Fighting Allergies: Air Purifier or Humidifier?

Allergies are a common ailment that affect over 50 million Americans every year. They’re the sixth most common cause of chronic illness in the United States, costing over $18 billion annually. Allergies are a persistent health concern as allergens are all around us. Most airborne allergens are naturally occurring, such as pollen and pet dander. However, exposure to these allergens can be controlled. 

Many individuals or families who deal with allergies regularly look to add an indoor device that will help manage the presence of airborne allergens at home. Two home devices are usually top-of-mind: the air purifier and the humidifier. But these two devices are strikingly different in terms of purpose and functionality. So, which one is best for allergies?

What’s the Difference Between an Air Purifier and Humidifier?

To properly understand which device is more effective at helping manage allergies, let’s first understand how each device works and how they change the quality of indoor air. 

How Does an Air Purifier Work?

An air purifier is a device designed to cleanse or purify the air by removing airborne particles such as dust, mold spores, bacteria, and allergens. It’s fitted with several filters that trap these particles so that they don’t persist in the air where they can be inhaled and trigger an allergy attack. Air purifier filters must be changed periodically to maintain optimum air cleansing. 

While clean, pollutant-free air is beneficial for all, air purifiers are particularly needed by people who suffer from asthma and allergies.  

How Does a Humidifier Work?

A humidifier, on the other hand, increases the humidity in a room by adding moisture to the air. It does this by turning water into fine mist, vapor, or steam, which is then released into the air. 

Humidifiers are useful for people who suffer from asthma and are prone to agitated airways due to dry air. However, low and high humidity have their respective pros and cons. Low humidity can trigger asthma attacks, irritate the airways, and cause dry skin. High humidity can cause excessive condensation and moisture, which promotes the growth of mold spores, dust mites, bacteria, and other allergens.

To avoid this, it’s best to keep the humidity level within the home between 30 and 50%.  

Air Purifier vs Humidifier: Which One’s for You?

In terms of general usage, a humidifier can be useful for those who live in dry climates and want to boost the moisture levels inside the home, those who have dry skin, and those who suffer from sinus issues caused or worsened by dry air, such as irritated airways, excessive snoring, and nosebleeds. 

An air purifier is suitable for those who suffer from respiratory concerns related to polluted air such as asthma and airborne-particle allergies, those who want to lessen the amount of air pollution inside the home, those with pets who need to reduce the pet dander floating in the air, and those who want to eliminate VOCs and indoor odors caused by pets, cooking, smoking, and mold spores.

How Can an Air Purifier or Humidifier Help with Allergies?

Circling back to the bigger picture, both the air purifier and humidifier significantly impact the quality of air inside the home, but how they function determines their ability to help manage allergies.

A humidifier may help alleviate the symptoms of those who suffer from irritated air tracts due to dry air. Furthermore, increasing the humidity levels in a room may stimulate the mucus membranes in the nose and mouth to block large allergens, like pollen, from entering the system. 

On the other hand, an air purifier is designed to cleanse indoor air by capturing a diverse range of airborne pollutants. It’s equipped with one or more air filters that trap these floating particles to prevent them from being inhaled in the body and causing allergies or illnesses. In the case of the Sans air purifier, it’s engineered with a three-stage filtration system consisting of the pre-filter, medical-grade HEPA 13 filter, and activated carbon filter. 

Which is Better for Allergies: Air Purifier or Humidifier?

While both the air purifier and humidifier have merits in terms of alleviating allergy symptoms, the air purifier’s functionality and overall purpose make it a more proactive choice for managing allergy symptoms. 

An air purifier is primarily designed to remove pollutants and allergens from the air. On the other hand, while a humidifier might help relieve sinus problems related to dry air, it’s merely a secondary benefit as its main purpose is to increase the humidity level indoors. 

Furthermore, due to its functionality and design, a humidifier does not clean the air or remove any particles from it. Rather, it simply adds moisture to the air. Meanwhile, an air purifier traps a wide range of airborne allergens to help reduce allergy attacks in the long run. For example, the Sans air purifier comes with a pre-filter that captures large particles like pet hair and dust, a HEPA 13 filter that captures minuscule allergens that may be invisible to the naked eye, such as bacteria and mold spores, and an activated carbon filter that neutralizes volatile organic compounds and harmful gases.

To improve the quality of the air inside your home and help manage allergies, shop the Sans air purifier today.