Where Is The Best Place To Put An Air Purifier?
Over the past few years, the popularity of air purifiers has increased significantly due to their ability to purify your living or working space. While the device is known to do an excellent job making the air clean, its efficiency is known to rise to 20% when put in the right place. This article will guide you on the best place to put an air purifier along with the deciding factors.
Contents
Which Room Should You Put The Air Purifier In?
The air purifier should be placed in a room that requires maximum purification. A location that has higher chances of airborne pollutants dwelling there should be chosen for the appliance. Many parents prefer to keep the air purifier in their infants’ rooms since harmful contaminants can cause allergic reactions or respiratory problems for them.
A bedroom is a popular choice for air purifier placement. We spend a significant part of the day in our bedroom. Better sleep is ensured when the air around you is purified to the extent that it’s free of any contaminants or debris.
Related reading: How Long To Run An Air Purifier?
People prefer putting their air purifiers in the living room, especially in households with large families who spend quality time with each other in the shared space. If you are a smoker, you may want to place the air purifier in a room where you smoke most of the time, as smoke can crucially deteriorate the air quality.
Other preferred rooms for placing the air purifier include kitchens and bathrooms. As you can clearly understand, these rooms contain the maximum amount of contaminants as well as odors. This is why they are prone to grow mold and increase the spread of bacteria.
The key is to place the purifier closest to the source of pollutants. This will not only clean the air but eliminate the odor. However, you should also keep in mind that kitchens and bathrooms have a lot of humidity. So, it may not be the best option for placing an air purifier.
Which Location In Your Room Should You Place The Air Purifier?
Once you’ve settled on the room where you’d like to place your air purifier, you must decide where exactly in the room you should put it. To choose the ideal location, you must consider the following factors.
Size of the Room
Before you decide to place your air purifier in a room, you must consider the coverage area. An air purifier is designed to purify the air in a space that measures up to 100 square feet. So placing in your 200 square feet living room is going to ineffective.
The key here is to find out the CADR (Cubic Feet Per Minute) in the appliance, which portrays the amount of air that is purified in an hour in focusing on three pollutants which are dust, smoke, and pollen.
A higher CADR number indicates the appliance’s ability to purify air faster. The CADR should not be less than two-thirds of the chosen room’s area. You can also utilize online calculators to determine the CADR number before you make a purchase.
Presence of Airflow
Air purifiers pull in air from the surroundings. Hence, an area with a higher airflow allows them to purify it faster. When the airflow is high, most large pollutants are found there mainly due to the air’s ability to lift large debris and contaminants.
This is why many people prefer placing their air purifiers in doorways or near windows because it prevents outdoor pollutants from contaminating your living space.
So, airflow is a major factor that needs to be considered while placing an air purifier. Due to this, you’re not supposed to put the appliance on the ground.
Height from the Ground
An air purifier must be placed at least 3 to 5 feet above the ground. Keeping the point about airflow in sync, the air indoors not just moves horizontally but vertically. The latter is determined by the temperature inside the room. The higher the temperature, the faster the air will rise.
To take advantage of this, you should place your air purifier on a piece of furniture. You can also look into wall-mountable options if you want to save space or if the air purifier is too large to be placed on a table.
Dirtiest Corner
The dirtiest area in your room should be the ideal location for the placement of an air purifier. In this case, the area where your pets spend most of the time could be a good position.
Air purifiers are made to trap dust, pollen, and odor, so you may want to place them in an area that usually gets filled with the smell of your wet dog. Placing it in the source of the problem will prevent the spread of odor.
If you have chosen the kitchen to place the air purifier, you should put it close to the stove to get rid of the odor of fish that seems to linger every time you decide to cook it. To keep indoor air clean, you must put the air purifier in the smelliest and dirtiest part of the room. Only then, you’ll be able to keep the air inside your house clean and odorless.
Proximity to Electronics
Air purifiers should be placed at least 5 feet away from electronics present in the room. Since the mechanism of air purifiers depend on wavelengths placing them in proximity to electronics like TV, stereo, or microwave can hamper their functioning significantly.
The majority of air purifiers you’ll come across in the market depend on high technology components that do not work well when interference from other electronics occurs. If you have no choice but to place the air purifier near electronics, you may want to look into the Rabbit Air purifier, which is not vulnerable to interference.
Where to Not Place the Air Purifier In?
Placing the air purifier in certain areas of the room will defeat the purpose of the appliance. Therefore, no matter which room you choose to create a home for your air purifier, make sure it’s not placed in the following locations.
Corner of The Room
Corners of a room have the lowest airflow, so you must never place an air purifier there. Even if the air quality improves while doing so, the air purifier will not be working up to its maximum efficiency.
Since most air purifiers are designed with front-facing vents, blocking them will reduce their performance to a great extent. You must also avoid keeping it under a shelf or a table as it will only be able to purify the air under that piece of furniture.
Right against The Wall
An air purifier should be put in a position to have enough space to pull in the air and push it out simultaneously. Placing it against the wall will not allow it to take in sufficient air to operate to its best potential.
To create the ideal space between the appliance and the wall, you should place the purifier and measure the distance between the inlet and the wall. Next, operate the air purifier and measure the airflow that the appliance is pushing out.
Ideally, a 10cm gap between the appliance and the wall should allow up to 100% airflow. On the other hand, placing it right against the wall will lead to a 5% airflow reading. If you do not want to measure, you can simply place your iPhone horizontally to create the ideal space.
Why Are Areas With High Humidity Levels Bad For Air Purifiers?
An area with high humidity levels may not be suitable for an air purifier as the appliance requires more energy to purify the air with a higher humidity level. Plus, the humid air will decrease the filter’s capacity, especially in the case of HEPA air purifiers.
As you can guess, bathrooms and kitchens have the highest level of humidity. In a bathroom, there’s a possibility of a rise in humidity up to 90 % when you take a shower. At the same time, the air in the kitchen will be heavy when we boil water.
To go along with a high humidity level, these rooms are excellent for mold infestation. So they are a no-go in terms of the ideal placement of air purifiers. However, if you still want to purify the air in these rooms, you may opt for a dehumidifier.
Final Words
An air purifier is designed to clean the air. So, you can either place it close to the source or in a room where you spend most of your day. However, you must avoid placing it directly against the wall or right in the corner of the room. With that being said, choosing the right air purifier is crucial for the maximum effect. So get your hands on the ideal one and place it where you can get full use out of it.
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