Hello World! Welcome Friends! Are you wondering if air purifiers can really help get rid of mold? Growing mold is a common problem, especially in geographical areas where there is a lot of humidity. Sometimes it is not even visible. But a human body can still be the effect of the presence of mold, even if not apparent. An air purifier can control your home humidity level and thus reduce and even prevent mold formation. In addition, you can use an air purifier for bedroom as well as all of the rooms in your home, to clean the air from spores created by mold and get rid of other irritants like dust, pollution, and pet dander.
Let’s see how an air purifier can help with mold.
What is Mold?
Mold is a type of fungi that grows in a humid area. It can be found indoors and outdoors, and it will grow as long as there is enough moisture and some organic material.
In your house, you can expect to find mold growing on the roof near an overflowing washing machine, shower rooms, refrigerators, and kitchens. In addition, areas of the house where there are leaks are at high risk of mold formation. Read more.
There are a lot of species of mold. Some are even useful since they are used to produce medicine, but the one growing in the house is typically a source of problems for the property and the inhabitants’ health.
It is damaging for the materials the mold is growing on because it has the capability of penetrating and causing non-reversible damage. It is detrimental for people because mold produces spores that are released into the air and can cause illnesses or irritate specific body parts.
It can cause:
- Respiratory problems
- Asthma attacks
- Eyes irritations
- Skin problems
- Stuffy nose
- Wheezing
- Allergic reactions
Signs That Your House Has Mold
Sometimes mold hides in a place where you can’t see it. But other indications can reveal its presence.
Typically, you can smell it before you see it. For example, if you notice that your house smells like stale, wet socks, decaying wood, and stuffy, you can suspect there is mold somewhere.
If so, you could try to locate the source by looking around and checking signs of peeling wallpapers, dark spots on the walls, and black materials between tiles. However, it can be necessary to call a professional to help you locate where mold is hiding in some cases.
The most common cause of forming mold are:
- High humidity
- Poor ventilation
- Floodings
Some household activities can worsen this problem. Things like drying clothes inside the house, hot showers, general cooking can contribute to mold formation.
For this reason, an air purifier is essential.
How an Air Purifier Can Help to Get Rid of Mold
Air purifiers are essential in preventing mold and getting rid of its byproducts spread in the air. In addition, an air purifier can help control humidity levels, which is the primary thing mold needs to survive.
An air purifier can help keep the humidity levels between 30% to 50%. Keeping humidity at low levels is the best way to fight mold. However, air purifiers will not remove the mold from surfaces if it is already formed.
But it is a great device that can help as a preventive measure and take away some of the consequences by cleaning the air. If you have visible mold in the house, you should take other actions.
For example, you should try to clean it away with a bleach solution, or if it is growing on a surface such as a carpet, you have to cut it out and remove it.
Besides humidity control, here are other things that you can do to control mold growth:
- Fix immediately leaky roofs and powers
- Fix broken pipes
- Ventilate area of the house where there is high humidity ( shower room, kitchen, laundry room)
- Avoid using carpets in spaces such as bathrooms and high moisture areas
An air purifier should be used together with a series of preventive actions and remedying actions for best results.
What to Look For In an Air Purifier?
How should you choose an air purifier? There are some essential things you should look for when considering air purifiers. First, they are helpful to get rid of mold and other chemicals in the air, such as cleaning agents, deodorants, dirt, dust, and more.
Then, air purifiers function through filtration of indoor air. The filtration can be mechanical, electrostatic ionic, or other types. The air is sucked up into the purifier, goes through the filters (which remove all contaminants), and goes back into the room.
Not only are contaminants removed but also foul odors. Depending on your necessities, you can choose different technologies (types of filters) in a hair cleaner.
Here are some of the most common filters used in air purifiers:
- True HEPA: (high-efficiency particulate air) can clean allergens such as pet dander, mold spore, and dust. It removes the 99.9% of particles as small as 0.3 microns.
- Pre-filters: are good to eliminate larger particles like animal hairs and are used in combination with other filters.
- Activated carbon filter: often used with other folders to maximize the efficiency of an air purifier. But it has the additional purpose of removing odors, smoke, food smells, and fumes.
- Antibacterial filters: suited to get rid of germs and bacteria.
- UV filters: they help to sterilize the air.
You have to carefully inspect which type of filters your air purifier has and choose the correct air purifier for the size of your room. Bigger rooms require a bigger air purifier. The last consideration should be about the customer service and the warranty.
In general, air purifiers need maintenance every couple of years. Therefore, you should try to get an air purifier covered by a warranty and possibly by a routine maintenance service.
Conclusion
Air purifiers are effective in cleaning the air from the consequences of mold. They are also essential in getting the air cleaned of other contaminants. Mold can be really harmful to someone’s health, and knowing what can cause it and how to get rid can be helpful.
If you have severe mold problems and need the help of an expert, visit this site.
Click the links below for any posts you have missed:
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