Are you tired of having mold in your home and are constantly worried that it will grow back after cleaning it? Are you one of those who prefer to be safe than sorry and want to prevent the problem before it even starts? In this article, we can help you find a solution. You may have heard of home appliances such as air purifiers and their effectiveness in keeping the home air healthy, but, do air purifiers help with mold? This may be the question you need to have answered before you decide to purchase one. Well, that’s what we’re here to discuss today. But before we talk about the capabilities of air purifiers, let’s take a look at what mold is and how it grows, so you can have all the information you need.
What Is Mold and How Does It Grow?
The main thing you need to know about mold is that it grows and thrives wherever there’s moisture and organic material. Besides your home, mold can grow in places like food, plants, and soil. In order for mold to reproduce, grow bigger, and spread faster, they release spores that can and will spread through water, air, or animals. So now that you know this, you may be wondering how you can notice if you have a mold problem in your home.
The good news is that mold isn’t invisible to the smelling and seeing senses, so you can typically tell if you have a mold problem by identifying their signature smell and following the source. The first way you’ll probably notice the mold is by seeing its distinctive color. Mold appears as slimy patches that are slightly discolored and fuzzy and that will increase in size as they grow. However, if you can smell mold but not see it, chances are it’s in a place out of your eyesight. Look for mold in places such as underneath wallpapers, carpets, walls, cabinets, etc. Mold can be tricky to find but it’s not so tricky to prevent using various methods and tools. Let’s find out if air purifiers are one of these effective tools to help with mold.
Do Air Purifiers Help With Mold?
One of the most effective ways to prevent mold in your home is by using an air purifier. Air purifiers are your home’s mold shield; they capture mold spores in the air and prevent them from spreading or reproducing throughout your home. So air purifiers are not only great for your home’s air health, but they’re also great for your own health. The spread of mold can cause allergic reactions that result in fever-like symptoms or irritation.
However, it is important to note that air purifiers do not get rid of mold, they are mostly and primarily used to prevent mold from appearing. So if any mold spores try to fly their way into your home, your air purifier will catch them right away. This is not to say that air purifiers are useless if you already have mold. If you already have active mold somewhere, you can use air purifiers to stop the mold from spreading to other surfaces.
How Do You Know if Your Air Purifier Is Helping With Mold?
If you’ve already purchased an air purifier and are not sure if it’s doing its job in helping with mold, fear not, there are plenty of ways to tell if your air purifier is fulfilling its destiny. There are four common ways to tell how effective your air purifier is:
- Air test kits: these kits can easily detect the quality of the air in your home and thus detect if you have a mold risk. There are single-use ones and multiple-use ones. Make sure to follow the instructions for correct results!
- The mold has come back: if you’ve taken every measure possible to clean and get rid of the mold and the dampness, and it still comes back, chances are your air purifier is not doing its job. Air purifiers are supposed to stop the spores from spreading and repopulating, so the mold shouldn’t be back.
- Digital air quality monitor: this device is extremely helpful not only in detecting mold but also in keeping track of the air quality in your home. It can detect other particles in the air and record them for you to see and keep track of. Digital air quality monitors can also let you know when it’s time to change your air purifier filters.
- Smell: the very obvious and first way to notice if your home may have a mold problem and your air purifier isn’t helping is by the smell of the air. If there is mold or mildew growing in your home, you will definitely notice a musty smell. However, if after a few days the smell persists, it means the air purifier is not helping.
What Air Purifiers Are Good for Mold?
There are many different models and brands of air purifiers, but not all may be ideal for mold. The best air purifiers that help with preventing mold are those that feature True HEPA filters. These “High Efficiency Particulate Air” filters are of amazing quality because they are able to capture microscopic particles in the air, including mold spores.
There are two types of HEPA filters: typical HEPA filters and True HEPA filters. Both of these are effective in cleaning the air of your home. However, typical HEPA filters can only catch particles larger than 0.3 microns whereas True HEPA filters can catch particles larger than 0.1 microns. In size, mold spores are between two and ten microns, which means the True HEPA filters are more effective in catching mold spores.
The Bottom Line
We already established that air purifiers can help with mold, but these appliances are much more than that: they can also help with pet odors. If this article hasn’t convinced you that air purifiers are worth it, just think of it as an investment in health. If you suffer from allergies, if your eyes and throat get irritated as spring starts, an air purifier can become your best friend while you are at home.
