Allergies are a terrible thing to suffer from. There are tons of things that can affect your allergies, but there are things that can help. There are air purifiers that can destroy allergens in your home, including a new technology with UV air purifiers. Putting them in your home will help with these, but why do UV air purifiers help with allergies? Why does any air purifier help with allergies?
Air purifiers will draw in these allergies from the air. Depending on what type of filter you have, the air purifier will either trap or eliminate these microbes. There are many types of air purifiers and air filters, but ultraviolet air purifiers are relatively new and are showing lots of promise. They can be expensive, but they are some of the best on the market.
What Causes Allergies?
To begin with, we have to know what exactly causes those runny noses, itchy eyes, and scratchy throats. Every year, some people suffer from the same symptoms. It can be difficult to pinpoint exactly what is causing things unless you go to a doctor. Usually, there are certain things that cause these things, though. If you’re unsure of what is causing yours, set up an appointment with your local doctor.
Allergies can come from any of these things:
- Animals
- Dust Mites
- Eggs
- Insects
- Lactose
- Latex
- Milk
- Mold
- Peanuts
- Poison Ivy or Oak
- Pollen
- Shellfish
- Soy
- Tree Nuts
- Wheat
As you can see, there are a ton of things out there that can cause an allergic reaction. Some of these are worse than others. There are also varying intensity of allergic reactions, but we’re not here to talk about all of these. The airborne ones are what you can control in your home. Of course, air purifiers won’t help with food allergies.
So, as for what a UV air purifier can help with, there are a few things from that list that can be controlled:
- Animals
- Dust Mites
- Mold
- Pollen
The thing about these airborne allergens is that they can come from anywhere. Dander will come from your pets. Dust mites will be around dust. Mold and pollen come from outside and are both organic things. Any of these allergens can cause your body to react. Our bodies activate a defense mechanism and try to prevent exposure.
How Do UV Air Purifiers Help With Allergies?
Now that we know specifically what triggers most of our allergies, we can explain why UV air purifiers help with these. An air purifier will pull in air and run it through filters, if there is one. The thing about ultraviolet bulbs is that they destroy these particles whenever they come into contact with the bulbs. It will zap them like a bug would with a bug light.
Ultraviolet bulbs are usually combined with other air filters to reduce the strain on the filters themselves. They are usually combined with HEPA or carbon filters, while sometimes assisting with ionizing air purifiers. Either way you look at it, UV bulbs are very good at destroying microbes. Not only does it clean the air of allergens, it also rids the air of bacteria and viruses.
UV bulbs remove 99.97% of the microbes that come into contact with it. The bulbs are quite powerful, which lead some people to worry about the dangers of it. While there is room for worry when it comes to cheaper UV air purifiers, you won’t have to worry about things from most of them. It’s a good idea to stay away from the cheaper air purifiers, though.
Are UV Air Purifiers Dangerous?
The short answer is no, they aren’t. Some people worry about the actual UV radiation that may come from a bulb. While UV radiation is a valid concern, you don’t have to worry about your bulb leaking out this sort of stuff in to your home. Most of the bulbs are coated with special substances to keep not only the UV radiation from leaking out, but also to keep the ozone it may produce from leaking out as well.
The amount of ozone a UV bulb produces is minuscule. Quite frankly, the bottom line is that ozone is all around us. UV bulbs produce a much lower amount that is even considered unsafe by the Environmental Protection Agency. You don’t have to worry about any sort of intoxication or radiation from your UV air purifier, so don’t let that sway your opinion!
Conclusion
Air purifiers are a necessity in today’s environment. Allergens can cause a lot of problems for you and your family, but there are ways to get rid of the airborne ones. Airborne allergens include pollen, mold, pet dander, and dust mites. Breathing these things in can cause our bodies to react violently, which causes the discomfort.
To prevent these allergens from affecting you, you can get an air purifier. Air purifiers come in all shapes and sizes, but the more expensive ones are usually better. UV air purifiers are a great choice, considering they are easy to use and you don’t have to worry about filters. They do lose some of their effectiveness over a year or two, so you need to replace the bulbs. However, they will eliminate most of the airborne particles that cause you grief.
Either way you look at it, an air purifier is a good thing to get. It can be for your entire house or just for a room or two. Getting one will greatly improve your health. You don’t want to suffer from allergies more than you need to, so be sure to get one if you can. While UV air purifiers are relatively new on the market, it’s a great choice to make among the others.
