Unfortunately today no one can really say that water that is coming out of the faucet is safe to drink. Even if we live near the countryside, we can never really be sure if the air we breathe is fresh and pollution free. The numerous allergens, bad bacteria and microscopic organisms that float in the air and water systems are the main cause of diseases that can be fatal, particularly to babies and elderly people.

Fortunately for us, there are numerous gadgets that can purify the air we breathe and the water we drink. Such devices, which have numerous types, are not only readily available in the market, but also easy on the budget.

Here are the most common types of water purifiers that you can use in your home:

Countertop filters

The countertop filters are the most basic water filtration or purification system that you can use. It is very cheap and easy to install. The only maintenance or installation required for countertop and faucet mount filters is the replacement of filters. Once installed, you will not find any difficulty in using, cleaning and maintaining such filters.

If your main concern is to purify the water that you drink, countertop filters is best for your. These compact water filters can lessen elements, such as chlorine, asbestos, mercury and lead in your water. Such are also capable of removing bad odor and taste in drinking waters.

Under sink water purification system

Whole house systems, particularly UV and reverse osmosis technologies, are placed mostly under your sink. You can be assured that such gadgets could not only filter sediments and some elements from your water, but also kill most microorganisms.

These sink filters are more expensive and would require more advanced installation skills. More often than not, manufacturers usually require technicians to install such water purification systems.

To determine which type of water purifier is needed by you and your family, you first need to have the water in your home tested. If there are really no major contaminates in your water, you can choose simple countertop filters. If you require tougher purification process to get rid of contaminates in your water, then you might want to consider buying the sink filters, and even the whole house system.

Common kinds of home air purifiers

Whole House System

If your house is located in major thoroughfares and is exposed to lots of pollution-emitting vehicles, then you might want to install a whole house air purification system. This is quite expensive, but you will be assured that your whole family, whenever they are inside your house, can breathe fresh and clean air.

Such a system is usually installed in central HVAC system, air conditioning, or heating systems. Thus, whenever your fan starts, the purification process also commences.
air purifier systems

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Problem

Something invisible in the air could be making you ill right now and you don’t know it. Indoor air, even in your own home may be slowly eroding your health. You hear it on the news; stories of families who are victims of mold and insurance companies ending their financial bloodshed by revising their policy to not include coverage for damage caused by the invisible enemy.

Dogs are not man’s best friend when a family member is having an allergic episode. Second-hand smoke not only spoils everyone’s meals, but you heard a thousand times what harm it does if you’ve been over exposed. Dirty air is simply not good for anyone. Vacuuming, dusting, wiping or sticking a freshener on a wall will not alleviate these respiratory symptoms.

Solution

Running an air purifier inside your home can help remove the bad air and re-circulate cleaner air. Health experts say the air inside your home is five times as dirty as the air outside. Air purifiers that can clean this dirty air, use various methods to remove the bad air in your home so you can breathe cleaner air and save your lungs.

Choices

Three popular types of air purifiers are available.

HEPA

Air purifiers that use the HEPA or High Efficiency Particulate Air filters are suppose to trap 99.97 percent of fine particles as small as 0.3 microns in size. In other words, it can catch something you wouldn’t want to breathe in, hundreds of times smaller than a strand of hair. A filter must meet that standard before it’s regarded as a true HEPA filter. So don’t be faked-out by some products that advertise themselves as “HEPA like,” which sadly doesn’t even come close to the effectiveness of the real thing.

Ionic Air Purifiers

Ionic air purifiers or ionizers are a type of room air purifier that zaps air borne particles with negative ions or electrical charges that make them weigh more. These particles like dust or dander, then drop to the floor, where you then sweep or vacuumed them away. However, some particles can return into the air, so some ionizers use metal plates to attract these negatively charge particles. Cleaning of these plates is required after they have accumulated too much gunk that would have made your life miserable.

UV Air Purifiers

Air purifiers using UV light are the most advance of the types available. Room air is drawn into these purifiers and ultraviolet light is applied before the air travels back out. The ultraviolet light kills or destroys bacteria, mold and even viruses.

Manufacturers of these air purifiers have also combined all three of these methods in their advance purifiers that provide families the best protection available today from the indoor pollution that we breathe in but can’t see with our naked eyes.

Copyright 2006 by Leroy Chan

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Cutting through the confusion and misinformation.

Proven to Be Effective By a Multitude of Scientific Studies

Negative ion air purification has been studied, and found to be highly effective by a variety of reputable organizations and agencies, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture. “Ionizers” have been looked upon as an alternative or complementary air purification to conventional air filtration techniques, in efforts to reduce costs and increase performance.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Finds Ionizers to be Effective

The U.S. Dept. of Agriculture found negative ion air purification (a.k.a. ionizers) to effectively reduce airborne dust and bacteria in poultry houses, which are notoriously polluted. In their tests, airborne bacteria was reduced by 95%, airborne dust & particles were reduced by 99% in 60 seconds, and bacteria transmission between chicks was reduced by 98%.
If the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture trusts negative ion air purification for an environment as filthy as a poultry house, then it is fair to say they can be counted upon to keep airborne pollutants at bay in your home or office as well.

Negative Ions Are Completely Safe

There is a misconception that negative ions are somehow hazardous to our health. However, numerous studies have found them to be completely safe. Ionizers have been tested extensively in hospital burn units, and no side effects were observed.
Columbia University researchers also found in their tests that negative ions result in relatively no side effects.

The misconception regarding adverse health effects from negative ions is a result of the confusion between negative ions and ozone. It is important to understand that negative ions and ozone are two different things. Negative ions are harmless, regardless of concentration. In very high concentrations, ozone can be hazardous to your health, although this has been overstated and misunderstood by many.

Not All Ionizers Produce Ozone.

The reason for the confusion is due to the fact that some ionizer air purifiers also produce ozone. However, not all ionizers produce ozone. For example, the Surround Air Multi-Tech air purifier’s ionizer produces virtually no ozone at all (not enough to register on ozone measuring equipment).
Some ionizers have a separate ozone generator, which can produce a significant amount of ozone if the ozone generator is activated, and especially if turned to a higher setting.

Other types of ionizers produce minimal amounts of ozone as a byproduct. For instance, ionizers that use electrostatically-charged metal plates will produce ozone as a side effect. These types of air purifiers may produce a fairly high amount of ozone within just a few inches of the unit. However, the ozone concentration will dilute and dissipate to virtually nothing at merely a few feet or so away from this type of unit.

In which case, ionizers with electrostatically-charged plates are safe, especially if you avoid positioning the ionizer within a few feet of your breathing zone for long periods of time.
The Surround Air XJ-2100 is an example of an electrostatically-charged ionizer that produces only trace amounts of ozone concentrations (at just a few feet away). The advantage of the charged plates is that they help draw air flow through the unit, and magnetically trap particles and pollutants, removing them from the air. The Surround Air XJ-2100 also includes an independently-controlled fan for increased air movement.

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