| By :
Debbie Davis
Unless you own your office space, controlling the air quality is probably not something you can control. Sharing heating and cooling systems with other businesses can prove to be problematic, and opening windows to let in new air can just mean exchanging one group of pollutants for another. Using a portable air cleaner to insure you're breathing the healthiest air possible every day can really help improve your attitude, increase your productivity, and preserve your health. Here are 5 common mistakes to avoid when choosing your air purifier. Limited Operation---Since the pollutants in your office don't take a break when you cut the lights off and go home for the evening, neither should your filtration system. Be sure to choose a unit that can operate overnight while you are away from the office. This means checking the technical specifications or owner's manual to make sure that the motor type is a split capacitor rated for high revolutions per minute (RPM) and long life duty. A motor that allows continuous filtration equals air quality that is more likely to be healthy from the moment you enter each day. One or No Filter---An air cleaner is only as good as the filters it uses to do it. With that as a premise, one or no filter just doesn't cut it. Instead, a cleaner should have multiple filters of various sizes allowing it to remove a larger range of particle sizes. It should also have a carbon based filter for gaseous pollutants such as airborne chemicals and odors. And even as effective as a carbon filter is, in order to remove the kinds of chemicals that can be present in an office setting it should have an additive that enhances its ability to remove volatile organic chemicals (VOCs) that can off gas from printers and other office products. High Maintenance---The last thing you need is something else to deal with besides the responsibilities that your job entails. A purifier that always needs you to take care of it by cleaning, dusting, changing filters is one that shouldn't have a place in your office. Instead choose a cleaner that needs little to none of your time, and needs its filter replaced 3 to 5 years from when you purchase it. That may sound like an unlikely time for a filter to last, but if there are multiple filters and the unit is well constructed, that kind of longevity should be expected. Inflexible Placement---Some cleaners need to be placed in a certain place in a room in order to work at peak capacity. Don't laugh; but there are some that even need to be placed in the center of the room. Avoid those models at all cost. That probably wouldn't go over well with the boss. You want a cleaner that is built to pull air in from all sides. This means it can easily be placed anywhere in the room and still perform as it should. 360 degree intake is important because it means that you can put your cleaner in a corner where it can't be seen and know that it will continue to clean your air effectively. Power Hog---You may want clean air, but the powers that be may not allow it at any cost. The more energy efficient the cleaner, the more likely it is to be a non-issue. An efficient cleaner should be able to run for about what it would cost to burn a 60 watt light bulb. Minimal energy consumption will make it a non-issue for those who have the authority to prohibit its use.
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