Air purifiers: danger warning?

Air renewal, whether achieved through natural ventilation or a ventilation system, is essential for eliminating indoor air pollution. It is the only action that addresses all pollutants, regardless of their nature, by "diluting" them. It also reduces the humidity level in your home.

Is this action enough?

When entering the building, outside air brings with it fine particles, pollen, bacteria, allergens, and other pollutants that can be harmful to health. Equipping yourself with an air purifier, which can remove up to 99% of pollutant particles, is therefore very useful!

So, why do these devices sometimes suffer from a bad reputation?

After publishing on our blog a complete guide explaining the different technologies for air purification, their strengths, and weaknesses, we now offer you a summary of the risks associated with them, and, of course, best practices to enjoy clean air with peace of mind.

Dangers associated with improper use of your air purifier

Is knowing air purification technologies enough to eliminate all risks from your device?

What are the risks of a poorly chosen product?

Each air purification technology has its own advantages, disadvantages, and works on different types of pollutants. For more details, we invite you to check out our complete guide on choosing the right air purifier.

A solution that is not suited to the nature of the pollutant, room size, or occupants’ habits will not provide optimal efficiency. For example, a high-performing but noisy device installed in a bedroom may end up being rarely used, offering no health benefits to its occupants.

What are the impacts of the environment or installation?

As we explained in our experiment with a cabinetmaker, the positioning of air purifiers in a room is an essential factor in achieving good efficiency. This aspect is significant enough that CETIAT (Technical Center of Air and Thermal Industries) has launched a project to establish placement guidelines. The result is that several medium-power purifiers are more effective than a single, more powerful purifier, with only a minimal acoustic difference.

Certain technologies can be heavily impacted by ambient conditions: temperature, humidity, and pollution levels. This is the case with activated carbon, whose actual efficiency can be difficult to control and predict.

Forget to ventilate? Absolutely not!

Once equipped with an air purifier, there’s a danger of feeling protected and relying solely on technology for good indoor air quality.

However, ventilating your home must always remain a reflex! In fact, each air purification technology acts on different components: air renewal is the only method that reduces the concentration of all pollutants present inside buildings.

Effective over time? Not always!

A poorly maintained or uncleaned air purifier loses efficiency, can become useless, and may even spread mold or bacteria that its filters have accumulated.

Depending on the technology, performance degrades at different rates. For example, a HEPA or activated carbon filter should be replaced approximately every 6 months. As noted earlier, handling HEPA filters requires caution to avoid exposure to glass microfibers, which many contain.

Filter replacement also has a dual cost:

• Economic, for the user, who may be tempted to delay maintenance to reduce operating costs;
• Ecological: production, transport, and waste management... for each replaced filter.

Other technologies do not use disposable consumables; only regular cleaning is needed, though it can be complex. For instance, due to the strong oxidizing power of plasma chemical compounds, maintenance can be challenging. In contrast, electrofilters and ionization, where simply wiping plates and needles with a damp cloth is enough, are very easy to maintain, ensuring long-term efficiency.