What is stuffy air? What does it mean when somebody says the room is stuffy?
Stuffy air means – there is stuff in the air.
What kind of stuff? Yucky stuff.
Stuff like dust mites, bacteria.
Stuff like pet dander and pollen.
Stuff like volatile organic compounds from adhesive and paints, cleaners and aerosols.
Yikes
Table of Contents
Can an air purifier make you stuffy?
Yes there are a couple of ways or air purifier can make you feel stuffy.
- Placement – the air purifier is positioned in a way that it is filtering towards you, making the air directly around you extra junky.
- Maintenance- filters are getting too dirty remove air particles and are becoming a source for air pollution.
There are some appliances but you may want right next to you , like say a fan.
But in the case of air purifier, keeping it right next to your easy chair or bedside can mean that you were pulling all the garbage in the air toward yourself.
Positioning the air purifier to where it’s pulling the air contaminants away from you and your family can help you get the intended result from the unit.
Can an air purifiers make you dizzy?
Maintaining the filter on an air purifier is crucial to the air purifier being able to do its job. If the filters are too dirty,
Not only is the purifier not able to filter the particles in the air that can make you feel stuffy,
The filters themselves can become a source of indoor air pollution.
And that returns you to the point that if you are sitting next to a air purifier that has a nasty germy filter in it, then that is going to affect the air directly around the air purifier and you too.
Dizziness can be a symptom of an allergic reaction to the junk sitting in a badly positioned, poorly maintained air purifier.
The point of an air purifier is to remove the stuff from the air that makes you feel stuffy. To create a space where you can breathe clean air.
Humidity air purifier?
A stuffy feeling is better contributed to the humidity in the air.
Not only does Humidity make the air thick and harder to breathe,
It’s tiny droplets also become containers that help move air pollutants like mold spores further into a room.
Air purifiers do nothing to add or take away moisture in an area.
When the humidity is high, a dehumidifier is a better device because it will not only reduce the amount of humidity in the air,
It will also, by reducing the moisture in the air, reduce the source of nourishment for common indoor allergens like dust mites and mold spores.
In other words, by reducing the humidity, you reduce the pollution in the air at the same time.
Dust mite stuffy nose
Symptoms like pressure in the face and nasal congestion that can be considered a stuffy feeling, can also be contributed to a dust mite allergy.
Dust mites. Dehumidifier or air purifier?
Both. Dehumidifiers work better for the reduction of dust mites in the high humidity months, but since high humidity is seasonal and dust mites or not, air purifiers are more useful all year long.
Dust mites flourish when the humidity is high. Dust mite populations soar when there is extra moisture in the air to feed on.
But do you know what do dust mites also flourish in?
You guessed it. Dust.
Often a room that is closed up without windows like a damp basement is referred to as being stuffy.
What does a damp basement have in common with these issues we have been discussing?
That’s right. They are humid and dusty.
What else in the home is there that can contribute to the amount of dust mites and mold spores to the air content?
The HVAC. (Central heat and air conditioning)
Air conditioning stuffy nose
Air conditioning ducts are a Haven for dust mites.
not only because of the amount of dust and dirt inside of the ductwork,
It is also because of the high level of moisture inside of the machine because the condensation created by the cooling coils.
Central heat and air units or a major contributor to indoor air pollution because of these factors.
If your ductwork and drip pans are not maintained, then the same machine that is used to heat and cool the home can become a whole house source of indoor air pollutants.
Conclusion
Do air purifiers make you feel stuffy?
Though there are reasons why a air purifier can be causing you to feel stuffy.
Specifically that they are placed wrong or that they are not being well maintained as far as keeping the filters replaced and cleaned,
The reason a room feels stuffy should not be contributed to the air purifier as much as it should be blamed on the amount of stuff in your air.
Humidity and dust are the two main factors when a room feels stuffy.
Not only does humidity make the air dense and harder to breathe, it becomes a source of nutrition for dust mites and mold and mildew to grow that causes the mold spore population to grow as well.
Dust mites along with pollen and mold spores are among the most common household allergens that can create a feeling of having a stuffy or blocked face.
During the high humidity months of the year, running a dehumidifier will help reduce the dust mite and molds for population as well as make the air easier to breathe.
But since high humidity is only a problem for a few months of the year, a dehumidifier is generally only a device that comes out of the closet for a few months.
On the other hand, a air purifier will help reduce indoor allergens like dust mites and spores all year long.
Dehumidifier and air purifier combo
There are plenty of dehumidifier and air purifier combination appliances available.
But since the dehumidifier is a rather bulky box looking appliance that puts out a ton of heat and is only useful for a few months of the year, having my air purifier connected to it when I don’t need it is not the best Idea. My opinion.
But there are worse ideals and it is certainly useful to have a dehumidifier handy with your air purifier when you need it and vice versa.
