Happy End of the World!
I bought an
air purifier lately. You know, the air in Kuala Lumpur is polluted. An air
purifier – sometimes called air cleaner – removes contaminants from the air,
and helps boost our health.
There are
many types of air purifiers in the market. If you are shopping for one, but are
confused of the various technologies used, I give you some clues here…
HEPA Filter
HEPA stands
for High Efficiency Particulate Air. An air cleaner using HEPA filter removes
up to 99.97% of 0.3 micron particles. This is the most commonly used
technology.
One drawback
of this technology is that HEPA filters need to be replaced after a year or
two, and they are costly.
Ionizer
Ionizers
disperse negative ions into the air. These ions attach to airborne
particulates. The electrically charged particulates in turn bond with each
other and settle to the floor or wall.
Moisture
discharges the ions. Therefore, this technology is less effective in humid
places. In Malaysia, this essentially means ionizers only work inside
air-conditioned rooms.
Another
concern is that ionizers generate ozone, a lung irritant.
Water-based Air Refresher
A water-based
air refresher, like the one shown above, sucks air into the water. Presumably
the pollutants will dissolve in the water.
I have got
one such device. I found its air flow to be quite weak, compared to a typical
air purifier with HEPA filter. While I observed that the water was dirty after
a day in use, it was not as effective as I wish to be.
Note that I
added aromatherapy solution to the water, and the air which came out of it was
very revitalizing. This device failed as an air cleaner, but it did serve other
purposes.
