As concerns about indoor air quality (IAQ) continue to rise, more homeowners are seeking effective solutions to ensure the air in their homes is clean and safe. With pollutants, allergens, and airborne viruses becoming more prominent, the demand for IAQ solutions has never been higher. Air scrubbers have emerged as a key player in this space, offering a powerful way to improve the air we breathe indoors. Read on to explore how air scrubbers work and the significant impact they can have on enhancing the quality of air in your home.
What Is an Indoor Air Scrubber?
Residential air scrubbers are devices that attach to your HVAC system’s ductwork. Portable devices are also available, but these machines only clean the air in a small section of your home. Air scrubbers remove undesirable particles such as surface contaminants, pet dander, VOCs, dust, and more to create a cleaner and healthier environment.
Portable air scrubbers are smaller and designed to allow workers to move them from place to place. They are more commonly used in industrial situations that require superior air cleaning. Some people use the terms air purifier and air scrubber interchangeably. However, an air scrubber is a much more sophisticated device that uses propriety light waves and a specialized catalytic process to clean the air.
How Whole-House Air Scrubbers Work
When considering air scrubbers, you’ll come across two types: whole-house and portable. Both types remove contaminants by passing air through filters, but how they do so varies slightly. Whole-home units, also known as integrated air scrubbers, are the ones that attach directly to your HVAC system. These use your HVAC system to pull air directly into an inner cleaning chamber with a series of titanium oxide rods. An ultraviolet light works with the rods to alter the composition of the air and kill contaminants. When installed on ductwork, air scrubbers help clean the air more efficiently than most other filtration systems.
Some whole-house units create negatively charged ions to attract contaminants off surfaces. These systems send the ions through your HVAC system and into your home to grab unhealthy particles and pull them back into the filter chamber. Both types of systems release healthy air back into your home.
How Portable Air Scrubbers Work
Portable units suck in dirty air, which passes through a series of filters. The pre-filter captures the largest particles, which helps the scrubber maintain airflow, process more air, and increase filtration efficiency. Some air scrubbers have an optional carbon filter to capture gas and vapor molecules. The carbon surface attracts odor molecules via adsorption to reduce foul odors from smoke and mildew in your home.
The primary filter, usually a high-efficiency particulate air filter (HEPA} removes the smallest contaminants from the air in the final stage of filtration. HEPA filters can capture and remove 99.7% of all particles sized 0.3 microns or larger. Some portable air scrubbers use HEPA filters exclusively to provide the highest possible level of cleaning. Because portable units are separate from an HVAC system, they must have a powerful blower to pull dirty air into the filters and move clean air out. Correct blower size is crucial, as one that is too powerful will decrease the scrubber’s efficiency.
Differences Between Whole-House and Portable Air Scrubbers
Although both types sanitize the air, they differ in several factors, including price and installation. In addition to buying an air scrubber, you may also want to consider an air quality monitor to determine how well the unit operates. These devices measure air quality and then provide a report so you can see what contaminants are in your interior air. Let’s look at the characteristics of the two types.
Whole-house air scrubbers:
- Permanent attaching to HVAC ductwork
- Cleans up to 3,000 square feet
- Can disinfect air and surfaces
- Filters via titanium oxide rods and UV light
- Must be professionally installed
Portable Air Scrubbers:
- Can be easily moved
- Disinfects 500 to 900 square feet
- Only disinfects air
- Can combine with other air scrubbers
- Uses two to four filters
- Ideal for areas without ductwork
- No need for professional set-up
- Filters require periodic changing
How Interior Air Benefits
The most significant benefit of air scrubbers is that they have fewer contaminants inside your home. When you enter your house, contaminants from hands, clothing, and shoes come in with you, transfer to floors, counters, doorknobs, and more, and remain in the air. Here is what air scrubbers can do.
Removes Viruses and Bacteria
Air scrubbers can mitigate various viruses like seasonal flu, Swine flu (H1N1), COVID-19, and bacteria MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus))and E.coli, among others.
Mold Mitigation
Mold thrives in situations with excess humidity. This substance can impact the structural integrity of your home and your health. This undesirable substance can attack cells in your body, leading to itchy, watery eyes, sneezing, asthma, and other health problems. Mold and other allergens can combine with bacteria, resulting in sick-building syndrome, which can cause illness and chronic disease for residents.
Banishes Lingering Odors
Some cooking odors, like fish and burnt food, can linger inside your home for days. The same goes for odors produced by cleaning solvents and home improvement projects. Air scrubbers can significantly reduce these odors while minimizing dust and pet dander.
Extends HVAC System Life
Using air scrubbers can help extend the life of your central HVAC and keep it running in top condition. Air scrubbers trap dirt, dust, and other debris before they enter the central HVAC filter and accumulate on the coils and blower.
Who Should Install an Air Scrubber?
Are you considering getting an air scrubber for your home? Here are a few things to think about. Do any of your family members have allergies or asthma? According to the CDC, about 25.7% of adults have seasonal allergies. Want to eliminate pollen, mold, dust, and pet dander? An air scrubber can help with that. Are you worried about germs in your kitchen and bathroom? A clean home can help keep your family healthy. If your family often gets sick, a well-sealed home can worsen things by keeping pollutants inside, but an air scrubber can help restore healthy indoor air.
Selecting an Air Scrubber for Your Boise, ID, Home
Because the industry has many different air scrubber models and types, you may feel confused about the best unit for your needs. The indoor air quality experts at Perfect, Plumbing Heating & Air can conduct an interior air assessment so we can recommend an appropriate air scrubber.
We Serve Your Mechanical Needs in Boise and the Treasure Valley
Homeowners seeking reliable plumbing, heating, cooling, and indoor air quality professionals have trusted Perfect, Plumbing Heating & Air since 1984. We provide thorough repair, maintenance, and installation services with high-quality HVAC and plumbing products. We also offer an extensive parts and labor guarantee and a two-year performance guarantee for your peace of mind.
Contact Perfect, Plumbing Heating & Air today to schedule your consultation to install an air scrubber or for one of our other quality mechanical services.
