Do filterless air purifiers work well for dust?

[YellowJersey]

I'm looking at maybe buying an air purifier since my apartment is always ridiculously dusty. I don't care about reducing odours, killing viruses and bacteria, etc. I just want to reduce the amount of dust. Is my only realistic option (other than dusting and vacuuming more often...) an air purifier with filters that always need replacing? I have a feeling an effective dust-reducing filterless air purifier doesn't really exist, but I thought I'd try my luck here and see if anyone has any ideas.

[wanderingfool2]

43 minutes ago, YellowJersey said:

I'm looking at maybe buying an air purifier since my apartment is always ridiculously dusty. I don't care about reducing odours, killing viruses and bacteria, etc. I just want to reduce the amount of dust. Is my only realistic option (other than dusting and vacuuming more often...) an air purifier with filters that always need replacing? I have a feeling an effective dust-reducing filterless air purifier doesn't really exist, but I thought I'd try my luck here and see if anyone has any ideas.

I mean I could be wrong, I really hadn't heard much about it...but looking up a few of the products I could find, it almost screams "scam" to me overall.

 

From all the ones I have seen as well all of them wouldn't cut down on particulate matter in the room...just "sanitize" the air that goes through it.  i.e. some just blast UV light, others use ozone, etc...all essentially the same kind of effect of "killing" the germs in the air.  Realistically though, I doubt the count would go down that much for all the viruses and bacteria (this is just a speculation though).

 

The only thing that I could think of would maybe be if you had something that passed the air through water so that the water acts as a filter (it would catch dust to a certain degree).  Although not sure if those products exist anymore, unfortunately the best and most effective option is likely ones with filters.

 

A solution that I used during some of the fires when the smoke was really bad was grabbing a cheap box filter, building a cardboard tunnel and putting a filter on the end (20x20 works well as box fans are usually about 20x20).  From there you get to pick the kind of filter you like.  It's a cheap, but ugly solution...and slightly loud, but it does work quite well.

 

[Isuck Assimov]

If you just want to reduce particulates in the air getting a HEPA Filter Air purifier is probably the best bet.

Just vacuum the filter once a week or use an air compressor to clean it. You will catch a lot of dust with this.

Air ionizers also exist, which are supposed to give particulates an electric charge that helps them stick to walls, objects etc. rather than being suspended in air. This is not a new technology but i haven't tried the latter version myself yet.

edit: this youtube video talks about the filterless variants a bit.

 

[Needfuldoer]

There's always the Tim Taylor approach.

 

 

[Forbidden Wafer]

16 hours ago, YellowJersey said:

I'm looking at maybe buying an air purifier since my apartment is always ridiculously dusty. I don't care about reducing odours, killing viruses and bacteria, etc. I just want to reduce the amount of dust. Is my only realistic option (other than dusting and vacuuming more often...) an air purifier with filters that always need replacing? I have a feeling an effective dust-reducing filterless air purifier doesn't really exist, but I thought I'd try my luck here and see if anyone has any ideas.

It depends on the size of the dust.
For large dust, you can get away with a cyclone separator (just like the Dyson ones).
For super fine dust, like soot, you are better off with a hepa filter.

[Lurking]

Just keep your room clean......

 

Don't use ozone devices. Ozone is an air pollutant (actually it is formed from NOx emissions from cars etc). It will damage your lungs. Unless you have antrax in your air, the ozone will be worse than any microorganisms it kills. 

[Forbidden Wafer]

9 hours ago, Lurking said:

Don't use ozone devices. 

I mean, if you have mold, I'd say to leave it on while you're outside.

If you have a smart outlet, turn it off a few hours before getting back home.

It should be enough time for it to decay or disperse if you have windows open.

If you're full tilt on ACs, be careful. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10616745/

[Lurking]

2 hours ago, Forbidden Wafer said:

I mean, if you have mold, I'd say to leave it on while you're outside.

If you have a smart outlet, turn it off a few hours before getting back home.

It should be enough time for it to decay or disperse if you have windows open.

If you're full tilt on ACs, be careful. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10616745/

if you have mold, remove the mold. Remove water and organic material. 

Just running AC without dehumidification may raise RH. Residential homes have too little sensible load. So you may get even more mold. all depends on your local climate, of course. 

 

Don't release toxic gas in your home while keeping all the conditions that make mold grow in place. You won't be able to raise ozone levels to kill mold anyway. But you are able to raise it enough to damage your lungs. If you live in high air pollution areas you will see occasional ozone alerts warning you to spend much time outside exercising. This is enough to be damaging to you. but it isn't enough to kill all living microorganisms. 

[wseaton]

Disagree about ozone. 

 

While they dont remove dust, they are amazing for crushing biological things, removing odors, airborne nasties, etc.

 

My GF has 3 cats in a small condo. I use an industrial unit on a smart plug that goes off for a few minutes a couple times a day while she is at work. Results are incredible. 

 

Ozone decomposes within minutes, even in an enclosed space. Dont stick your face in the unit while its running and dont jog down an LA freeway in July.

 

 

 

 

[Lurking]

2 hours ago, wseaton said:

Disagree about ozone. 

 

While they dont remove dust, they are amazing for crushing biological things, removing odors, airborne nasties, etc.

 

My GF has 3 cats in a small condo. I use an industrial unit on a smart plug that goes off for a few minutes a couple times a day while she is at work. Results are incredible. 

 

Ozone decomposes within minutes, even in an enclosed space. Dont stick your face in the unit while its running and dont jog down an LA freeway in July.

 

 

 

 

so the air pollution advisories about high ozone levels are just a conspiracy? 

it will oxidize organic material alright, like your lungs.