Air Purifier vs Dehumidifier

Asthma and other respiratory allergies are common problems in the modern world. Still, with the help of an air purifier or dehumidifier, you can quickly reduce the number of pollutants in the air in your home or place of work.

What's the Difference Between an Air Purifier and a Dehumidifier?

An air purifier circulates the air in the room through a filter that catches the pollutants such as smoke, pollen, chemical residue, and dust. These can irritate your throat and cause allergies and asthma to flare up. Using an air purifier is an easy way to address these problems safely and cost-effectively.

Your air purifier can also remove the mold spores from the air, lowering the risk of mold outbreaks. However, an air purifier cannot remove the moisture from the air in a humid environment. Hence, to reduce the danger of mold outbreaks, using an air purifier in conjunction with a dehumidifier is highly advisable.

A dehumidifier works by pulling in the moisture from the air to keep it fresh and dry. When the air in your home is damp and moist, it creates the perfect environment for molds and other microbes to grow. By dehumidifying the air to an appropriate moisture level, you can reduce the risk of dangerous outbreaks of molds and microbes, which can often be harmful to human health.

What Types of Air Purifiers Are There?

Air purifiers remove pollutants from the air, and there are a few main types on the market.

• Passive Filter Air Purifiers: These use industry-rated HEPA Filters, or High-Efficiency Particulate Air Filters, to remove the air particles and pollutants by circulating them through the filter. The filter traps the air particles and removes up to 99.9% of the pollutants from the air. These are often used in conjunction with Activated Carbon Filters.
• Ionizing Air Purifiers: These use an electrical corona discharge to pull the polluting particles out of the air. The powerful electrical field that the device uses was inspired by the electro-magnetic corona bursts of the sun.
• Ozone Generating Air Purifiers: These clean the air by converting the oxygen in the air into ozone. This destroys the spores, mold particles, and other bacteria, allowing you to breathe cleaner air in your home or workplace. However, the ozone byproduct can be a concern and defeat the purpose of the air purifier.
• Irradiation Air Purifiers: Using UV light is a powerful way to kill microorganisms that can cause allergies, asthma, and other health conditions. Often used in medical and industrial settings, they can also be used in homes and office workspaces.

What Are The Benefits Of Using An Air Purifier?

There are many ways that you and your family can benefit from using an air purifier in your home or workplace as follows:

• Reduce the harmful symptoms of asthma and other respiratory conditions.
• Remove chemicals from your home that can be dangerous to your health and long-term well-being.
• Lower the chances of contracting diseases from airborne bacteria and viruses.
• Improve your sleep.
• Neutralize and eliminate odors from the air, including smoke, chemical fumes, and pet smells.

What Types of Dehumidifiers Are There?

All dehumidifiers remove moisture from the air, but they can work in different ways.

• Refrigerative or Mechanical Dehumidifier: This is the most common kind of dehumidifier and works by pulling the moist air into the device and running it over a cold refrigerated coil by using a fan. Once the air is pulled through the device, it can lower humidity levels significantly, but it functions best in conditions where humidity levels are above 40%.
• Standard Air Conditioning Unit: Although an air conditioning unit's primary function is to keep the temperatures down, they also act as dehumidifiers. This also helps to get temperatures in the room down by lowering the moisture content of the air.
• Adsorption Based Dehumidifier: This lowers the humidity levels of the air by using a specialized kind of moisture-absorbing material. The air is moved over the material's surface, which then takes the moisture out of the air. The air is recycled after being heated, which removes the moisture from it and can operate at humidity levels of 30% and above.
• Electrical Dehumidifier: This type of dehumidifier uses a Peltier pump to cool a surface which then condenses the water in the air. It is then removed before the air is recycled. One of the benefits of this design is that it is quieter than other designs because it doesn't use moving parts. It's extremely energy efficient and is often used in smaller dehumidifiers.
• Ionic Membrane Dehumidifiers: This incredible design removes the moisture content from the air at the level of the molecules. It's fairly expensive and is generally used in industrial applications.
• Window Air Conditioner Devices: These units function very similarly to a refrigerative dehumidifier and remove moisture from the air using a hot exhaust that dries out the air. These can be fairly noisy but are still a popular choice for homes and workplaces.

What Are The Benefits Of Using A Dehumidifier?

There are several benefits of using a dehumidifier in your home as follows:

• Lower the levels of moisture in the air stops harmful microbes and bacteria from becoming a problem.
• Reduce the level of common household allergens such as mold, mildew, and even dust mites.
• Reduce the dust level down in your home so you won't have to clean or vacuum up so often.
• Use a dehumidifier in conjunction with an air conditioning unit or HVAC system to lower utility bills by making the air conditioner run more efficiently.
• Keep the air in your home or workplace fresh and pleasant to breathe.

Air Purifier vs Dehumidifier - Which is Better For You?

Both air purifier and dehumidifier units need to be regularly maintained to keep them working at their best. Keeping them well serviced improves their efficiency and helps to keep your energy costs down. Always follow the manufacturer's guidance when replacing the air purifier filters to ensure you use the correct filters.

Depending on your situation, you may want to use an air purifier, a dehumidifier, or both in combination. Using both types of devices simultaneously in your home will give you the very best results by removing the moisture from the air that bacteria and microbes need to survive and the pollutants that can cause health problems and allergies.

However, if it comes down to cost or you are already comfortable with your humidity levels, then air purifiers are a great choice. Besides, while dehumidifiers can be used to prevent the spread of mold or microbes, they do not really address the same common concerns as air purifiers.

Experience purified air in your home. Check out our "Best Air Purifier" collections at Think Air Purifiers Home

Shop today for a practical selection of air purifiers for your indoor air quality concerns:

PCO NASA technology and FDA approved that works and looks great on shelves, table tops, and can even be mounted on walls.
Filterless product using Ionic Wind. You can wash and and re-use the parts which reduces cost of replacing HEPA filters.
A work-horse product with no frills and easy maintenance. You don't have to replace any filters for 3-5 years.
A great product with multiple configurations that allow you to make better cost/benefit tradeoffs.
Makes use of HEPA/Carbon filtration with high CFM to cover large spaces. A big advantage is low noise level compared to other brands.
Makes use of HEPA/Earth Mineral filtration that does not release any chemicals into the environment. No tools required, easy maintenance.
Filterless product using Ionization without ozone production. Easy maintenance. No HEPA filters to replace.