Can Air Purifiers Prevent the Spread of COVID-19?
Air purifiers are a great asset for any home to improve the indoor air quality. Those with allergies can enjoy air purifiers. They filter out unwanted allergens and pollutants from the air. Air quality can improve with air purifiers. You might wonder if they can help during the pandemic. Can they help you stay healthy and safe from the virus?
Understanding How COVID-19 Spreads
There is still a lot of research going on about COVID-19. What we know so far is that it spreads from droplets in the air. These droplets can happen when a person talks, sneezes, coughs, or releases air in a similar way. We've heard that these droplets can travel for up to six feet. This is why we're maintaining a social distance of six feet or more. Masks are effective at preventing the transfer of these droplets.
How Can an Air Purifier Help?
When it comes to fighting COVID-19, air purifiers have two roles. First, they add more clean air to rooms in your home. This reduces the number of particles in an area of your home. Hospitals have verified this. Running an air purifier will dilute the number of particles that are in the air. This helps lowers a person's risk of getting the virus.
Second, air purifiers work to filter harmful pollutants from the air. HEPA filters are currently known for their ability to remove 99.97% of particles from the air. This includes things like allergens and pollen. It's thought that HEPA filters could help to remove the virus-infected droplets.
HEPA Filters and The Virus
HEPA filters trap airborne particles that are 0.3 microns or larger. The coronavirus is 0.125 microns in diameter. At first glance, this shows that the HEPA filter won't capture the virus droplets. That may not be the case. You have to think about how the virus travels.
While the virus is only 0.125 microns in diameter itself, it travels in droplets. These droplets happen when a person breathes, coughs, talks, and so forth. These droplets reign in at around 1 micron in diameter. So, when the virus is inside these droplets, that means they're now big enough to get trapped by the HEPA filter.
Call Us Today
If you would like to have an air purifier installed at your home, give the team at Robert Bair a call today. Our staff can find the perfect system and filtration that fits the needs of your home and your family. Your safety is our number one priority. We are taking many safety measures yo protect you and our staff during this time.
