If you have allergies, you know just how debilitating they can be. Between the red and itchy eyes, the sneezing and runny nose, the coughing, possible skin irritation, and more, allergies are no fun.
One thing that people can have allergies to is mold. It’s quite unfortunate because mold is all around us.
You may be looking to invest in an air purifier because you might have heard that these devices can help get rid of mold and relieve those mold allergy symptoms.
So, is this true, can air purifiers help with mold allergies?
All About Mold
What is important to know is how mold spreads and grows. Mold is a type of fungus that can grow both indoors and outdoors.
Mold can come in many different types and colors ranging from white and black to orange, green, and even purple. The fact is that you are exposed to mold daily.
Mold spreads through airborne spores. These spores travel through the air and cling to surfaces where they quickly reproduce.
Generally speaking, mold grows in areas where there is a lot of dampness and humidity, as mold does not thrive in a dry environment.
Many types of mold are not healthy to breathe, and a select few are downright poisonous. For instance, black mold can cause lung cancer and other breathing-related difficulties.
Mold Allergies
We know that mold is not the healthiest thing to be breathing in, and that goes for all people. However, people with mold allergies have it even worse.
When they breathe in mold spores, even from harmless types of mold, the immune system overreacts, and this can then cause coughing, shortness of breath, itchy eyes, and other such allergy symptoms.
Therefore, for anybody with a mold allergy, removing mold from the equation is very important.
What is an Air Purifier?
Before we get into talking about if an air purifier is the right thing to get for a mold allergy, let’s quickly talk about what these devices do. Air purifiers usually come with multiple levels of filtration.
At the least, most units have a pre-filter to remove large airborne particles; many have a HEPA filter to remove up to 99.97% of airborne particles (0.3 microns); many even come with an activated carbon filter.
In short, air purifiers remove various contaminants, particles, and pollutants from the air.
Mold and Air Purifiers
We have established that people who suffer from mold allergies are hypersensitive to inhaling it. As also established, air purifiers are designed to remove airborne contaminants from the air around you.
Therefore, it is safe to assume that an air purifier will help to remove mold spores from the air, preventing them from landing on you and preventing you from breathing them in.
Once again, a good HEPA filter can remove up to 99.97% of mold spores from the air. So, in short, if you have a mold allergy, a good air purifier can help.
However, there is a problem, and it has to do with humidity.
Air Purifiers, Humidity, and Mold
The issue with air purifiers and mold has to do with the source of the mold. As established, mold grows in moist and humid environments.
If your home is humid, it is prone to developing mold growth. Air purifiers will remove mold spores from the air.
However, the issue is that air purifiers will not remove the actual mold growing on a surface, on the ceiling, or in a wall – only the airborne spores.
Therefore, while an air purifier can help, it won’t be very effective if you don’t remove the source. One thing you might want to do in this case is to invest in a dehumidifier.
Dehumidifiers are designed to remove moisture from the air, and this will help slow down or stop the growth of mold in your home.
You will also need to use a professional mold cleaning liquid or spray to kill the existing mold that is releasing spores into your home.
Conclusion
So an air purifier will help with your mold allergies, but only as far as airborne mold spores are concerned.
If you want to eliminate mold-related allergies, you need to bring the humidity level in your home down, and you need to eliminate the existing mold.