Air purifiers are fantastic devices that can bring so many benefits and advantages into your life. In this quick buying guide, we’re going to be looking at the many distinct features and aspects you should look for in an air purifier that is under 100 dollar. If you follow this guide, we can assure you that you will be able to find the perfect air purifier for you and your needs!
But, before we get into the guide itself, let’s talk about why an Air Purifier is such a great investment.
Why Should I Buy An Air Purifier?
First off, let’s define, exactly, what an air purifier does. An air purifier takes in air from the room/space that it is in, and then it puts that air through a filter of some kind. These days, it’s usually a HEPA filter. This filter traps all of the nasty particles that are in the air.
Once those particles have been trapped and extracted from the air, the air is sent back into the room/space. Some Air Purifiers allow you to use essential oils to give that purified air a lovely scent.
Overall, it’s a very simple process, on the surface, but this simple process leads to many great benefits.
– Mold
– Pollen
– Dust
– Bacteria
– Germs
– Viruses
These are all contaminants that are in the air. Each one of these things can easily lead to sickness or illness of some kind. Some people have had these contaminants in the air for quite some time, and this is why they are sick on a fairly consistent basis. Or, if you have allergies, these contaminants only enhance those allergies.
A good air purifier traps those types of contaminants. Then, it releases the clean, healthy air. Sometimes, these contaminants create nasty odors. Many air purifiers are also able to filter out those odors, eliminating them from your air.
Ultimately, if you suffer from asthma attacks or you often have a cold – or even if there are some persistent odors in your home that you want to get rid of – an air purifier is an excellent investment. Using an air purifier, you can eliminate those nasty contaminants and odors, creating a space that is full of clean and healthy air.
So, What Kinds Of Key Features Should I Look For In An Affordable Air Purifier?
A True-HEPA Filter
As mentioned in the section above, HEPA filters are very common. This is because, unlike many other filters, they actively trap and isolate nasty contaminants, and then they send the clean air back into your room.
Other filters do this – or, at least, they try to – but some of them either aren’t as effective, or they’re unhealthy.
To name one example, ozone-generation is a method of filtration that many air purifiers use. But, ozone is known to be quite problematic due to the hazardous and volatile nature of ozone. Along with that, it can affect things like your eyes, skin, and lungs. The state of California has banned the sale of ozone air purifiers, due to the side-effects.
Ionizers are another type of filters that are quite effective, but at the same time, they aren’t as powerful or as efficient as True-HEPA filters.
For those reasons, it is best to go with a True-HEPA filtration system.
Maximum Room Coverage
Every air purifier has what’s known as a “maximum room coverage”. Some air purifiers can only work within spaces that are, at the most, two-hundred square-feet. For others, it might be four-hundred square-feet.
The number varies model-to-model. If you are working with a larger space, you’ll need an air purifier that can work with a larger space. The same goes for smaller spaces, too.
However, purchasing an air purifier that is designed for larger spaces has one very distinct advantage. It gives you flexibility.
If you need to move the air purifier to a bigger space, and it has the ability to cover a large space, then you can easily do that. But, if it doesn’t, then the air in that larger space won’t be able to get as clean as it could be.
How Often You’ll Need To Replace The Filters
Some air purifiers are really special, and they don’t require you to replace the filters at all. Instead, you can simply wash them off in the sink and then put them back into the air purifier.
If you have the option of purchasing one of these, then you should definitely do so. Purchasing an air purifier like that will save you quite a bit of money down the road.
Many air purifiers do require you to replace the filters, however. Make sure to pay extra attention to both the frequency of these replacements, along with just how much these filter replacements cost.
You can find all of this information, most likely, on the product page of whatever air purifier you are looking at. It’s important that you don’t purchase an air purifier that requires you to spend a lot of money on filter replacements, on a very frequent basis.
Extra Features
“Extra features” is really just an umbrella term that refers to simple conveniences that can be very useful. Two of the most notable extra features are as follows: a filter change indicator, and an air quality indicator.
These features give you a lot of important information. It’s important to know how clean your air currently is, and knowing exactly when you need to change/wash your filters makes things easier. Now, are these features essential? No, they’re not, but above all else, they provide you with information that streamlines your overall experience.
If you have the option to purchase an air purifier with any of these extra features, then do it!
