An air purifier reduces the risk of corona
It is possible to significantly reduce the risk of Corona and viruses with the help of an air purifier. But it is important to choose the right one, if you are to have any real effect.
To understand, it is good to start from scratch to highlight the difference between ventilation and air purification. The ventilation - regardless of whether it is mechanical or based on natural draft, aims to take in fresh air so we get enough oxygen and do not get tired. But for this air to be clean, an air purifier is required.
What has been at the forefront today when it comes to air purification is whether the air purifier captures viruses and how it works.
A mechanical air purifier constantly minimizes indoor air pollution by drawing air through various filters. Over and over again. A good air purifier should be able to have cleaned all the air in the room it is in at least once every half hour. This is important because in a room, polluted air is continuously supplied from various sources indoors and outdoors. Indoors, it can be, for example, from lighting candles or a fire place or infection. And outdoor pollutants from exhaust fumes, pollen and more.
If you want to avoid exposure to this hazardous air, cleaning with high-quality filters is required.
What about a virus like Corona? A respiratory infection such as the flu or Covid-19 is transmitted primarily through a droplet infection where large drops of virus fly out a few meters when we cough. But even when we talk and breathe, small, small drops come out, so-called aerosols that also contain viruses. However, these aerosols are so small that we do not see them and they can float freely in the room for several hours.
The task of the air purifier is to constantly collect and separate these aerosols which contain viruses and bacteria so that they get stuck in the air purifier filter and which then die there after a few days. In this way, the air purifier becomes an effective tool and complement to washing hands and keeping a distance to reduce the risk of becoming infected.
There are many who have described this in an educational way, such as here in El Pais:
Staying at home, keeping your distance and washing your hands is something that everyone can do. Encouraging everyone to get an air purifier is more difficult. Therefore, in Germany, where they work hard to minimize a second wave of the pandemic, state subsidies for buying and installing air purifiers in public buildings such as schools, medical clinics, nursing homes, etc.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-54599593
Tags: