You can be the best house keeper, vacuuming all the time and cleaning, however there are still allergens that can cause indoor allergies that will make you miserable. One of the problems that more homeowners are facing is that the construction of their homes is so much more energy efficient that the home doesn’t “breathe” on its own. Older home construction wasn’t as tight as the homes being built today, so it causes more pollutants and allergens to be trapped inside the home.

Even your strict cleaning routine can cause indoor allergies because of the chemicals that are used in them.

The biggest indoor allergy cause is often times from your pet. Whether you have a dog, cat or another animal, every animal has dander that can cause allergies. Even with the best cleaning routine and frequent vacuuming, pet dander still is in the air and is often built up in your air ducts as well.

Your air ducts are a breeding ground for indoor allergies because the trap dust that you often can’t see or clean. When you have a forced air furnace or central air system, the dust and pet dander are recirculated through the home by your air ducts. One way to help alleviate this indoor allergy problem is to have your air ducts cleaned routinely, maybe once a year or more often depending upon the severity of your allergies.

If you love the smell of an air freshener, you might be putting yourself up for another cause of indoor allergies. Indoor air fresheners, such as the plug in type or others, are made up of chemicals and can cause reactions and allergic problems.

Smoking inside the home is bad as well. Research has shown that second hand smoke can cause cancer and other problems. The left over odors and residue from tobacco is a carcinogen and can cause allergic reactions to tobacco in children, as they are highly sucseptible to this.

While you can’t get rid of every indoor allergy cause on the face of the earth, you can know more about the causes of them. If you limit your exposure to these allergens, you can find the allergy relief that you have been looking for. Even using the best home air purifiers sometimes won’t help get rid of all of the issues that you can have with allergies in your home.

Here is a review of some of the more common and best home air purifiers that are on the market today.

Home air purifiers with the High Energy Particle Arresting (HEPA) filters are a standard in home air purification.  The HEPA air filtration systems were originally developed by the US Government to be used in their “clean rooms”.  These clean rooms were often laboratories or other areas where any dust could contaminate or ruin projects or experiments.  NASA is a great example of users of the HEPA filtration systems.

The HEPA filter is made of a paper or polymer material with microscopic holes in it that allow air to pass through.  Due to the small size of the holes to allow air to flow through them, you can recognize the HEPA air filter by its accordian design.  This creates more surface area for more air to flow through.  When used in home air purification systems, the HEPA filter should be changed every 6 months at the most, sometimes more often depending on your living conditions and environment. 

Another home air purifier that is growing in popularity is the ultraviolet light air filter.  These filters use ultraviolet light (UV) light at a specific intensity to destroy dust and micro-organisms, such as bacteria and viruses.  The major disadvantage of the UV air purifier is that very few dust particulates are removed as there is no real filter, like a HEPA filter.

Ionic air purifiers are used on submarines and in pet stores to keep down dander.  The ion air purifier uses negatively charged ions to attract the positively charged dust particles.  They work well, however there are some disadvantages to having them.  If you use an ion air purifier and it is mounted on the wall, you can notice a buildup of black soot material.  Also they are used only locally in each room as they have no fan to draw air across themselves.  You would need to have one per room for them to operate effectively.

Those are the three most popular and best home air purifiers that are on the market.  As each application is different, as is each allergy or home, you should do proper research to find the best air purifier for your home. Finding the best air purifier will help you find the allergy relief that you are looking for.