Air Purifier vs. Humidifier: Which One Is Good For You?

Allergies, asthma, or sinus issues… living in the modern world can be troublesome for us. Nobody wants to blow their nose every five minutes when they should be sitting on the couch enjoying life, and the two most common solutions are air purifiers and humidifiers.

However, the debate about air purifiers and humidifiers is endless. Which one is good for you? Which one do you need? We have to be careful when it’s about our health.

So, let’s start with the basics.

How Do Air Purifiers Work

Think of air purifiers as vacuums for the air. They pull the air in, push it through layers of filters, then release the purified result. This process captures and removes particles from indoor air.

How Do Humidifiers Work

A humidifier usually consists of a reservoir, a fan, and a filter. The reservoir holds the water (cold or warm), the fan blows the steam or mist out, and the filter catches residues to prevent leakage.

Health Benefits of Air Purifiers

Having an air purifier for your room has many health benefits. For example, air purifiers can prevent asthma attacks, reduce coughing, remove harmful particles and pollutants, capture bacteria and viruses, and remove unpleasant odors. Overall, an air purifier will increase your quality of life at home.

Do Air Purifiers Help with Covid?

A true HEPA filter air purifier can capture the Covid-19 virus and various other bacteria and viruses since most are larger than a HEPA filter’s minimum capturable radius. 

However, regular air purifiers, especially portable ones, cannot capture the Covid-19 virus. The best they can do is increase indoor air quality so you suffer less from the symptoms.

Do Air Purifiers Dry Out Sinuses?

Air purifiers are not dehumidifiers. Indeed, they can reduce humidity since they increase air circulation. However, the amount of humidity reduced by an air purifier is almost wholly neglectable.

Therefore, air purifiers do not dry out sinuses under normal conditions. If you do find your nose dry, you might be overrunning the device.

Can Air Purifiers Make You Sick?

This may seem like a rhetorical question. However, air purifiers can make you sick if you don’t replace the filters in time because mold, bacteria, and viruses can grow on them.

A dirty air purifier makes you sick and may even trigger severe conditions such as asthma attacks. Therefore, ensure you know how often you should change the filters in your air purifier and stick to the schedule.

Health Benefits of Humidifiers

Increased humidity comes with many benefits. It makes breathing easier and purifies your air naturally. Therefore, humidifiers can reduce coughing, promote recovery from lung diseases, soothe headaches and other weather-related symptoms, and even improve sleep quality.

Is a Humidifier Good For Asthma?

Astham patients are vulnerable to dryness because it can lead to coughing, dry airway, and other triggering conditions for asthmatics. However, if the humidity becomes too high, you may suffer from mold growth or just mugginess from excessive moisture.

In short, a humidifier is only good for asthma if you know you need higher humidity. Even then, you should avoid running your humidifiers all the time.

Does a Humidifier Increase Oxygen?

Yes, a humidifier can increase indoor oxygen levels. Larger particles and pollutants naturally fall “out of air” as they become heavier at higher humidity. Consequently, more clean air can fill in the blank. The result is even greater if you have air purifying plants around.

PS: overusing your humidifier can reduce the oxygen level.

Do humidifiers help your lungs?

Increased humidity could make breathing easier for adults and children with allergies, asthma, or sinus infections, as long as the mist is clean. 

How Do You Know If You Need an Air Purifier?

Living in today’s world, everyone needs an air purifier. However, you may not need a HEPA purifier since it’s considered more medical grade. To find out, get a reading on your indoor air quality and see what pollutant you're facing. Also measure your room's size so you know what type of air purifier you need.

How Do You Know If You Need a Humidifier?

Measure your house’s humidity and compare it to the recommended level based on your doctor’s advice. High humidity would lead to mold and bacteria growth, which causes more harm than benefits. Therefore, make sure an increased indoor humidity is beneficial for you before purchasing a humidifier.

Air Purifier vs. Humidifier: Which One Do You Need

Have you decided if you need an air purifier or a humidifier? Most people would benefit from both as long as they use them properly. However, before making any investment, check your air first.

Know your particle level, pollutant composition, and current humidity before making any adjustments. Otherwise, you won’t have a baseline to refer to and could cause harm to yourself instead of making things easier.