Best Air Purifier for Mold: 

An air purifier is claimed to be a great invention to clear out the contamination like mold, pollen, smoke, pets dander,chemicals, odors and dust from our surroundings to improve the quality of an indoor unit. This states that an air purifier is only for indoor usage as it’s a small apparatus that works wonders to clean our environment for us. The main purpose of an air purifier is to eradicate impurities that can be hazardous to our health. With the increase in pollution and its effects, air purifiers are now an essential step towards clean breathing.In this article we are going to explain complete details about the best air purifiers for mold, mildew and other microscopic spores. 

Molds, Mildew and other Microscopic Spores

Mold and mildew are those hidden enemies, that grows on silently, as they are odorless and cannot be detected by human smelling senses. That’s why, for a healthy lifestyle to prevail, it is important that we take measured steps to keep ourselves safe from these unseen enemies because it is scientifically proven that they effect our breathing and overall health. One of the main diseases caused by this is asthma. If one has asthma, it’s most probably that their environment is infused with molds and other microscopic spores.

Now the big question is that do air purifiers help with molds and mildews? – Yes. It is accurate to say that air purifiers help us fight with molds, mildews and other microscopic spores. Not only this helps make our environment better but it also improves are overall health.

Health Hazardous

Molds and other microscopic spores are health hazardous. There are different types of molds that effect the human health and degenerates it. Molds can be toxic and they mostly flourish in damp and dark environment where temperature is between 60 and 80 Fahrenheit.

Types of Molds in Homes

Mold is basically a fungus which grows everywhere on earth. They have become a hot topic due to their potentially dangerous effect on human health. There are many types of molds in nature. Some of the most common types of molds found in our homes or other shelters are:

• Acremonium
• Alternaria
• Aspergillus
• Aureobasidium
• Chaetomium
• Cladosporium
• Fusarium
• Mucor
• Penicillin
• Stachybotrys aka black mold
• Trichoderma
• Ulocladium

Effect on health

It is critical to identify and eliminate molds as they begin to develop. They have a vast effect on human health depending on the tenure of exposure and the type of specie being exposed to. Children, seniors, pregnant women, people with existing health problems are particularly vulnerable when exposed in an environment infused with molds. The effect of molds on health is so devastating that World Health Organization (WHO), Institute of Medicine (IOM) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) all have researched and publishes their findings linking a relation between health issues and molds.

Some common health issues caused by molds are:

Mold Sensitivity:

Some people are sensitive to molds and spores while some develop mold sensitivity over time. Being exposed to a mold infused environment for a longer duration can lead to the development of mold sensitivity. Some common health problems caused by mold sensitivity are:

• Headaches
• Skin irritation
• Coughing, sneezing, wheezing
• Sore throat
• Watering, drying or sore eyes

Infections:

People whose immune systems are weak or they have pre existing lung conditions such as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder (COPD) are more subjected to develop lung infection when exposed to molds infused environment. Asthma can also be developed by living in such conditions.

• Related post: Best Air Purifiers for Allergies 

Severe and Chronic Conditions:

There are some types of molds that produce mycotoxins. Mycotoxins are a dangerous form of by product that can be absorbed by the skin, intestinal lining and airway passage. If a person is bare to an atmosphere imbued with mycotoxins then this could lead to severe and in some cases deadly conditions.

Some dangerous health hazards caused by this are:

• Cancer
• Pulmonary bleeding
• Liver and kidney conditions
• Immune and blood disorders
• Pulmonary fibrosis (scarring in the lungs)
• Neurotoxicity (toxic nervous system)
• Digestive and heart conditions

Role of Air Purifier to Eradicate Molds

Before jotting down the pros and cons of an air purifier, it is very important to understand that an air purifier does not remove a visible mold from our homes. If our household or any place where we live is infused with molds and mildews then it can only be remediated; physically cleansed, usually by a bleaching solution. Air purifiers are basically used to help us make our environment safe from impurities which can lead up to molds and other spores. Molds are growing everywhere on the earth so it is practically impossible to keep our environment 100% safe from them. An air purifier helps to eliminate contamination from the air which can trigger asthma and other health issues. It extracts the airborne particle and filters them for a cleaner environment. So, air purifiers do help us with molds, they help to slow down the process of mold building up in our homes, offices and other places. By using an air purifier and taking all the precautionary measures, we can get a long-term solution to avoid molds and mildews.

The Best Air Purifiers Technology for Molds

There are different air purifiers in the market, with different technologies or with combinations. These air purifiers can help us to keep our environment free from molds up to a great extent depending on their technology. One should be well informed of an air purifier before buying it as there are some air purifiers that can do more harm than any good.

Some of the best air purifiers technologies for our homes are:

HEPA Filter:

The HEPA filter standard is built on the capacity to remove up to 99.97% airborne particles which are 0.3 microns in size or even greater. That is why any air purifier containing HEPA filter is a conventional choice for removing spores from air. Any particle greater than 0.3 micron (which majority are) will be trapped by HEPA filters. But the particles sizing less than 0.3 microns can pass through the filters, good thing is that only a small quantity of particles are of this small size. One major drawback of HEPA filters is that mold particles can build up on it if it’s not changed regularly. These filters can become a host to these particles which in turn is harmful for us rather than any good.

PECO:

This is the technology behind the Molekule air purifier. The Photo Electrochemical Oxidation (PECO) uses a light activated catalytic reaction to destroy the contaminated particles that pass through it. This states that PECO technology destroys the mold spore completely rather than becoming its host surface like HEPA.

UVGI:

This technology claims to castrate the air by killing bacteria, molds and viruses. But, as suggested by the EPA, Ultraviolet Germicidal Irradiation (UVGI) air purifier needs to generate much more intense UV radiation in order to work efficiently. Evidently, this is not possible as a home unit is not capable of generating such intense radiations.

Carbon Filters:

This filtration is used to removes molds particles by trapping gasses on a carbon activated filter. This technology is not useful to remove or trap mold particles as it Is not intended for such purpose. Activated carbon filtration process works great for removing unwanted odors completely.

Ionizing Air Purifiers:

These air purifiers put a charge to the particles so that they can stick to any nearby surface. This technology has a major drawback which cannot be ignored. As a side effect the air purifiers using this technology generates ozone gas. Ozone gas can be lethal to human health as well as to the environment. That is why is it is said not to use this technology as it creates more harm than good.

Best Air Purifiers for Molds and Mildews:

We know that air purifiers help to remove mold particles in the air and makes the environment healthy to breathe in. But how would we know which air purifier is helping in making the environment green rather than degenerating it further? – well, we can assure this by educating ourselves about different technologies an air purifier carries. For your ease, following is the list of the best air purifiers to eradicate airborne chemical particles from the air.

1. IQair Health Pro Plus:

IQAir one of the top and oldest brand in the air purifier family. This purifier is based on the technology of Hyper HEPA filtration. It is 100 time more powerful than the HEPA air Purifiers. It stop the very tiny particles down to 0.003 microns which is 10 times smaller than the virus.

• It cover space up to 1,125 sq ft (104.5 sq m).
• Very efficient filtration system.
• 4-Year filter life
• Best for the asthma, allergens, chemical and smoke trigger particles