Air purifiers vs Dehumidifiers

When it comes to improving your Burbank home’s air quality, there’s far more involved than simply changing the temperature. The purity, relative humidity, and smell of the air are other qualities that you should be concerned about. That’s why devices such as air purifiers and dehumidifiers are so useful to help improve the quality of your home’s air. Of course, before you can put these devices into action, it’s important to understand what they do. That’s why the HVAC professionals at Air Max HVAC offer this guide covering the differences between air purifiers and dehumidifiers.

What Is an Air Purifier?

Typically, an air purifier refers to a device that cleans the air throughout your entire home. Some air purifiers are smaller so that they can be used in a single room. No matter how large an air purifier is, though, it typically has three stages to remove the maximum amount of contaminants.

The first stage of an air purifier is a HEPA-type filter. These are physical filters that have tightly wound fibers that capture a large majority of contaminants. The second stage of an air purifier utilizes activated charcoal that has a static charge. Thanks to this static charge, any small contaminants that float by are attracted to the charcoal and removed from the air in your home. Finally, the air passes through a UV filter that acts to kill various types of germs.

What Is a Dehumidifier?

If you’ve ever noticed surfaces in your home feeling sticky, it’s likely that you could benefit from a dehumidifier from Air Max HVAC. A dehumidifier works similarly to an air conditioner, using a cold metal surface to condense the water in the air and then collecting the water in a removable basin.

Over time, a dehumidifier can significantly lower the humidity in a single room or in your entire home. To help save energy, most dehumidifiers include an onboard hygrometer to measure humidity levels so that the dehumidifier can turn off when it reaches your desired humidity level.

Is it Necessary to Have Both a Dehumidifier and an Air Purifier?

When it comes to air quality, no two homes are alike. That’s why we recommend having your home’s air tested by Air Max HVAC to determine if any changes need to be made. An air quality test can reveal humidity levels, concentrations of volatile organic compounds, and other key information to help you improve your home’s air quality.

In many cases, you may find that you can benefit from a whole-home air purifier. This is because contaminants in your home constantly move around through your ducts as your HVAC system operates. When it comes to dehumidifiers, though, you’ll often find that you only need a dehumidifier for a single room. This is because humidity levels are often concentrated in specific rooms in your home, such as basements and attics, meaning that you won’t need a whole-home solution.

How Do You Maintain an Air Purifier?

Similar to other HVAC equipment, you will need to maintain your air purifier from Air Max HVAC to ensure that it continues to effectively purify your home’s air. Each stage of an air purifier requires maintenance, a task you can schedule with Air Max HVAC.

The HEPA filter, activated charcoal filter, and UV bulbs all need to be replaced from time to time. Fortunately, all three stages can be maintained on the same schedule so that you don’t have to keep track of multiple maintenance schedules.

How Do You Maintain a Dehumidifier?

The most important component of dehumidifier maintenance is emptying the water reservoir. If your home is especially humid, you may need to complete this task multiple times every day. Many dehumidifiers also include filters to help improve your home’s air quality. If your dehumidifier has a filter, you’ll want to remove it and clean it according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

What Are the Benefits of a Dehumidifier?

Before you make the decision to purchase a dehumidifier from Air Max HVAC, it’s important to understand the benefits of this decision. One major benefit of a dehumidifier is that it helps to prevent mold and mildew growth resulting from excess humidity levels. If an indoor space stays too moist for too long without any airflow, it creates an ideal environment for mold growth. If you can remove the excess moisture with a dehumidifier, though, it makes mold growth much less likely.

Adding a dehumidifier to your home can also help protect porous materials in your home. One example of a porous material in your home is wood. When wood absorbs moisture, it can lead to mold growth, sticking doors, and wood rot. To help maintain the beauty and integrity of your home, adding a dehumidifier is a smart choice.

What Are the Benefits of an Air Purifier?

Depending on where you live, your home’s indoor air quality can actually be worse than the quality of the air outside. To help change this fact, an air purifier from Air Max HVAC is your best ally.

Thanks to its tightly wound filter fibers, an air purifier removes more dust from the air than a typical HVAC air filter. This means that there will be fewer odors in the air, fewer allergens to cause sneezing and other respiratory issues, and less dust on your furniture.

An air purifier can also help lower the concentrations of harmful substances in your home’s air. Smoke, volatile organic compounds, and other compounds that are unsafe to breathe are too small for the HEPA filter to catch. However, these compounds are the perfect size to be caught by the activated charcoal filter so that you don’t have to worry about breathing them.

In addition to protecting you and your family, an air purifier can help protect your HVAC system. Since the dust and debris is stopped before it reaches your blower fan and air handler, it doesn’t have a chance to accumulate and cause damage.

What Size Do I Need?

To ensure optimal operation, it’s important to select the correct size of dehumidifier and air purifier for your home. Fortunately, the pros at Air Max HVAC can help you select the perfect model by measuring your home and calculating the indoor air volume. This will help you keep your home safe and comfortable without wasting excess energy. We can also install these home comfort solutions so that you’re assured of many years of reliable service from your new equipment.

Keeping Your Family Healthy in Any Way Possible

In these difficult times, we at Air Max HVAC want you to know that we’re on your side. We want to help you keep your family healthy at home so that you have one less thing to worry about. That’s why we offer maintenance, installation, and repair services for furnaces and air conditioners in addition to our indoor air quality solutions. We can also perform an energy audit for your home to help you understand ways that you can reduce your energy consumption. For over 15 years, we have been providing the citizens of Burbank with fast, efficient service, resulting in an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau. To learn more about the services we offer, contact us at Air Max HVAC today.