Your home was subjected to once-in-a-lifetime flooding, and you had to pump four inches of water out of your basement. You also had to rip up carpet and you’re starting to smell mold. You know you need a high-powered dehumidifier, but you suspect you also need either an air purifier or an air scrubber.
You’re concerned about an upcoming event in a party room at your community center that many people are expected to attend during a time when viral illness is prevalent. The building has an old heating and ventilation system. You’re in charge of doing all you can to ensure healthy air in the party room. What kind of appliance would be the biggest help — an air purifier or an air scrubber?
Let’s take a look at the functional differences between an air purifier and an air scrubber. By the end of this discussion, you will be able to decide which appliance is right for the scenario you’re dealing with.
An air purifier combines a fan and a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter to remove pollutants, allergens and toxins from the air. An air purifier pulls in polluted air, removes the pollutants and circulates the purified air back into a room several times an hour, improving air quality. Air purifier filters can capture pollutants as small as 0.3 micron (sometimes even smaller).
Some air purifiers feature ultraviolet filters that use light to destroy biological impurities such as mold and bacteria. Other air purifiers use activated carbon filters to get rid of gases including volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and smoke particles. A carbon filter is usually positioned immediately before or after the HEPA filter. Pollutant particles are then trapped by the HEPA filter and pollutant gases are trapped by the carbon filter.
A good place to use an air purifier is in a room known to be a source of pollution or in a room where you or others spend large amounts of time. Check the capacities of any air purifier to see if it can take care of the pollutants you’re looking to remove from your air. Knowing an air purifier’s capacity will also let you know whether you need additional units or whether a higher power unit will do the job.
While an air purifier cleans only airborne particles, an air scrubber removes particles from both air and surfaces in the environment. The negative ions in an air scrubber bond to pollutant particles from both air and surfaces, effectively removing them. An air scrubber attracts contaminated air and environment particles multiple times an hour while pumping back cleansed air.
There are different types of air scrubbers: dry, wet and integrated. A dry scrubber uses a series of filters, each of which is designed to capture a different type of particle, one of which is always a HEPA filter. A wet air scrubber is usually part of an air treatment system used in industrial buildings. Most wet air scrubbers employ a mist that sticks to dust and other airborne particles or toxic gases. Wet scrubbers are often part of a complex of fans, pumps, collectors and ducts. An integrated scrubber isn’t a portable, stand-alone unit but part of a heating, ventilation and air conditioning system. An integrated scrubber filters air when it enters a building and as it is circulating through the HVAC ductwork.
Depending on the model, an air scrubber can remove dust, dander, pollen, smoke, bacteria, viruses, chemicals, gases, fungal spores and other pollutants. Portable air scrubbers for home, office or smaller public spaces come with a range of capacities, so be sure to check manufacturers’ information as you look at air scrubbers for your purposes.
If air quality is your top concern, an air purifier may do a fine job. If the quality of both air and surface spaces in your environment are of equal concern to you, an air scrubber is the best choice. If moisture is an additional factor, you will want to employ a dehumidifier in addition to an air purifier or air scrubber.
Once you review the air and/or environmental conditions you need to ameliorate and read manufacturers’ information on air purifying and air scrubbing equipment, you’re sure to find a solution that works best for cleansing the air and/or surfaces in your space.
