Urban Blog

The indoor air of the typical home is polluted. But just how polluted is a given home’s indoor air quality?  It all depends on factors, such as the home’s location and how it was built. Living close to a busy street or highway can translate to air quality issues. Likewise, living in close proximity to factories can also present significant air quality problems.

Many people believe that outdoor air quality in cities is mostly due to road traffic, but this is not always the case. Recently, residents of what many felt was one of the world’s “greenest cities,” Portland, Oregon discovered that the city had substantial air quality issues. A unique program that analyzed moss in the city discovered that there were oddly high levels of dangerous heavy metals such as lead and cadmium.

Residents were confused as you might imagine, and eventually it was discovered that two glass making facilities both located in the heart of city were pumping out large levels of toxic heavy metals. As you can see, you truly never can take your neighborhood’s air quality for granted.

The issue is still not completely resolved, and the story of Portland’s recent air quality woes serves to underscore the tremendous importance of cleaning one’s indoor air. One of the single best ways to protect your indoor air quality is to have an air purifier in your home.

Air Pollution Has Many Sources

Outdoor air quality is clearly a problem when it comes to maintaining indoor air quality, but it is far from the only problem. Two other factors are contributing to poor indoor air quality. The first is the building materials used in construction.

Building materials are often made with or impregnated with a range of chemicals. These chemicals are constantly degassing and in the process degrading indoor air quality. However, it isn’t just your home’s insulation, drywall, glues and adhesives and other materials that contribute to poor air quality. Household furniture, such as couches and chairs, are often made using a complex mixture of chemicals. Indoor air pollution when combined with outdoor air pollution serve to create a powerful one-two punch. The bottom line is that most homes need indoor air quality help.

Let’s take a look at some of the best air purifiers on the market.

IQAir

IQAir is tough to beat in the air purifier space. Constructed in Switzerland, these air purifiers use multiple stages and truly do achieve impressive results. No doubt IQAir, air purifiers tend to be more expensive than other options but they also deliver outstanding results.

During the 2003 SARS outbreak in Hong Kong, IQAir units were installed in hospitals and many believe they played a role in slowing down or even stopping the outbreak. Medical authorities in Hong Kong did not make their choice lightly as they first tested many different systems before ultimately opting for IQAir. In the end, IQAir systems were installed in 150 hospitals and other health care facilities throughout Hong Kong.

The American Lung Association has also partnered with IQAir as part of an educational campaign and in 2008, the U.S. Olympic Committee teamed with IQAir to provide clean air at the Beijing games. Part of the IQAir “magic” resides in the company’s use of HyperHEPA fiters.

HyperHEPA filters can capture virus and bacteria as well as other particles. The HyperHEPA filters used by IQAir allow for extremely small particles to be captures. The simple fact is that IQAir, air purifiers work and they even have a whole house version that can clean the air moving through a home’s HVAC system. However, IQAir units and their replacement filters are expensive. Yet, that stated, there is no arguing with IQAir’s impressive track record and proven results. If you are interested in seriously upgrading your indoor air quality, you’ll want to check out IQAir.

Wynd

On the other end of the cost spectrum is Wynd. Wynd sounds a little like science fiction. Wynd is a portable air purifier that is only about the size of a moderately sized flashlight that actually works. While it looks too small to yield results, the Wynd portable air purifier does a fine job cleaning a small area. For those living in small apartments or looking for a way to purifier the air in their car, bedroom or any other small area the Wynd has a lot to offer. The Wynd also features low cost filter replacements averaging around $10 and units costs a fraction of both IQAir and Molekule units.

Molekule

No doubt about it, the Molekule, air purifier uses some pretty advanced technology. Over 20 years of research and development went into the creation of the Molekule, and all this hard work definitely shows. The Molekule doesn’t capture viruses, bacteria, mold and pollutants like the other two air purifiers on our list. Instead, the Molekule literally destroys them, literally! This isn’t a marketing slogan.

The nanoparticle-coated filter dissembles and converts pollutants into harmless elements. The end result are molecules that are safe to breathe instead of potentially harmful ones. In terms of pricing, the Molekule is comparable to the most basic IQAir model and the replacement filters are cheaper as well. To date, there has been nothing on the market like Molekule. In fact, Molekule might be our first look at the future of air purifiers.

Reclaim Your Healthy Air

In today’s world, if you have the budget available to buy an air purifier, you should. Even if you aren’t tackling outside air conditions like pollution from factories, highways or natural occurrences like forest fires, there are still toxic issues from indoor items like degassing new furniture or cigarette smoke. All of these can have a negative impact on your health and the health of your family.

All three of the air purifiers featured in this article have their respective benefits. Diet, exercise and even water filtering receive great attention, but often overlooked in the process is purifying one’s indoor air. Improving your indoor air quality is one of the most important steps you can take towards safeguarding your health.