Will An Air Purifier Help With Dust Mold And Smoke
Posted by Brondell Staff on Sep 16th 2020
You wake up every morning and theyre in your face, an entire combat formation of airborne irritants, the blitzkrieg beating of bioaerosol organisms and heterotrophic bacillaceace. There are spore-driven regiments of cladosporium, penicillium, or like the opportunistic echelons of alternaria and aspergillus these nasty pathogenic freak fungi looking to nest out in the bronchial complexes of the sick, infantile, or the weak. They feed on decaying plants and soil then invade our ecosystems looking for hosts, dropping secondary metabolic micro-bombs of myotoxins, citrinin, fusarium, causing nervous system impairment, brain damage, asthma at the very least.
Then there are the particulate contingents of domestic dermatophagoides the eight-legged arachnid class of human skin crawlers who dwell among a microscopic landscape of dead cells, hair, plant pollen, and paper fibers. Theyre living all over us and we barely realize it. They flourish in our mattresses, furniture, and carpeting. They leave behind a fecal-borne wake of peptidase enzymes which kill human cells on contact and incite allergies.
Sure, this may all seem like a dystopian battle scene from the annuls of Hollywood sci-fi, but its as real and invasive to your home environment as that Meow Mix commercial youll never get out of your head. What were talking about here is mold, dust, and smoke three of the most common indoor air pollutants and you are under attack.
What Is The Difference Between Mold And Mildew
Although mildew and mold share many similarities, there are a few key differences you should be aware of that can help you determine which one youre dealing with and how to proceed with removal:
- Appearance: Mildew is easily identifiable by its white or gray color and strong musty odor that appears on the surface of affected areas, whereas mold comes in a range of colors and types. Mildew also grows in small patches as shown in the featured image above, and its texture is usually fluffy or powdery. By comparison, mold tends to be fuzzy or slimy and grows below the surface affected areas.
- Structural Damage: Mildew typically only grows on the surface of affected areas, meaning its much less damaging than mold which will grow well into wood or other materials resulting in crumbling and the loss of structural integrity.
- Health Effects: While both mildew and mold have negative health effects from exposure, mold is far more dangerous. Mildew spores may cause allergy-like symptoms such as coughing and difficulty breathing, whereas mold exposure has potentially fatal symptoms depending on the affected individual and type of mold they were exposed to.
Fastest Air Purifier For Mold: Levoit Core 300 Air Purifier
LEVOIT is one of the top-selling air purifier manufacturers. The Core 300 is a quiet HEPA filter with low-level noise of 24db . Its a good solution when you need to clear the air in a space in a hurry. A high CADR means the air in a room up to 219 square feet can be purified in just 12 minutes. The quiet operation means you can let the purifier run day or night without being disturbed. LEVOITs VortexAir Technology and the round design of the unit allows the device to take in air from all sides, purifying a room completely up to five times per hour.
Also Check: How To Remove Mold From Hummingbird Feeder
Can An Air Purifier Kill Black Mold
Air purifiers dont actually kill mold of any kind, but they do trap small invisible mold spores that are buoyant in the air. This means it can prevent those spores from settling in other spots and growing more colonies. Air purifiers with a HEPA filter or activated carbon filter can remove spores from room air.
The only way to kill black mold is to consult with a professional that provides mold remediation. A black mold problem can be very serious and cause many symptoms such as asthma, skin irritation, and other serious health effects. Its best to have help in removing black mold from your home. But an air purifier can definitely help reduce black mold spores to prevent any further contamination of the home.
Different Types Of Household Mold
Have you ever wondered why mold on cheese is fine to eat, but mold inside a home is considered hazardous? There are several types of mold, some of which are more dangerous than others. In fact, there are thousands of types of mold which have a range of colors such as green, blue, white, or black among others.
Additionally, each type of mold falls under one or more classifications that reflect its potential danger to humans and pets:
- Allergenic Mold: This common type of mold causes allergies and may also result in structural damage to exposed homes.
- Pathogenic Mold: Pathogenic mold can cause infections , and is especially dangerous for individuals with a compromised immune system from another illness or age factors.
- Toxigenic Mold: These molds produce and release toxic substances called mycotoxins which are a serious health risk when inhaled.
When it comes to protecting your home, here are the most common types of indoor mold to be aware of:
Recommended Reading: How To Clean Mold From Drywall
Pco & Peco Technology
PCO technology uses the light-activated catalyst reacting with organic pollutants. These gaseous pollutants undergo a chemical reaction that transforms the pollutants to non-toxic substances. Based on EPA, most PCO air purifiers are not that effective in destroying the gaseous pollutants, and cannot filter out particles, like mold spores.
PECO is a photon-based air purification process that destroys organic matter with a photoelectrochemical reaction. The process is much faster and more effective than PCO technology.
PECO air purifiers are able to remove VOCs, bacteria, mold spores. However, both PCO and PECO would produce byproducts like ozone.
Problems With Mold Spores And Other Air Pollutants
Molds release their children into the air, which are referred to as spores. Because of their minute size, these spores are invisible to the naked sight of a human being. Mold growth may start to develop inside of a building if mold spores land on moist surfaces. If there isnt any moisture around, then there wont be a good environment for any of the many varieties of mold to grow.
Formaldehyde on the other hand, is a gas that is odorless, invisible, and combustible at room temperature. It also has a very pungent stench. Formaldehyde may have a negative impact on ones health if they are exposed to it.
Resins used in the production of hardwood plywood, particleboard, and medium-density fiberboard all include traces of formaldehyde.
Additionally found in products for the home such as glues, permanent press textiles, paints and coatings, lacquers and finishes, and paper products preservatives found in particular pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and consumer products such as dishwashing detergents and fabric softeners and fertilizers and pesticides.
In addition to that, it may be present in cigarette smoke and unventilated fuel-burning appliances like gas stoves and kerosene heaters.
Also Check: How To Remove Mold Stains From Vinyl
Do Air Purifiers Help With Black Mold
If the pandemic taught us anything, its that the air we breathe is not always safe. Just because air looks clean and smells clean, does not mean its pure. Although viruses have been the primary pathogen of focus, they are not the only contaminants that travel on the breeze.
Climate science tells us that mold exposure is on the rise. As the atmosphere grows warmer, the environment grows wetter and flooding is more commonplace, the concentration of mold spores in the air increases. For people who have mold allergies or are concerned about black mold growth in their homes, this is bad news.
Heres the good news: Air Oasis purifiers can help with black mold. Our air purifiers remove or reduce numerous airborne contaminants and toxins, including mold and its byproducts. Keep reading to learn how air purifiers can aid in your fight against black mold.
If you suspect black mold in your home, you need to investigate. A high-quality air purifier for mold can protect your family while you search for and remediate any black mold growth.
A Peek At The Best Air Purifiers For Mold:
Mold reproduces through tiny particles called mold spores3, which are invisible to the naked eye. Spores exist in indoor and outdoor air, but mold has the highest risk of growing indoors when these spores land on wet surfaces.
While most air purifiers won’t eliminate the mold or mildew already growing on your surfaces, these machines help prevent mold spores from landing in the first place. “Top-rated air purifiers have the ability to remove small particles like spores, improving indoor air quality and reducing the chances for indoor mold growth, explains Michael Rubino, mold and air quality expert and author of The Mold Medic, an Expert’s Guide on Mold Removal.
Allergist Anjuli Mehrotra, M.D., agrees. “Mold spores are usually under 40 microns in size, so air purifiers with HEPA filters can usually filter out airborne mold spores,” she adds. Microns are a unit of measurement equal to one-millionth of a meterâto give you an idea of how small 40 microns is, one grain of beach sand is typically between 100 and 10,000 microns.
“For those who are attempting to determine if an inspection is necessary, at-home options such as The Dust Test can begin to set the foundation for figuring out if there’s a contamination situation present,” Rubino adds.
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Do Air Filters Reduce Dust
Dust comes in many sizes and the best solution is to use a true HEPA air purifier. This is because it will remove even the smallest of dust particles as well as larger dust particles, dust mites and mold spores.
A furnace filter protects your HVAC system and helps to keep your air ducts clean. However, a furnace filter is not designed to clean the air of the smallest dust particles. The small particle sizes are the most important to remove to keep your air clean of allergens.
For more information please see our Best Air Purifiers for Dust Removal. This article also includes practical tips for how you can reduce dust in your house.
Uv Light In An Air Purifier
As a general rule mold spores cannot be inactivated by the UV light in a home air purifier.
This may seem strange as some air purifiers have UV lights to try to kill microorganisms. UV lights damage DNA and so stop microorganisms growing and dividing effectively killing them. UV light works best when DNA is most vulnerable. This is when it is being used and is in a relatively open configuration. Mold spores are inert, their DNA is not active and vulnerable. So they are resistant to UV light and take a very long time in UV light to be inactivated. In an air purifier mold spores in the air stream are whisked by the UV light and only irradiated for a fraction of a second.
This is simply not enough time for the UV light to be effective. Further discussion of this point can be found in this article.
Read Also: Can Mold Affect Your Health
What Is Mold Vs Fungus
While this statement is true you also need really good filters. So, assuming your filters are top notch then you need to make sure the motor and fan can move enough air for the room or rooms in your home.
Here is the definition of a fungus from dictionary.com. … organisms that live by decomposing and absorbing the organic material.” If you can see mold it means there is a lot of it. This is sometimes referred to as a mold colony. A mold colony is an interconnected network of this fungus called a mycelium.
So, what does this mean?
We will break it down for you.
The purpose in nature for a mold spore or a fungus is to break down things like branches or plants as part of the life cycle. In the natural world mold is a welcome participant and serves an important function. Think of an orange that drops to the ground. This later decomposes to fertilize the area around the tree. This allows the orange tree to receive nutrients.
What has changed is that we, at least the majority of us, do not live in nature. At least we dont intend to live in places where things are broken down. We live in homes, often apartments or houses in towns or cities. We do not want our walls, carpets or clothing to be moldy. In this case, airborne mold becomes a nuisance and dangerous to our home and health.
How Do Air Purifiers Work
Air purifiers work by using filters to remove airborne contaminants from the air. The type of filter used will determine what kind of contaminants the purifier can remove. HEPA filters, for example, are designed to capture smaller particles, while activated carbon filters can help to remove odors and VOCs .
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Does Air Purifier Help With Mold
Mold growth in homes can cause a lot of harm to the structure of the home as well as to the health of the homeowner. While it may be impossible to keep mold completely away from the walls of your home, it can still be controlled with the help of an air purifier. Air purifiers by themselves may not remove the source of the mold, but they can help with mold spores in the air. , exposure to the spores is largely reduced and can make a positive impact on the air quality. It is essential to remember that air purifiers can only help if they are well maintained and the filters are kept clean.
A Cleaner Healthier Environment
Continuous use of HEPA air purifiers with carbon pre-filtration can keep your indoor air fresh and clean by removing pollutants as they are introduced into the air. Mold spores are trapped and neutralized before they can take root in your lungs or form colonies in your walls and carpeting. Air purifiers can be one of your best defenses against mold, providing ongoing protection for your home and your health.
Filed Under: Healthy HomeTagged With: air purifiers, health, mildew, mold, mold allergies
About Author
AllergyandAir.com offers some of the best-rated, most technologically advanced air purifiers on the market to help keep your house or office free of allergens, odors & chemicals that may be harmful to you and your family.
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How To Assess Air Cleaner Room Coverage
You may not remember but David Oreck the founder of Oreck air purifiers and vacuums used to say, “To clean the air you have to move the air.” He was 100% correct. New Window
While this statement is true you also need really good filters. So, assuming your filters are top notch then you need to make sure the motor and fan can move enough air for the room or rooms in your home.
More Air Purifiers To Consider
We also tested the below air purifiers, but they didn’t make the cut for our top picks based on our criteria.
- : While compact, this air purifier lacks some features we look for, such as an air quality display.
- : A slightly older model, this Rabbit Air purifier doesn’t have as many features as the newer MinusA2 and didn’t perform as well in our tests.
- : This mini air purifier was one of the smaller models we tested, but lacks many of the additional features and smart capabilities.
- Molekule – Air Mini+ – FDA-Cleared Medical Air Purifier: Another compact air purifier, the Molekule Mini+ was louder than models similar in size and was a bit pricier than comparable models.
Read Also: How Can I Check For Mold In My House
How Do I Know If I Need An Air Purifier
Air purifiers are often a matter of personal preference. However, if you or your family suffers from health problems related to air quality in the home then an air purifier would be highly recommended. Health problems that often prompt the need for an air purifier are allergies, asthma, breathing issues, headaches, or autoimmune diseases that are triggered by allergens. Also, if your home has a musty smell or has had issues with mold in the past, its highly recommended that an air purifier be kept in areas where problems have been noted.
Will An Air Purifier Help With Mold
Air purifiers for mold can help by reducing the concentration of airborne mold spores. Airborne spores can contaminate food products and also cause allergic reactions. Air purifiers work towards cleaning the air through their filters.However, the filters may need cleaning frequently. Lingering mold particles can be removed with an air purifier during the initial cleaning. Additionally, air purifiers can remove the foul odor caused by a mold problem. A point to keep in mind is that air purifiers alone cannot solve the mold problem. But, it works well in conjunction with other measures such as a clean and dry home, the right humidity levels, zero leaks, and dry surfaces. Mold grows when the air is excessively humid, and that is common in areas with high humidity levels. But, humidity can also be high where water flow is constant such as in bathrooms and utility areas. Moreover, basements tend to be dark and damp. Using an air purifier can curtail the spread of mold spores, although removing mold is essential in the long term.
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