, for the most part. Researching the Ionic Breeze air purifier on the net will very quickly yield two facts: the original Ionic Breeze air purifier is nearly impossible to find, and there are a bunch of folks out there that feel The Sharper Image lied about it. Yet, if you look at the reviews from the people that actually bought one, you’ll see that they’re generally favorable. Let’s take a look at some of the claims that eventually killed the original Ionic Breeze air purifiers, and put them into perspective.

It’s Been Said That The Ionic Breeze Air Purifiers Is Not Effective

True, the Ionic Breeze is not as effective as a True HEPA purifier, but no one ever said it was. In fact, The Sharper Image never made direct comparisons with HEPA air purifiers except in terms of maintenance. Consumer Reports says that the Ionic Breeze silent air purifier only cleaned 30% of the pollution that passed through the machine. Consider that all of the air in the room will pass through the machine multiple times. If you clean 30% of something multiple times, you eventually end up close to, though not quite 100%. So, basically, an ionic air purifier is slower than a HEPA machine at the same job. It’s also cheaper to buy, run, and maintain, so it’s a trade-off. Also consider that these comparisons were made against True HEPA air purifiers, not HEPA-type machines. HEPA-type air purifiers don’t have any particular standard to adhere to, and True HEPA machines are extremely expensive.

The Ionic Breeze Actually Makes The Air Unhealthy

The idea is that the ionic air purifier produces a lot of ozone to clean the air of other pollutants. However, this isn’t true. When people say this about ionic air purifiers, they are confusing them with ozone generators, which actually do clean the air in a similar manner. Even Consumer Reports agrees that the Ionic Breeze air purifier has no problem meeting HEPA guidelines for ozone. It’s also worth noting that the Ionic Breeze air purifier actually passed all HEPA guidelines, with the notable exception of efficiency.

Some Say The Ionic Breeze Air Purifier Killed The Sharper Image

The Sharper Image did end up filing for bankruptcy in 2008, but not due to lack of sales. The reason they went under is because The Sharper Image was a publicly traded company, and their reputation had been so badly damaged that the price of their stock plummeted to well under a dollar per share. Even at the time of bankruptcy, the company actually had over $50 million equity, not including liquid cash. They simply couldn’t overcome the bad publicity, regardless of the quality of their products.

Are New Ionic Air Purifiers Any Better?

New ionic air purifiers really aren’t all that much better than the original, but the concept was so simple and effective that it would be really hard to improve upon. The simple fact is that an ionic air purifier will safely, albeit slowly, clean the air just as well as anything else, and cost a lot less doing it. Although the Ionic Breeze itself is nearly impossible to find, the Ionic Pro air purifier, as well as some generics, are readily obtainable.

Want to learn more about the Ionic Breeze Air Purifier, as well as the alternatives? Visit Ionic Air Purifier Info.

Duct cleaning as a general practice may not be appropriate in every situation, however there are some times that you will definitely want to schedule a thorough cleaning of your ducts in the home. Every home is different, so the most appropriate duct cleaning process is difficult to generalize.

Cleaning of duct work may be very helpful if there are allergy suffers in the home. However, if no one has this problem and there are no other unexplained health symptoms, then cleaning of the ducts may not be necessary. If, on visual inspection, you find that the return ducts are dusty, this is simply a part of the operation of a central unit. Dusty air is pulled through ducts on a normal basis. Your furnace or air conditioning filter normally stops this dust before it re-enters your home. This dust can be vacuumed safely using your household vacuum. Replace your filter after cleaning the ducts.

If there are some unexplained health symptoms of one or more persons in the home, then you should talk with your doctor about these symptoms.

Over time, dust does tend to get built up in air ducts. Additionally, all sorts of debris can fall into floor registers. If the ducts are cleaned correctly, these items are removed in order to keep them from constantly blowing around in the home.

The duct cleaning service you choose needs to choose the most appropriate duct cleaning process to prevent further contamination of the air in your home. If they use an inadequate vacuum system, more dirt or other contaminates can be released into the air than if you had just left things alone. Additionally, personnel that are inadequately trained or not careful can damage the ducts in your home as well as your heating or air conditioning system. If ducts are leaking air, you will pay more to heat your home. If the systems is damaged, you may face costly repair or replacement costs.

If you do find mold growing in the system you will want to have it cleaned using the most appropriate duct cleaning. Any substance that appears to be mold should be tested by a microbiology lab to be certain. This test costs about fifty dollars. To have the test preformed, you will need to take a sample of the mold using clear household tape.

When the insulation that surrounds the outside of ducts is harboring mold, the mold cannot be removed and the insulation must be replaced.

If the situation that caused the mold to grow initially is not repaired, then mold will start growing again.

If you have ducts that have become infested with insects or rodents, they it is certainly necessary to have the ducts cleaned to remove any excrement from the inside of the ducts.

When ducts have become completely plugged so that no air is distributed through the registers then you need to be sure that the ducts are cleaned. Cleaning ducts in this instance will save heating and cooling bills.

Are you looking for duct cleaning services? We offer professional duct cleaning Aurora and duct cleaning Markham. You will breath easy knowing your air is now clean.

Many of us remember The Sharper Image and their stores that were in many major cities. As is normal with store closures, most people that knew of those retail outlets probably think that ionic air purifiers are no longer obtainable. This is not necessarily the case, although ionic air purifiers sold under then name “The Sharper Image” are no longer being manufactured. If you’re looking for an ionic air purifier, you have a few options.

Ionic Pro Ionic Air Purifier

The apparent usurper of the ionic throne, the Ionic Pro is very similar to the old Ionic Breeze, although it’s much, much less expensive. There’s no increased maintenance from the Ionic Breeze. All you have to do is yoink the magnetic filter bar thingy, wipe it off, and put it back in. That’s it; no filters or anything. Also, since it doesn’t use a fan, it’s both quiet and cheap to run, especially in comparison to a HEPA air purifier, though most say it is less effective. If your main goal is a cheap, silent way to purify the air in a 500 foot or less room, you might want to check out the Ionic Pro.

A Cheap Generic Ionic Air Purifier Might Be Right For You

There are also other ionic air purifiers that don’t have any branding at all. These are generally available for around a hundred dollars, and can be found in dollar or bargain stores as well as some websites. Be wary of a lack of warranty though as whatever return policy the retailer has may be your only safety net if it doesn’t work right. However, these cheap off brands can be considered at least somewhat safe since the tech that they use is pretty simple.

Ionic Air Purifiers With Fans

One of the main draws of ionic air purifiers is that they don’t use fans. Traditionally, an ionic air purifier will simply use the light breeze that is created by the particles being magnetically attracted toward it. The only ionic air purifier to receive certification from Consumer Reports, though, uses a fan. This doesn’t really help those who are considering an ionic air purifier only because it’s silent, regardless of if it’s less effective. Even with a fan, though, you’ll still get the advantage of free, filterless maintenance.

Buying A HEPA Air Purifier Instead

There’s also the ever present HEPA air purifiers. HEPA and Ionic air purifiers promise much of the same results, but work very differently. If you own a HEPA air purifier, you will occasionally have to purchase filters. There’s no worries about filter replacement with ionic air purifiers, though, since all you have to do is wipe all the offending pollutants straight off the static bar. HEPA air purifiers, however, have been consistently shown to be more effective than ionic air purifiers.

Check out Ionic Air Purifier Info for all the information you need to choose your ionic air purifier.

You will probably see items that are labeled “True” HEPA if you shop for HEPA air purifiers. So, I’m sure you’re wondering, does that mean there’s a false one? Of course you would never find a product that boldly proclaimed to be a sub-standard HEPA air purifier, but to be called a True HEPA air purifier, there are some differences. As with any other purchase, it’s left to the consumer to figure out the differences and know if they need to look for one or the other. Let’s examine True HEPA air purifiers and why some products may not claim this.

True HEPA Air Purifiers Are Different

Even though they are HEPA air purifiers, if they do not say “True” or possible “Absolute” HEPA air purifier, they are not the same thing. When HEPA air purifiers are advertising effectiveness as stated by such government agencies as the EPA and OSHA, they are generally the true type even if not specifically stated on the packaging. Regardless of the other air purifiers on the market, institutions such as hospitals and laboratories are such sensitive areas that they only use true HEPA air purifiers.

Particles! True HEPA Air Purifiers Stop Them

70 to 100 microns of thickness is the typical human hair. Consider how small 0.3 micron particles must be, then consider that although they must be tiny the true HEPA air purifier must be able to filter out at least 97 percent of particles that size to qualify. Although this may sound very technical, keep in mind it is actually a very important consideration. Particles of this size are the hardest to filter, even the smaller ones are easier to filter out. 0.3 microns are small enough in size to bypass the human body’s defenses to get into the respiratory system and cause many illnesses. Thus, it is important that the true HEPA air purifiers be able to filter these tiny particles.

Best When Dirty! True HEPA Air Purifies Actually Work Better When Dirty

This is one of the main differences between True HEPA air purifiers and others. This is also where the terms “True” and “Absolute” become interchangeable. An absolute type filtration media is designed to be more effective when dirty than when clean. The addition of the trapped particles actually increases the filtration power of a true HEPA air purifier. The reason for this is actually quite simple. As the dirt builds up, the spaces through which the air can pass become smaller.

Is It A True HEPA Air Purifier? How To Know

The easiest way to tell is if the product is advertising that it is a true HEPA air purifier. There are also HEPA-type air purifiers which really have no exact standards to which they are held in regards to how tightly they filter the air. If the packaging says neither “true HEPA” or “HEPA-type”, then look for the efficiency ratings. If it doesn’t filter at least 97% of the all important 0.3 micron particles, then it’s not a true HEPA air purifier.

Still not sure that a HEPA air purifier is for you? Visit HEPA Air Purifiers Info for answers to all of your questions.

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