When buying my first air purifier, I found a model that could eliminate dust and other contaminants from the air, including foul odors.
So, you can imagine the surprise when I turned on my air purifier one day, and it suddenly smelled like a wet dog.
Dogs are lovely creatures, and while there’s a lot to love about dogs, one of the worst things that come with owning a dog is having to smell a wet dog from time to time.
But isn’t an air purifier meant to prevent foul odors?
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Air purifiers are pretty cool appliances.
We may not notice it, but our air contains many contaminants and pollutants.
Research even suggests that the indoor air we breathe is much dirtier than outdoor air, which explains why my allergies worsen when I’m indoors.
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With the right air purifier for your home, you can clean the air and make it smell good.
That’s why I highly recommend getting an air purifier with a carbon filter to handle solid and gaseous particles in the air.
That said, sometimes air purifiers can actually be the source of the foul odor in the first place.
And for many air purifier owners, the foul smell their air purifiers give off is similar to vinegar.
Vinegar has a very sour and acidic smell and can be very strong.
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Headaches are the absolute worst thing that can happen to anyone during the day.
They can be pretty annoying if mild.
But if you have a terrible one, it’ll ruin your day, prevent you from being productive, going to the gym, hanging out with your friends, and enjoying life.
I don’t typically suffer from headaches unless they are caused by allergies, which is why I dread when spring comes.
Due to my allergies, my respiratory system acts up, and so do my sinuses.
And when my sinuses get clogged up, that’s the best and easiest way to guarantee yourself a headache that won’t be alleviated by taking painkillers.
So, over the years, the best way I’ve found to cure the type of headaches I was getting is buying an air purifier with a “True” HEPA filter.
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I’m not a fan of stuffy rooms in the slightest.
And it’s not because of my asthma or anything related to my respiratory issues.
I just can’t stand breathing the air of a stuffy room.
Unfortunately, stuffy rooms are pretty common.
If you leave home for a day or two, you will inevitably return to a stuffy room you need to take care of.
I’ve spoken to many people in the past, and I can reassure you that I’m not the only one who feels like stuffy rooms are the worst to stay in, never mind sleep in.
That’s why I’ve searched far and wide for a proper fix for stuffy rooms. And that’s when I found out the answers to my question.
So, keep reading to find out if air purifiers can help with stuffy rooms.
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You’re not alone if you’re wondering how to tell if your air purifier is working.
I remember when I got my first air purifier back in the day and was in the exact same situation.
In my case, the air purifier was brand new, so I wondered if the unit was on in general.
If you’ve had your air purifier for a while and are wondering how to tell if it’s still working as intended, that’s more tricky sometimes.
Whatever the case might be, in this article, I will be showing you the things you need to look out for to tell if your unit is working.
And if you find that your air purifier isn’t working, at the end of the article, I’ve shared a few things you should check and do before buying a new model.
You can tell if your air purifier is working in many different ways. While some are simple, others are a little more tricky.
Below, I’ve listed several ways you can tell if your unit is working as it should.
The easiest way to tell if your air purifier is on is by listening closely and hearing if the unit is making any noise.
Pay attention to the sound of the fan. Most, if not all, air purifiers produce some noise when they are on.
It’s best to turn the air purifier to the highest setting as that’s when the fan will make the most noise.
That said, just because your air purifier works doesn’t mean it’s purifying the air.
An air purifier won’t clean the air if there’s damage to the filtration system, causing it to be unable to trap particles and purify the air.
It’s much more difficult to tell if your air purifier is working if there doesn’t seem anything wrong with it, so keep on reading to find out what you need to be looking for in that case.
If you have an air purifier with a carbon filter, then the smell in the room is one of the best ways to determine if it’s working.
While air purifiers with carbon filters can absorb harmful pollutants like VOCs, their most noticeable effect is ridding the room of strong odors such as cooking odors or smells from your cat’s litter box.
This happens because a carbon filter absorbs all the compounds that may cause foul odors in the first place.
So, when you turn it on, you should notice that strong scents start to disappear.
If you turn your air purifier on and notice no difference in the room’s smell, it might not work correctly.
However, remember that not all air purifiers have carbon filters.
Check inside your device to see if it’s even designed to absorb strong scents in the first place.
One of the benefits of using an air purifier is that it can help you deal with your allergies.
If you have allergies, it might be easier to determine whether an air purifier works as intended.
This is because air purifiers can remove harmful allergens from the air, such as pollen and dust.
So, if you find that you aren’t sneezing as much when you’re in a room with an air purifier, this is a clear sign that the air purifier is working.
The downside to this is that not everyone has allergies.
So, if you don’t have allergies, you won’t be able to use this method to tell if your air purifier works.
This is probably the best way to tell if an air purifier is working, but it’s also one of the hardest.
It’s difficult to describe what “cleaner” air feels like, but I notice a huge difference when their air purifier is on.
The best I can describe is that the air feels better and is easier to breathe.
It’s lighter and less dense.
Some people notice the difference the second they turn on their air purifier.
Some people say it takes some time for them to notice.
But once you notice the difference, it will be much easier to tell whether or not your air purifier is working properly.
If nothing I have said has helped, using an air quality measuring tool is the best and easiest way to tell if your air purifier is working.
To use this tool appropriately, measure the air quality inside your home before and after turning the air purifier on.
Test the air quality levels with the air purifier off, then let it run for a few hours and test it again.
If the levels are the same, your air purifier will operate, but it isn’t cleaning the air.
Or you can skip this altogether if you have the money to invest in a higher-end air purifier.
The more expensive devices have built-in air quality measuring technology to track that for you.
Finding out that your air purifier isn’t working as it once did is quite a devastating experience.
I’ve had this issue a few times over the last five years, and it’s not a nice feeling – especially since you get so used to breathing clean air so much that when you go back to normal, things just don’t feel right.
So, if you’ve found that your air purifier isn’t working as intended, here are a few steps to bring it back to life and breathe in the clean air you’re accustomed to.
The filtration system in your air purifier is what helps the air purifier actually purify the air.
Without it (or when it’s damaged), the air purifier might still be on, but it won’t be purifying the air as well as it once did.
If the filters are causing a lack of performance inside the air purifier, you have three options.
You can clean the filters using a cloth and a hoover, wash the filters if they’re washable, or if you’ve not replaced them in a while, replace the filters.
Though changing the filters will cost you some money, it’s the best way to ensure your air purifier performs back to its best.
If the fuse in your air purifier has blown out, the air purifier won’t turn on, no matter what.
And if you’re not particularly tech-savvy, you might even think the air purifier is broken, which was the case with me just a few years ago.
Most people don’t know that every appliance has a built-in fuse, often inside the plug.
The fuse breaks the circuit if a fault in the appliance is spotted, causing too much current to flow.
In other news, the fuse protects your air purifier, and it will be the first to go if something goes wrong.
Fuses are a cheap replacement, so it’s not a big deal. Much better than having to buy a new air purifier.
Once you find where the fuse in your air purifier is, take a close look at it.
If the wire is clearly broken in two, the fuse has blown out, and you need to replace it.
If you have exhausted all of your options, take it to a specialist.
Fortunately, they can tell you the problem with your unit in just a few minutes because of their background.
Their trained eye can spot faults that ordinary people like you and me can easily miss.
If you think your air purifier has declined in performance, use this checklist to see if there’s anything wrong internally.
On the flip side, the problem is more serious if your air purifier won’t turn on.
If you are in that camp, return the unit to the store you bought it from if it’s still under warranty or seek the help of a specialist.