Air purifiers use physical filtration and adsorption to remove unwanted substances from indoor air. Think of the air in a room as a glass of water: the purifier repeatedly circulates and cleans it until the air becomes progressively cleaner.Their main functions include capturing dust, PM2.5, pet hair, and other airborne particles; reducing formaldehyde, toluene, secondhand smoke, odors, and other harmful gases; and helping control certain microorganisms by limiting the growth of indoor bacteria and viruses and reducing pathogens.
One of the main reasons to buy an air purifier is that outdoor air can sometimes be worse than indoor air, making natural ventilation impractical. When outdoor air is clean, smoke, cooking odors, and similar pollutants can often be removed by opening the windows. However, during periods of poor outdoor air quality, that may not be a viable option.
For a household air purifier, the most important job is capturing inhalable particles. This depends mainly on the filter, which works like a spider web that traps impurities in the air.
Common filter types include:
Pre-filter: captures large particles and hair.
Activated-carbon filter: adsorbs formaldehyde, odors, and other gases.
HEPA filter: captures fine particles. Higher HEPA grades provide greater particle-removal efficiency, and many mid- to high-end air purifiers use H13 filters.