Are air purifiers safe for pets?
When assessing the central question of whether air purifiers are safe for pets, there are two aspects to keep in mind. The first is the physical safety of using a mechanical device around pets; the second is whether the purifier improves or damages the health of our animals.
Air purifiers come in various shapes and sizes, from small desk-top units to large, free-standing models. In terms of physical hazards, there is an existing risk of your pet becoming trapped in the electrical cord of your air purifier. This is a risk shared with any other electrical devices within your home.
Most air purifiers on the market are sealed units that draw air in from the outside and purify it. Purifying happens by passing air through a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter, activated carbon, or an electrostatic filter. Once cleansed, the purified air gets expelled back into the atmosphere. Air purifiers are designed to be used in the home around children and their internal mechanisms should be safe from prying paws and wagging tails. Even small pets like rodents shouldnt be able to access the insides of air purifiers.
Many of us choose to buy air purifiers because were worried about pollutants in the air affecting our health. These same environmental nasties can affect our pets too.
A 2008 study published in Brain and Cognition (opens in new tab) showed that dogs brains were adversely affected by the heavy pollution levels in Mexico City. In the study, 57% of dogs exposed to higher pollution levels developed frontal brain lesions and showed signs of neuroinflammation. Another study from the journal of Toxicologic Pathology (opens in new tab) found DNA damage in the nasal and brain tissues of dogs exposed to air pollutants, in addition to respiratory tract inflammation and neurodegenerative damage.
In a more recent study from the journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine (opens in new tab) involving canines and felines, researchers found that cats with respiratory diseases were more likely to live in households with higher indoor air pollution, meaning levels of particles of 2.5 μm or less. Interestingly, they also found that dogs with respiratory diseases were more commonly exposed to incense burning than the control group of dogs in the study.
Air purifiers can clean the air and indoor environment, making the air safer to breathe for you and your pet. As well as reducing short-term irritation, air purifiers can reduce the impact of long-term exposure to pollutants that can lead to the development of serious health conditions.
Can An Air Purifier Help With Pet Hair and Dander?To start, most air purifiers will suck up common airborne contaminants, and help get rid of unpleasant odors too. The fan takes in air in the room and pushes it through the filter, where most of the allergens are either trapped or removed entirely.
If your major issue is smaller pet hairs drifting around, you’ll want to get a fine mesh filter that traps these hairs in without getting stuck. While this won’t get the hair that’s lodged in your carpet or sofa (try a handheld vacuum for that), but it’s a place to start. For reducing pet dander, air purifiers can be very effective devices, especially those with a HEPA filter. This kind of filter clears the air and removes super tiny particles, as small as 0.3 microns, which is smaller than pet dander (5-10 microns) on average.
The problem posed by having pets inside is solved rather neatly by the presence of an indoor air purifier. This device can suck up all of the particles that can have harmful health effects such as pet dander, pollen and dust and increase the air quality in your home. Top-of-the-line models such as the Airgle Room Air Purifier AG500 and Airgle Clean Room Air Purifier AG800 feature the latest technology such as HEPAfast which allows for rapid removal of airborne pollutants from your households. Studies have revealed time and time again that having an air purifier in the house will allow you to breathe in fresh air without having to worry about the possible irritants and harmful substances that otherwise be found in a normal home, with or without a pet.
There are many microbial substances in your home that can affect you adversely, especially if you are a person prone to respiratory problems. Some of them are seasonal such as pollen and some of them you can avoid by keeping a clean house such as molds. However, some pose a unique problem for pet owners. House pets, particularly cats and dogs, are constantly shedding particles which can cause problems for people when they get inhaled, especially for people that happen to be allergic to those particular animals. Contrary to popular belief, it is not the hair of the animals that causes allergic reactions, but rather the dander from skin cells that are being constantly shed.
People who are allergic to a particular animal tend to avoid getting that animal as a pet. However, you have to consider that other people will visit your home. Since an estimated 10% of the world’s population has some sort of animal allergy, there is a good chance that people who will suffer an allergic reaction will come into contact with the dander from your pet.
Besides their dander, animals tend to roam outside a lot and they can also bring other allergens such as dust or pollen into the house, thus further increasing the chances of an allergic reaction. Even if these particles have no effect on you when you inhale them, they still can affect your health if you are exposed to them over a longer period of time.
The good news about air purifiers is that they are completely safe to use around animals. Not only that, but they stand to improve their health, as well. Just like humans, animals cannot benefit from inhaling harmful airborne particles that can come not only in the form of allergens, but also from chemicals that are regularly found around the household. <<