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Air purifiers are excellent products to have in your home.
They can dramatically improve the indoor air quality of your home and are very effective at removing various types of pollutants.
While you don’t normally think twice about buying an air purifier for the home, you may have questions about whether or not an air purifier is safe for your baby.
If you’re considering buying an air purifier for your baby’s nursery, this article will answer most of your questions.
Let’s get started.
Should I Put An Air Purifier In My Baby’s Room?
Air purifiers almost always make a beneficial addition to a new baby’s room. Especially as a first time parent, setting up the nursery is one of the most exciting things you can do. You will likely have painted, introduced a lot of new furniture, and maybe even put down some new carpeting. All of these things can introduce volatile organic compounds (VOCs) into the nursery. Using an air purifier with a HEPA air filter and carbon filter will eliminate all of these VOCs from the nursery as well as other contaminants like mold spores and pathogens. An air purifier can make a new parent feel more secure in the health of their home.
Benefits Of An Air Purifier For A Baby’s Nursery
Introducing an air purifier to your nursery to produce clean air can have a variety of positive effects. Since the air inside your home can be as much as 5x more contaminated than outdoor air according to the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), an air purifier may become a must have on your baby shopping list. Let’s investigate the two biggest benefits of an air purifier; improved air quality and a cleaner space.
Better Air Quality
Air purifiers effectively remove a number of contaminants from the home, including allergens, pet dander, dust mites, mold spores, and other particulates in the air. Removing indoor air pollutants in a newborn baby’s room will help their immune system thrive, minimise sneezing, and help your baby sleep more soundly. If your baby is suffering from any conditions affecting their respiratory system, an air purifier may be the best way to help them breathe better.
Cleaner Room
Aside from improving air quality, air purifiers have one other major benefit; they can help keep a room cleaner. Air purification removes dust and many other airborne particles that can collect on the surfaces of your nursery. With an air purifier keeping the air cleaner, you won’t need to use as many cleaning products around your infant or use them as often.
Things To Avoid In A Nursery Air Purifier
While air purifiers are incredibly safe for babies as long as you get one that has both an activated carbon filter and a true HEPA filter, some models will include some technology that can actually be harmful to your baby. There are two main types of air purifier that you should avoid when using them for a nursery.
Ozone Generators
Air purifiers that use ozone generators don’t follow normal filtration methods for an air purifier. Instead of trapping the contamination in the air, they use ozone to destroy it. While this does effectively clean your air from pollutants, it also releases harmful ozone into the home that can be dangerous for your lungs. These air purifiers are not safe for adults either, so you definitely should not be using them in your nursery.
Ionizers
Ionizers are another group of air purifiers that can produce ozone, but these ones don’t do it on purpose. While using negative ions or UV light to make your air safer to breathe, ozone can be produced as a by-product. Since ozone is equally as harmful whether it is produced on purpose or by accident, you should avoid these air purifiers too.
Features of The Best Air Purifiers For Babies
There are a number of air purifiers that are exceptional for use in a nursery, and you can find many of them on Amazon or through traditional retailers. HEPA air purifiers are the best type for your infant, but there are many brands that offer them. Many of the other features included on these air purifiers makes them more ideal for a nursery than other brands. Let’s explore some of the best features on the market for addition to a nursery.
Night Light
Many air purifiers designed with nurseries in mind will include a night light. This feature can help make your child feel more secure in the space and also allow you to make adjustments to fan speed or other features without turning on the big light and waking up your child.
True HEPA Filter & Activated Carbon Filter Combo
A true HEPA filter can filter particles down to 0.3 microns in size. This is the most effective type of filter you can find on the market and it does not release any by-products as it works. It is therefore the safest for a baby’s room and will offer the most benefits. Combining that filter with an activated carbon filter ensures that all odours and VOCs are also trapped and removed from the air. It is our recommendation that you only buy an air purifier that has both of these filters in place, and perhaps even a pre-filter to remove larger particles before the other two filters, to ensure that your baby has the cleanest, safest air possible.
Two of our top choices for air purifiers that belong in a nursery include the Purivortex 201B and the Levoit air purifier for their quiet operation, exceptional filter setup and ozone-free operation, and the cosy night light.
Can An Air Purifier Be Used With A Humidifier?
Yes! Air purifiers can very effectively be used with humidifiers in your nursery, and even dehumidifiers if you need them. An air purifier works to remove contamination from the air and a humidifier will add moisture. If you use distilled or reverse osmosis water for your humidifier, you won’t be introducing any contamination into the air. As a result, your baby will live in a room that has very clean air and enough moisture to prevent dry skin and other problems.
