While both an air purifier vs. humidifier can affect the house’s air quality, each has a distinct function and advantages.
You should know the differences between a humidifier vs. air purifier.
You should also know the best ways to use each if you want to aid respiratory issues, allergies, and dry air conditions. Or if you want to establish a healthy home environment for your children.
This guide will explore the differences between an air purifier vs. humidifier.
With that said, let’s begin.
What Is An Air Purifier?
Air purifiers can remove allergens, pollutants, and other contaminants from the air you breathe. These products are highly effective when you use them regularly. So if you’re using them in your home or office, it’s essential to ensure they are turned on daily.
If you have asthma or allergies and want to clear out the dust from your house, an air purifier is an excellent option for keeping things clean.
Humidifier Vs. Air Purifier: How Does An Air Purifier Work?
An air purifier works in two ways. First, it captures and removes dust, pollen, pet dander, mold spores, bacteria, and viruses from the air that passes through the filter.
It also generates negative ions, which attach to airborne particles (such as dust) and reduce their activity.
Read more: 20 Best Portable Humidifiers
Negative ions are usually generated by waterfalls or natural body processes like breathing out carbon dioxide.
They benefit some people with asthma who have had reduced symptoms after exposure to a source of negative ions (like a waterfall).
What Is A humidifier?
A humidifier is a device that makes the air more humid. You can use the humidifier for numerous purposes, such as:
- Treating dry skin and dry coughs.
- Treating nose bleeds and other health issues caused by lack of humidity in your home’s air.
- Treating colds and flu through increased mucous production in your respiratory system (the lining of your nose and throat).
- Treating asthma symptoms that are triggered by dryness, like wheezing or coughing.
Humidifier Vs. Air Purifier: How Does A Humidifier Work?
The humidifiers add moisture to the air. They are commonly used to relieve symptoms of dry skin, nosebleeds, and other ailments like sore throats. Humidifiers can also help reduce static electricity and dust in the air.
The humidifier’s moisture output is measured in gallons per day (GPD). Water weighs roughly 8 pounds per gallon.
So a 1-gallon humidifier will add about 4 pounds of water to your home daily.
That means you can expect a running 1-gallon machine to make about 20 pints or 16 cups of liquid water every 24 hours.
Suppose you have asthma or allergies that affect your breathing.
In that case, investing in a high-performance model with dual filtration systems may be worth it.
And these dual filtration systems remove mold spores and allergens from your indoor environment before reaching your lungs.
Air purifier vs. humidifier: Which Is Better For My Health?
Whether an air purifier or a humidifier is better for your health depends on the type of illness you’re trying to treat.
Air purifiers are effective against allergies, asthma, and dry skin conditions.
If you have any of these ailments and are looking for relief from them, an air purifier will help you out.
Humidifiers can also help with allergies, asthma, and dry skin. However, their primary purpose is to add moisture to the air.
So a humidifier would be a better choice if your skin has become dry due to low humidity levels in your home. That’s because it’s designed specifically for that task.
Humidifier Vs. Air Purifier: They Both Serve Different Purposes.
Air purifiers and humidifiers are helpful devices, but they serve different purposes. Air purifiers are used to clean the air of pollutants, while humidifiers are used to increase humidity in a room.
You should get a humidifier if you want an air-cleaning device to help increase your home’s humidity.
However, if you want your body to breathe fresh air all day long, an air filter is better than a humidifier. But, of course, there’s no reason why you can’t use both!
Conclusion
We hope this article has helped clarify the difference between an air purifier vs. humidifier. Both devices have their place in your home but serve different purposes.
Air purifiers remove allergens, pollen, dust mites, and other contaminants. Humidifiers add moisture to dry rooms by increasing the humidity levels.