Will Air Purifiers Protect You From Viruses?

Do air purifiers really work?

This is one of the most popular questions online, and it's also a reminder of why close reading and skepticism are such useful tools when you're researching products as a consumer.

To answer the question in the most basic terms: yes, air purifiers generally filter particulate out of the air effectively -- especially if they use a HEPA air purifier, the best air purifier. HEPA, which stands for high-efficiency particulate air, is the standard that describes most air purifier filters currently sold in the US. To meet the standard, a filter must remove 99.97% of particles in the air that are 0.3 micrometers in size (a particularly difficult size to filter). HEPA filters are usually more effective with particles larger and smaller than that size. Pollen, smoke particulate and aerosol droplets that can transmit COVID can all be filtered out of the air with such a filter.

COVID-19 has made most of us more aware than ever before of the air we breathe. Even aside from our current anxieties, air pollution is a rising problem around the world. In populous countries with largely industrial economies, like China and India, air quality is at an all-time low. But in countries with better air overall, smog, smoke and other pollutants still pose a serious threat to the health of children, elders and the immunocompromised. Whether it's coronavirus virions in aerosol droplets, irritants like pollen or pollutants like wildfire smoke and smog, a growing question for consumers is whether air purifiers can solve -- or at least mitigate -- our air quality problems.

But, don't count on air purifiers to protect you if you're cohabitating with a contagious person. Dr. Richard Shaughnessy, the director of Indoor Air Research University of Tulsa  said transmission of COVID usually happens due to close contact with an infected person. If you're sitting on a couch and chatting with someone who is infected, an air purifier across the room isn't going to remove all the harmful particles they exhale before they have a chance to reach you, which means an air purifier probably won't protect you if a roommate or family member in the same house gets sick.

If I want an air purifier, how do I find the right one?

In a world where we are becoming more aware by the week of the air we breathe, air purifiers seem to make more sense than ever. From filtering aerosol droplets (which can carry COVID-19 virions) to pollen to wildfire smoke out of the air you breathe, air-cleaning devices offer a fairly obvious value proposition. According to a lot of research, for households with an asthmatic or otherwise immunocompromised child, air purifiers have significant benefits. Autowit Fresh 2 Air Purifier-the true HEPA air purifier is here for you.