Best Pet Air Purifier
Pets and air purifiers go together for several reasons. Are you concerned about the effect of pets on the air in your home? Or, are you concerned about the effects of the air in your home on your pets? No matter what the case is, an air purifier makes sense. Pets are hard on air purifiers. Dirty Air is hard on pets. Let’s look at the problem from both sides
Best Pet Air Purifier for Your Home
What do you need from a pet air cleaning product? Pets bring a few challenges to inside air. They shed hair, fur and feathers. Pets emit dander. Dander is tiny flecks of skin from cats, dogs, rodents birds and other animals. They track in dust, dirt and parasites from outside. Sometimes pets stink! Pets create a lot of indoor air pollution. You need an air purifier that will remove all these nuisances from the air. 68% of American homes have pets. They spend most of their day in the house so a good air purifier is very important for your cat, dog, bird or whatever fury creatures you may own.
Two Great Choices For Your Home
The MAX-700 is the most powerful Pet Air Purifier Made in the USA. It removes pet hair, dander and odors from the air. It is effective for a 1400 square foot area. It has a cost about $100.00 a year in filters and electric
The Maxum HEPA removes more pet dander and hair from the air in a single cycle. The True HEPA filter provides fresh air to an 1000 square foot home. It costs about $ 250.00 A year for filters and electric.
Minimum Standards
You need a minimum of MERV 11 filtration. MERV 11 will remove 85% – 95% of all the pet airborne particles. This is a sufficient amount of filtration for the average home. A MERV 11 media filter does not remove odor. So, on top of a media filter you need to add activated carbon filtration. Electrostatic Cells and HEPA filters exceed this minimum. They may be a good fit for your home. There are many variables. Let’s examine some of them.
Are your Pets in a Smokers Home?
Cats, dogs, and birds are particularly sensitive to 2nd hand smoke. Cats in a smokers home are 4 times as likely to develop lymphoma, heart arrhythmia, and lung paralysis. Every cat owner knows they are meticulous groomers. Your cat is cleaning more than dirt off her fur. Your cat can’t stop these toxins that fall from smoky air. She can’t help but “eat” them when she grooms. Dogs are more likely to have nose and eye issues if they live in a smoky house. Birds have smaller bodies and are even more likely to suffer from second-hand smoke. A home smoke eater can protect your pets from second hand smoke.
The more pets you have, the more air filtration you will need. The more your pets smell and the more they shed will also play into how much air filtration you will need. If you have 1 pet 4 ACH (air changes per hour) is probably enough. 2-3 pets will require about 6 ACH. Figure another ACH for each additional pet. Depending on the size of your pet area you may well need a 2nd air purifier to keep up with the extra load. This handy tool will help you calculate the amount of air purification you will need.
Media Filters
Media filter air cleaning has the lowest initial costs. It is also the least efficient. These filters are disposable. They need to be replaced when they become dirty. Media filters in a home with pets will need to be changed 4-8 times a year. The average cost of the replacement filter is is $16-$50 depending on manufacturer and model. Media filtration will change the air in a room on an average of 4 times an hour.
HEPA Filters
HEPA purifiers have a higher cost than Media. They are 99.97% efficient. That is by far the most efficient. HEPA filters are disposable and need to be replaced when dirty. HEPA filters are on average 4 times more expensive than media filters. Other brands of HEPA filtration will provide 2 to 3 air changes per hour. The LakeAir Maxum HEPA will provide 4-6.
Electrostatic Precipitators
A good electrostatic air purifier will cost as much as a HEPA unit or maybe more. The electronic filters are 97% efficient. Electrostatic cells are washable and never need to be replaced. You have to budget a value on the time you spend washing your filter. They end up being the best value when you compare efficiency and cost of upkeep. The electrostatic filtration will provide 6 or more air changes per hour.
Pet Odor Removal
Pets add love, affection, companionship and a lot of odors to a home. No matter what type of pet you have they are going to smell. The only way to remove the odor efficiently will be with a activated carbon filter. The larger the carbon filter the better. With sufficient air flow a carbon filter will absorb the odors our beloved pets leave behind. No matter what air purifier you purchase be sure it has a substantial activated carbon filter. All LakeAir brand air purifiers are equipped with carbon filters. We strongly suggest the Maxum M-super carbon filter.