Which air purifiers work best?

Tools

Story Published: Jan 16, 2008 at 2:05 PM PDT

By Herb Weisbaum

It seems like everywhere I go, people have an air purifier running. No one wants to breathe dirty air. Just remember a machine alone, won't clean the air or relieve asthma or allergy symptoms.

Consumer Reports says there are things you can do that can be more effective than an air purifier. First, ban indoor smoking.

"If you've got a smoker in your family, you should not let them smoke in your house because that's an incredibly large source of pollution in the home," said Celia Kuperszmid Lehrman, deputy home editor at Consumer Reports.

Lehrman said if you're allergic to pets, keep them out of the bedroom. And use those outdoor venting fans in the bathroom and kitchen.

"That will help vent and ventilate the air. So you want to keep air circulation going."

Remove carpets that can harbor dust mites. And open the windows whenever possible.

"You're taking the pollutants that are in the house and you're diluting it with fresh air."

For its December issue, Consumer Reports tested dozens of models, and Lehrman says units that use fabric filters are the best.

The magazine says top-rated models such as the Whirlpool Whispure, $230, performed better at their lowest, quietest speeds than many others did at their higher, noisier settings.

"They do a good job of removing dust and smoke from the air and they don't produce any ozone."

That's right. Some air purifiers actually pollute the air with dangerous ozone.

"Electrostatic precipitators produce a small amount of ozone as a by-product. And ozone generators actually produce very, very large amounts of ozone. And we consider those not acceptable."

Consumer Reports says the Oreck and Sharper Image electrostatic purifiers -- both big sellers -- deliver what the editors call "lackluster performance."

"They don't do a very good job at removing dust and dust and smoke, so they're ineffective air cleaners and in addition, they do produce some ozone."

For More Information:

Air Purifiers: Filtering the Claims

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