What are indoor air pollutants? These are harmful and undesirable materials in the air in your home, apartment or office. They affect the quality of the air you breathe.

The most common indoor air pollutants are dust, pollen, dust mites, pet dander, smoke, bacteria, and viruses. Household products, such as air fresheners or building materials and furniture, can continually release pollutants into the air. Some products, such as household cleaners and pesticides, malfunctioning heaters, ovens and stoves, paints and varnishes, can intermittently release contaminants.

How can you improve the air quality in your home, office or apartment? There are three ways to do this:

– Find out the sources of pollution and eliminate or try to reduce their emissions.

– Ventilate your home to get clean, fresh air from outside. If the weather permits, open doors and windows. Using exhaust fans in the bathroom and kitchen can help remove pollutants from these rooms.

– Use air filters. There are two types of air cleaning devices. Some clean the air for the whole house and others are designed to clean the air in a single room or a specific area.

When choosing an air filter for a room, consider the following:

– The size of the room. This is probably the most important factor. Most purifiers will state the size of the room they can clean.

– The type of contaminants that the unit can remove.

– The ease of maintenance of the unit.

– Where the purifier is going to be placed. If it is for, say, the bedroom or living room, then you may want to consider one that is designed to run quietly or has very little noise.

– How many air changes per hour does it provide. The more changes per hour, the higher the air quality.

– The type of filters used and the ease of cleaning and their replacement cost.

– Power consumption of the unit.

– Warranty on the product.