Do Air Purifiers Make the Air Dry?

Are you suspecting that your air purifier is making the air in your room dryer than normal? I know exactly what you mean. I’ve been there myself all those years ago when I first got my hands on my first ever air purifier.

In this article, I want to give you some peace of mind when it comes to the relationship between dry air and your purifier as well as give you some helpful tips on increasing the humidity within your room.

Read on to learn more.

Does My Air Purifier Dry the Air in My Room?

If you’re worried that your brand new investment is making the air in your room dry – don’t. Your air purifier has nothing to do with how dry the air in your room is. Funny enough, when I first got my air purifier for the first time, I felt the exact same way.

After reading up a bunch of information related to why the air in my room was dry after using an air purifier – I came to the conclusion that it wasn’t my air purifier to blame at all. And it makes sense because this simply isn’t how air purifiers are designed to work.

There is absolutely nothing in an air purifier’s design that sucks out moisture from the air, consequently drying it out. Instead, the only thing inside an air purifier is a filter to remove any pollutants such as dust in the air that pass through it.

Though most air purifiers use advanced filtration systems that can capture incredibly small particles before they end up in your lungs – these filters aren’t fine enough to draw moisture from the air, so your air purifier isn’t why the air in your room feels dry.

So, if it’s not the air purifier – what is it?

Why Does the Air Feel Dry When I Turn On My Air Purifier?

When I first turned on my air purifier, after a while, I really started to notice the difference in air quality. But that wasn’t everything I felt. Because I have quite a sensitive nose, it wasn’t hard for me to feel that the air in the room was pretty dry.

And after finding out that it wasn’t my air purifier that was causing the issue, I had to dig a little deeper to find the reasons behind this sudden dryness in the air in my room.

I found that there were two possible reasons the air in my room felt dry after turning on my air purifier, which were:

The Purifier Is Running Too Fast

If you believe the air in your room is dryer than normal, one theory could point to your air purifier, but not in the way you think.


Like everyone with an air purifier, I wanted clean air right away, and the best way to achieve that is to turn the air purifier up to its most powerful level. What I noticed shortly after was that the air in my room felt dry after turning on my air purifier.

And it finally made sense. Warm air holds moisture better than cold air; that’s just how it works. And when I set my air purifier to the highest setting, it started circulating the air very fast, which caused the air to cool down, which in turn reduced the moisture in the air.

So, I decided to lower the settings of my air purifier, and it seemed to work a little bit. However, I still found that the air felt a little dry, which is when I discovered that the air purifier really wasn’t the problem.

The Air in the Room Is Dry 

The biggest reason the air in your room feels dry after turning on your air purifier is because the air in your room is actually dry to begin with – with the air purifier only enhancing the issue. If you live in a colder climate, the air doesn’t hold as much moisture as in warmer climates.

And if you place your air purifier in a room where the air is already cold, you end up circulating dry air around the room. While it is still clean and filtered, that won’t go unnoticed – hence the reason you’re reading this article.

There are a number of different steps that you can take to add humidity to your home so that the air purifier circulates better and more humid air. You can start by sealing your home and running a humidifier. Additionally, you can stay hydrated to avoid the effects of dry air and as well as put your air purifier to the lowest setting.

How Can I Tell If the Air Is Dry?

Some people aren’t as sensitive to dry air as others. If you aren’t sure if the air in a certain room is dry, consider yourself lucky. However, dry air can lead to a lot of problems such as drying out your skin and irritating your nasal cavities, so it’s best to spot it early and work on resolving the problem.

If you notice that you get a dry throat and nose more often than usual or your skin dries out really fast, this is a sign that you have dry air in the area. If this is in your home, I recommend taking the steps from above to increase the humidity in your home so you feel more comfortable.

Conclusion

Now that we know your air purifier isn’t entirely to blame for the dry air in your room – you can keep on using it – just make sure that you use it at the lowest setting possible. And yes – it will be slower at purifying the air within your room but the air will be much more enjoyable to breathe.

And if that isn’t enough, you can take some of the extra steps I recommended above to humidify the air in your room further.