Do Air Purifiers Work? What to Keep in Mind Before Buying?

Here’s a quick primer on how air purifiers work and what you should be looking for when buying one.

THE QUINT,  13 Nov 2020 :  A common misconception when it comes to air quality is that the air inside our home or any confined space is clean and fresh.

However, in reality, polluted air from outdoors seeps and remains trapped indoors – making the air quality indoors worse and perhaps more dangerous if there is not enough ventilation.

If you are living in Delhi-NCR, or any of the other polluted cities of India, buying an air purifier may soon become a necessity rather than a luxury.

Here's a quick primer on how air purifiers work and what you should be looking for when buying one.

How do air purifiers work?

Air purifiers essentially function by sanitising the air – which includes pollutants, allergens and toxins. While a humidifier or oil diffuser adds particles to the air we breathe, an air purifier does the exact opposite of it.

Does this mean it filters the pollutants in the air?

Not really. While air purifier filters pollutants, it can also also 'purify' or 'sanitise' the air you are breathing.

However, whether it can 'filter' or 'sanitise' depends on the type of air purifier you choose. Air purifiers with HEPA filters do a much better job (more on this below).

Are they effective?

Breathing in air that is 100 percent pollutant-free is impossible. So, will the air purifier make sure that you breathe cleaner air?

The short answer is yes.

Again, apart from N95 masks, studies have shown that air purifiers are effective in both filtering and cleansing the PM 2.5 particles.

But how efficient your air purifier is depends on the kind/filter you would be choosing.