- The purpose of an air filter is to remove harmful particles and allergens, such as dust, from the air we breath. It cleans the air in our homes so we feel better and don't have to worry as much about our allergies bothering us. It can also be helpful if a family keeps pets in their home, as it can remove allergens they may give off as well. There are three different types of air purifiers: ones with a filter, ionic purifiers and ozone generators. Depending on which type you own effects how they work.
- An air purifier that uses a filter has a slot for the filter to slide into located where the air is pulled in. Usually this is part of your heating or cooling system in your home. As air returns and is sucked into the unit, it must pass through this filter. The filter is made of thickly woven threads that the particles are too big to pass through. They become trapped on the filter and are kept from being blown back out into the air. The filter must be changed periodically to ensure it doesn't get full, in which case it would have no more room to trap particles.
- Ionic air filters take particles out of the air in a different way. They use two metal plates which have a positive and negative charge. The air purifier uses an electric field to give air particles a charge, causes them to no longer be neutral. They are then attracted to one of the corresponding plates. They are stuck to the plate and removed from the air. For the particles that become charged but escape the plates magnetic pull, they become stuck to other charged particles and drop harmlessly to the ground.
- Finally, the ozone generator does just what its name suggests. It creates ozone. Ozone is believed to take away harmful particles from the air, while eliminating bad odors at the same time. To create the ozone, the purifier takes oxygen particles in the air and creates ozone out of them. Once the ozone is formed, it floats around and destroys any bad particles found in the air in your home. The cycle continues with more oxygen to keep the air fresh and clean.
