Key takeaways:
Health experts recommend using air purifiers for illness prevention during cold and flu season because viruses like influenza and SARS-CoV-2 are carried in respiratory aerosols in the air.
Health experts advise operating your air purifier at a continuous, low speed to minimize the risk of illness. If someone is actively sick, prioritize high fan speed to rapidly remove aerosols.
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Other important factors for illness prevention are an air purifier with a true HEPA filter and strategic placement of the unit in your home.
When people start to recognize symptoms of sickness during cold and flu season, they usually reach for tried-and-true wellness products, such as vitamin C supplements, cough drops, herbal teas and disinfectants. However, as a health and wellness writer with over a decade of experience, I've often wondered whether air purifiers should be included in our modern arsenal against illness. According to CNET's exclusive lab data, the answer is yes -- and health experts agree.
Pediatric allergist and clinical immunologist Dr. Zachary Rubin tells CNET that viruses like influenza and SARS-CoV-2, a member of the coronavirus family, are carried in respiratory aerosols, which are particles that get exhaled while you’re breathing, coughing, talking or sneezing. These are usually under 5 μm (microns) in size, but many can be smaller than 1 μm, and your air purifier should be able to remove them.
Primary care and urgent care physician Dr. Steven Goldberg, the chief medical officer at molecular testing laboratory HealthTrackRX, notes that an air purifier capable of removing 0.3 μm particles is a particularly vital benchmark for viral aerosol removal, especially since manufacturers often rate purifier filters by their efficiency in removing particles of this size.
To put this to the test, CNET Labs placed 12 popular air purifiers in a smoke chamber to measure their ability to filter five different particle sizes, both fine and coarse, from the air. Two models emerged as top performers for their speedy results, making them must-have devices for cold and flu season.
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