Q: How much do air filters help with preventing allergies?
A: Living with allergies or asthma can be challenging, especially when it comes to breathing in clean air. That’s why air filters are critical in improving indoor air quality and reducing allergy and asthma symptoms. However, cleaning your air filters regularly is essential to maximize their effectiveness.
Before discussing the importance of regular cleaning, it’s important to understand how air filters work. There are different types of air filters, including mechanical filters, electrostatic filters and HEPA filters. HEPA stands for high efficiency particulate air. The filters capture and trap airborne particles such as dust, pollen, pet dander, other allergens and pollutants like smoke, bacteria and viruses.
Air filters capture and trap pollutants, but they become clogged with their trapped particles over time. When the filter becomes clogged, it can’t capture new pollutants effectively, and they can circulate back into the air you breathe. This can significantly negatively affect indoor air quality, particularly for people with allergies and asthma.