If there are certain areas of your home that experience dampness and warm temperatures, you are prone to mold problems. But what is mold exactly and how does it impact you and your family’s health?
Mold and Your Health
Mold is a type of fungus that grows in moist climates. Microscopically speaking, mold has a string-like structure with spores that multiply quickly and robustly. These spores travel similarly to pollen and can float from one location in your home to another, where they land and can create more mold in this new location.
Breathing in mold spores results in short- and long-term health complications. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have both found that people with mold sensitivity can experience upper respiratory symptoms, increased asthma symptoms and even skin irritation when exposed to mold and mold spores. Breathing in mold spores can also cause nasal irritation, eye allergies, and coughing.
Long-term exposure to mold can have more severe health effects including:
- Cancer
- Hypersensitivity pneumonitis/pulmonary fibrosis
- Pulmonary injury/hemosiderosis (bleeding)
- Neurotoxicity
- Hematologic and immunologic disorders
- Hepatic, endocrine and/or renal toxicities
- Pregnancy, gastrointestinal and/or cardiac conditions
Once you understand the potential danger in living with mold spores, you recognize the need to remedy the situation so you and your family can protect your health.
Can an Air Purifier Remove Mold?
The short answer to this question is yes, but –
Yes, an air purifier will clean the air in your home, trapping the mold spores inside a special filter so you and your family cannot breathe them in.
It is important to mention though that if you have an existing, visible mold growth problem in your home, you must remedy it. You will need to physically clean the area (walls) with bleach. If the mold is growing on a soft surface like carpeting, you must remove that material because it is simply impossible to clean mold out of all of those tiny crevices.
You will also need to locate the source of the mold and fix it. For instance, is the mold growing because of a leaky pipe, damp walls or simply high humidity? In cases of high humidity, you may want to consider running a dehumidifier to cut down on the moisture inside your home.
While you are remedying your mold infestation, you should absolutely run an air purifier or two in your home to capture the spores released into the air. While you are cleaning and tearing up carpeting, even more spores will become loose and begin to float around your home, so you’ll want to trap those quickly.
The best part is, not only will an air purifier remove the mold spores floating in your home’s air, it will also remove pollen, dust, pet dander, bacteria, viruses and even odors. Your home’s air will truly be purified.
How to Select an Air Purifier to Treat Mold
When it comes to trapping and removing mold spores, not any old air purifier will do. You’ll want to be sure to look for specific features:
HEPA Filtration
HEPA filters are the gold standard in air purification and for good reason, they can trap even the tiniest particles hanging around your home’s air. In fact, they are so powerful, studies have shown they can eliminate 99.97% of the particles that are at least .03 microns in size. Mold spores are usually between 3 to 100 microns in size, so a HEPA filter will have no trouble trapping them. And, again, because HEPA filters are so powerful, they can also remove other allergens and pollutants like dust, dander, pollen, bacteria and viruses.
It’s important to mention that you will need to stay on top of changing your HEPA filters regularly because mold spores can begin to grow on top of the filter. So, be sure to check the manufacturer’s recommendations and change your HEPA filter often.
Activated Carbon Filter
Now to remove that nasty mold smell, and any other unpleasant smell like cigarette smoke from your home, you’ll need the assistance from an activated carbon filter. These filters are also good at trapping VOC gasses, which are often off-gassed from paint, furniture and carpeting.
Preventing Mold
As we mentioned earlier, it’s important that you uncover the source of mold in your home. You may live in a humid climate and need to use a dehumidifier. You may have a leaky roof or leaky pipes behind your washing machine. These will need to be fixed and any mold washed down with a bleach solution.
Should you ever have a flood in your basement, you’ll need to do a thorough cleanup afterwards. Make sure carpeting gets completely and any other soft materials gets completely dried.
And finally, make sure your kitchen, bathrooms, and laundry room all have proper ventilation to vent the moisture outside your home. A poor (or no) ventilation system can cause moisture to build up on the walls and ceiling, where mold growth is sure to follow.
If you suspect you have a mold problem in your home and need an air purifier, take a few minutes to look through our collection. We offer units with HEPA filters and activated carbon filters.
We also offer air purifiers for all sizes of rooms and budgets.
Need Some Help?
Choosing the right air purifier for your home can sometimes feel daunting. What size do you need and which has the best features?
We can definitely answer those questions and more. Simply get in touch with us and we’ll help you determine which air purifier will help you trap the mold spores in your home’s environment.
We don’t think of ourselves as just a company that sells air purifiers, we think of ourselves as helping people and their families breathe better and healthier.
