Will an Air Purifier Help With Humidity?

Before getting my first air purifier, I had a lot of questions.

First of all, I wanted to know how it would help me. But as a person with severe seasonal allergies, it didn’t take long for me to figure out the biggest benefit I could get from my air purifier.

That said, I wanted to learn what else the air purifier could do for me. And that’s when I looked at whether an air purifier could help with humidity.

I live in a pretty humid area. And while this isn’t a major problem for me, it can get annoying and uncomfortable from time to time.

So, if an air purifier could also help with the humidity at home, that would have been a huge plus.

But sadly, I quickly learned that regular air purifiers wouldn’t be able to help with humidity. These machines simply aren’t equipped to absorb moisture in the air and create a more comfortable space for myself. 

I’ll explain everything I learned about air purifiers and humidity in this article.

I’ll explain why they don’t work to reduce or increase humidity, why some people think that air purifiers dry the air, and how you can reduce humidity at home.

Let’s get into it.

Why Can’t Air Purifiers Help with Humidity?

When I first encountered an air purifier, I was at my friend’s house.

I immediately noticed a difference in air quality, but I also noticed that the air wasn’t as humid as in my home, which was just a few minutes away.

This is why I initially thought that an air purifier could do something to help with humidity.

However, I learned that this isn’t what an air purifier is designed to do. If you want to reduce or increase humidity in the room, you need a specific device.

To reduce humidity, you need a machine that can absorb the moisture in the air and dry it out a bit.

On the flip side, if you want to deal with dry air at home, then you need a humidifier to reintroduce moisture into the air.

Air purifiers typically don’t have any of these features built-in. That’s why if you plan on getting an air purifier to help with humidity, you won’t be able to achieve your goals.

So, if an air purifier can’t help with humidity, what can it do?

We’re getting into that in the next section, so keep reading.

What Does an Air Purifier Do?

To understand why you can’t use an air purifier to deal with humidity in a room, it’s important to understand how air purifiers work. And while it may not seem that way, air purifiers are very simple devices.

Air purifiers are just fans and filters when stripped down to the bare bones.

Normally, the fan sucks in unpurified air and then pushes it through the filters.

Most modern air purifiers have multi-stage filtration systems, so the air has to pass through multiple filters before exiting the machine.

That way, the air that exits the air purifier is free of particles and pollutants that may be causing issues.

One of the biggest benefits of getting an air purifier is that it can help with respiratory issues.

For example, if you’re like me and have allergies, then the air purifier can remove all the dust and pollen in the air that may be causing you problems.

That way, you can go through your day without coughing or sneezing all the time.

Air purifiers can also eliminate harmful gases and odors in the air.

So, if a scent troubling you at home, then you can use the air purifier to eliminate the odors.

That way, your home always smells as fresh as possible.

While air purifiers can do all of this for you, they cannot help with humidity.

No mechanism inside an air purifier absorbs moisture or reintroduces moisture into the air.

So, no matter how powerful the air purifier is, all it will be able to do is clean the air, not deal with humidity issues.

Are There Air Purifiers That Help with Humidity?

If you want to deal with humidity issues at home, an air purifier isn’t your solution.

Most of the time, the best option is to use a dehumidifier or humidifier, depending on your needs.

However, if you need both devices at home and want to save money, you could opt for air purifiers and dehumidifier combos.

These machines combine an air purifier’s and dehumidifier’s functionality. So, aside from the device being able to filter out the dust and particles floating around the air, it will also be able to capture moisture.

That way, it won’t be as humid in the room, so you won’t feel uncomfortable or sticky while relaxing and unwinding at home.

That said, at least the good ones, air purifier and dehumidifier combos are hard to come by.

Many combos out there aren’t as functional as you’d want if you want to deal with particles and pollutants along with the humidity.

So, for the best results, I recommend getting separate air purifiers and dehumidifiers for your home.

That way, you can rest assured that both machines are doing their job, and you won’t have to worry about one of these issues causing you trouble.

Do Air Purifiers Dry the Air?

One of the most common complaints people have with their air purifiers is that it makes the air dry. This is another reason I thought my air purifier could deal with the humidity.

However, it isn’t the air purifier that’s drying the air most of the time.

As I mentioned earlier, there are no mechanisms in place inside an air purifier to capture moisture.

So, there’s no reason that it dries up the air in the room. All that an air purifier does is clean and circulate the air in the room.

This means that if you feel like the air is dry in the room when the air purifier is on, it’s probably because the air in the room was dry.

You might notice the dry air more with the air purifier because it can slightly cool down the room. And most of the time, colder air feels dryer, which is why some people might find that their air purifier is drying up the air.

If you want to correct this, you must take steps to introduce more moisture into the air.

There are ways to do this naturally, but if you want a quick fix, you can get a dedicated humidifier.

That way, turning the air purifier on isn’t circulating dry air that can be fairly irritating. 

What Can I Use to Control Humidity?

If you have issues with humidity at home, the best fix is to get a dehumidifier or humidifier.

Let’s start with the dehumidifier.

There are electric ones and non-electric ones.

Both of these devices work in the same way.

All they do is capture the moisture in the air and collect it.

That way, the room isn’t as humid, and you don’t feel as sticky.

An electric dehumidifier might be your best bet if you live in a humid area.

These machines do a great job at reducing humidity in the room and could be just what you need to feel more comfortable.

As you might be able to guess, a humidifier does the exact opposite of a dehumidifier.

Instead of removing moisture from the air, these machines introduce more moisture.

This is great for people who live in dry areas, as having a humidifier on will make breathing feel much better and more comfortable.

Should I Get an Air Purifier or Dehumidifier?

So, now that you know that you need separate machines to deal with humidity and air quality, you may be wondering which one to buy first.

And the best advice I can give you is to figure out your needs, as this makes it much easier to determine what device you need at home.

Consider whether the air quality or humidity is causing more discomfort. For me, I chose to go for the air purifier first.

This is because my area is humid; my allergies may cause more trouble than the humidity.

So, I decided to deal with that, and later on, I got a dehumidifier to fix the humidity issue.

That said, living in a humid space can be very uncomfortable.

And if the air quality isn’t that much of an issue for you, then there’s no reason you shouldn’t get a dehumidifier first.

Remember, everyone has different needs and buying the machine that best serves your needs is important.

Conclusion

Air purifiers are great machines. They do wonders for air quality and could be a great investment in your health.

However, remember that these devices can clean the air but won’t do anything for humidity.

If you have issues with humidity at home, then an air purifier won’t be the device to fix those issues.